KFC, house buyers, UK GDP, British Gas, Jamie’s & Byron Burger: your commercial news round-up
updated on 23 February 2018
The unthinkable happened this week; KFC ran out of chicken! With the doors of most of its branches firmly shut, thousands of disgruntled consumers had to take their fried poultry habits elsewhere. The supply chain shambles was a masterclass in what can happen to a business that decides to go with a cheap option (in this case, swapping from Bidvest to DHL for it deliveries), to the detriment of its profits. For more delectable business news, here is our lovingly-selected selection:
- Would-be homeowners in the middle-income, 25-34 bracket seem to be the hardest hit by sky-high property prices, with this group’s ability to purchase their own homes at the lowest level in two decades.
- UK economic growth has been revised downwards, but only slightly – it was thought that in the period October-December 2017 GDP was 0.5%, whereas it has been revealed to be just 0.4%, and an annual figure for 2017 of just 1.7%. It puts the UK squarely at the bottom of the G7 countries in terms of growth.
- The owner of British Gas, Centrica, is making cuts of up to 4,000 jobs as part of a £1.2 billion cost-cutting regime that it blames on the government’s energy cap and a highly competitive market.
- Finally, back to food – this is an interesting read on why mid-market chains such as Jamie’s Italian and Byron Burger are closing branches left, right and centre; what is going on in this part of the restaurant sector?
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