Former Marks & Spencer boss Sir Richard Greenbury had clearly had enough this week. Fed up with the media’s attempts to pick the bad news about the business out of every bit of good, he hit back.
“M&S is going to have a terrible year,” he said sarcastically. “It is forecast to make only £650m profit.”
Greenbury was quoted in a Sunday Times article that encapsulated the stuff he was reacting to. It included positive consumer comment about the retailer’s new products and mentioned its £700m investment plans, but the overall implication was that M&S was going to hell in a handcart. It was full of dire predictions from analysts and said the business was vulnerable to a takeover, possibly by one of the Russian oligarchs who organise UK politicians’ yachting trips.
The premise was that, regardless of market conditions, anything less than continued growth at M&S was a failure. But the reality, as Greenbury said, is that damage limitation in the present climate is an achievement.
Similar views were expressed at the Interbuild and W8 exhibitions last week. Exhibitor and visitor numbers were lower, but that was hardly a surprise given the state of the construction industry. The good news is that, while we got some negative comments, attendance held up better than anticipated and exhibitors said the people who did turn
up were there to do business. So the world didn’t stop spinning and the corridors were not blowing with tumbleweed. As one timber trader joked: “I came to the shows with low expectations, but they exceeded them!”
TRADA broke some more good news during the show, that the Wood for Gold 2012 Olympics timber lobbying initiative had held positive talks with Olympics minister Tessa Jowell about the use of timber and wood products in Games developments – even a project to use wood fuel to fire the Olympic lantern! In itself, this may not be the light at the end of the tunnel we’re all looking for but, as another profitable retailer says, every little helps.
