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Phil Smith, the former head of Musgrave Budgens Londis, used to advise his retail members that there was no profit for his wholesale arm in shipping stock to stores. The profit came from its buying skills. Getting the correct products at the correct prices that will sell through the shops of their members. I have reviewed a number of books this year from people who spend their lives watching shoppers and conclude that no selling takes place in store. But surely the independent retailer has to be a good salesperson, you may object. The answer is yes. Life’s a pitch: What the world’s best sales people can teach us all by Philip Delves Broughton (£8.99 from Amazon) is a book that will reaffirm that yes and that will inspire you to grow your business. Broughton is a journalist and he skilfully weaves together a tale incorporating most of the sales canon, including mention of Earl Nightingale and his secret that you become what you think about. As a journalist, Broughton has co

It is a Catch 22 situation. The margin on a pack of premium cigarettes sold at recommended retail price is overwhelmed by the sheer size of the government's tax take to the point where some retailers say they cannot borrow money cheaply enough to cover the cost of their stockholding. Using a pack of Lambert and Butler as an example, Amal Pramanik, general manager of Imperial Tobacco UK, told wholesalers last week that 81 per cent of its £7.19 selling price was taken in excise duties and VAT, leaving just £1.42 to be shared out by the manufacturer and retailers. On value brands, the government was taking as much as 88 per cent of the selling price. Well aware that retailers are criticising his company for the low margins, Mr Pramanick says that retailers should look at their margin against the net sales price after stripping out government duty. On L&B this works out at 37p, which has increased by 33 per cent over the past five years. It is a tiny 5.1 per cent margin on the

How does a man whom poverty drove into work at the age of 12 and who is now the fifth richest man in the world think? And what can you learn from him? Amancio Ortega is worth $31 billion according to Forbes but The Man from Zara , Covadonga O’Shea’s often brilliant story of his business career unpicks his retail secrets. There are two reasons to read this book: ·         Firstly if to be inspired by a retail genius ·         Secondly to imitate his ideas on being a successful leader. O’Shea structures the book around a series of interviews with Ortega and many of his key staff. A highly secretive man, Ortega commands loyalty from all who know him well. O’Shea writes clearly and layers detail across the book so that you need to engage with every chapter. Doing so is worthwhile as you build an understanding of how to be successful. Ortega’s career was sparked by a grocer refusing his mother credit when he was a child at her side. Humiliated, he went to work, found emp

"We want to be part of the debate," Martin Southgate, managing director of the UK arm of tobacco manufacturer JTI said last week as he introduced the start of a £2m campaign against plans for standardised packaging of tobacco in the UK. Removing the ability of tobacco companies to promote their brands on their packets is a serious threat to the tobacco companies. The winners, Mr Southgate said, will be the criminals. "We are taking a stand because we are fighting for the legitimate part of our industry; the part that is now being put under threat by the other part: the criminal part," he said. High taxes create the profit opportunity. Display bans make the boot of a car an attractive sales outlet. Plain packaging makes counterfeit goods easy. JTI's campaign started by pointing out two things. Firstly, that there was no evidence to suggest that plain packs would reduce tobacco consumption. Secondly, that Better Regulation rules adopted by the UK governmen

Analysts from ING helped to push the share price of Tesco down 1 per cent on 4 July by suggesting that it has its strategy wrong. Their prognosis is not new. For a couple of years, various analysts have said that Tesco needs to start a price war. What are they looking at? At a price gap between Asda and Tesco, which they say is widening. "We feel that deeper price cuts are the only way to prevent Tesco customers from switching to Asda," ING says. "Ultimately, lower prices should lead to higher volumes, higher sales and higher profits, which in turn can be reinvested in lower prices." ING says that if Tesco continues on its current track it will be unable to convince "Tesco-tired customers" to come back to the store. The analysis is like the rain-laden clouds that have soaked Britain all this summer. It is a known unknown that makes business planning difficult. What investment decisions should a local retailer make? What should your wholesale suppli

Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the ban on smoking in public places, the Guardian published a well written leader celebrating this policy as almost cost-free and that could save untold numbers of lives. This neatly encapsulates the seductive power of anti-smoking measures in the minds of MPs. The second claim - saving lives - could perhaps be better stated as prolonging lives. Moving swiftly on, the newspaper says that it took 60 years for a "smoking ban" to be introduced. The Guardian has a reputation for grammatical errors. Perhaps this is shorthand for "smoking in public places ban". However, it goes on to discuss how single-issue campaigns on things like seatbelts and lead-free petrol worked. Professional awareness, campaigns for public awareness, industry reaction, then finally government action. What is next? Alcohol and obesity, the Guardian says. The government, it says, is trying to avoid taking action by passing