Dr Pamela Robinson, Lecturer in Comparative Employment Relations in the Department of Strategy and International Business and member of the GCV Research Cluster has been busy in the media recently, appearing on radio and television broadcasts to provide commentary on two of the big news stories to come out of the grocery sector.
The first concerns the super-complaint brought against UK supermarkets by consumer group Which?, which accuses major chains of employing misleading pricing tactics, including “dodgy multi-buys, shrinking products and baffling sales offers.” The complaint alledges that, as a result of these tactics, shoppers are collectively losing out on hundreds of millions of pounds. Pamela offered insight into this issue on both BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday 20 April.
The following day Pamela appeared on Ian King Live, a Sky News segment that features the latest big stories in business and economics. The story in question concerned Tesco having reported the worst results in its history with a record statutory pre-tax loss of £6.4 billion for the year to the end of February. It is the biggest loss suffered by a UK retailer and one of the largest in the country's corporate history. Whilst the loss will be a major concern for the retailer, Pamela - a former Tesco Executive - put a more positive spin on the situation, stating that this news marks a point at which Tesco and new Chief Executive Dave Lewis can "re-calibrate and move forward", with some recovery already apparent.
- View the Sky News segment 'Checking out the future' here