Asian Trader Magazine – 12-25 May 2017

6 ASIAN TRADER 12 MAY 2017 http://www.asiantrader.biz

NEWS

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The trade union GMB has

slammed Nestlé UK’s propos-

al to move some of its produc-

tion to Poland, putting hun-

dreds of UK jobs in peril.

These proposals span

four different sites: York,

Fawdon, Halifax and Girvan

and may result in a reduc-

tion of 298 roles, predomi-

nantly at York and Fawdon,

through 2017 and 2018.

The move would mean

Nestle cutting 27% of its Blue

Riband workforce – despite

promising not to make any ‘radi-

cal cost-cutting’, says GMB.

Earlier this month at Nestle’s

AGM, CEO Ulf Mark Schneider

said many companies are “fo-

cusing on radical cost-cutting

to deliver higher profits in the

short-term”.

He added this approach was

“not sustainable”.

But, Eamon O’Hearn, GMB

National Officer, has said: “If

this isn’t radical cost-cutting I

don’t know what is.

“How can Mr Schneider say

one thing at the AGM, then an-

nounce these shocking cuts just

days later?”

It is reported that 31 MPs

have signed an Early Day

Motion calling on the Gov-

ernment to intervene and

work with MPs, trades un-

ions GMB and Unite and the

company to avert these job

losses now and prevent fur-

ther job losses across Nestlé.

Asked to comment about

the job losses, the confec-

tionery giant said:”It is ex-

pected that these would be

achieved through voluntary

redundancies.

“The proposed changes in-

clude amended and standard-

ised shift patterns at each fac-

tory. These proposals are being

made by Nestlé UK to ensure

that these sites operate more ef-

ficiently and remain competi-

tive in a rapidly changing exter-

nal environment.”

Unions slam Nestlé UK’s

decision to move to Poland

Confectionery giant says its needed to remain competitive

Grocery sales on the up

Retail sales growth accelerated in

the year to April, with volumes

rising faster than expected,

according to the latest monthly CBI

Distributive Trades Survey.

The survey showed that the

volume of sales grew at the fastest

pace since September 2015 in the

year to April, with orders placed on

suppliers rising at the strongest rate

for a year-and-a-half.

The grocery performed

particularly strongly, unlike retailers

of specialist food & drink stores,

which reported a second

consecutive month of falling sales.

Meanwhile 69% of wholesalers

reported sales volumes to be up on

last year, while 6% said they were

down.

UK believes in shopping

small and local

A recent survey by Liberis, a UK

alternative finance provider, has

revealed that 8 out of 10 consumers

plan to use independent businesses

in preference to larger businesses

this year. The data further revealed

that 65% were aware that using

a smaller provider can be more

expensive, but responses suggested

that the benefits of doing so

outweighed the increased costs

as 48% still wanted to boost the

local economy and support their

community.

58% of respondents said they

use a grocery and convenience

store the most, with the older

generation, 55 – 64 year olds,

selecting this as their most used

type of independent store.

Weetabix welcomes

£1.4 billion acquisition

The Weetabix Food Company,

owners of one of Britain’s leading

cereal brands, has welcomed the

news that it is to be acquired by

Post Holdings, Inc., a consumer

packaged goods holding company.

The deal values Weetabix at £1.

billion.

The acquisition comes on the

back of the growth in Weetabix’s

UK market share for cereals and

drinks, rising from 15.3% to 16.4%,

in the past year as consumers look

for more convenient breakfast

choices.

The ACS are calling on energy regulator

Ofgem to ensure local shops and other

small businesses are included in

proposals to limit backbilling of

electricity and gas.

At present, suppliers have signed

voluntary agreements to only backbill

domestic consumers for a maximum of 12

months.

Ofgem is looking at whether to

introduce licence obligations for

suppliers, due to the regulator stating

that: “we are not confident that the

principle is being applied consistently

across the market and are concerned that

not all suppliers have appropriate back

billing arrangements in place.”

ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman,

said: “For a retailer, an unexpected

backbill worth thousands of pounds can

be a threat to their business. Many

energy suppliers have taken positive

steps to reduce the impact of backbills by

limiting them to 12 months, as is the case

in the domestic sector.”

“However, a number of energy

companies still refuse to change their

policies and this is simply unacceptable.

We believe that local shops and other

small businesses should be protected by

the same standards of conduct that

govern supplier interaction with

domestic consumers, and that Ofgem

should act swiftly to introduce a licence

condition to limit backbilling to a

maximum of 12 months.”

The current non-domestic backbilling

limits still range from anything up to five

years depending on the supplier.

ACS urges Ofgem to protect

small businesses

At News 4 pages1.indd 6 5/4/2017 8:19:19 AM