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> > I N D U S T R Y N E W S
S N I P P E T S
VAT INCREAS E
MPA PARTNERS WITH VATRATERESTORATION“LUDICROUS”
YELL.COM
Anewinternetcontentpartnership ArcadiabossSirPhilipgreenhas followingachangeintheVATrate. The doneatimewhenstaffshouldbe
withYell.com,theUK'slocalsearch brandedtheproposedJanuary1st BritishRetailConsortiumhasbeen focusedonservingcustomers.
engineforUKbusinesslistings,will VATincrease“ludicrous”.Retailersthe campaigningforextraflexibilityanda “Asituationwheresome‘old’shelf
allowtheMasterPhotographers UKoverarecampaigningagainstthe tolerantapproachtoenforcement, pricesmaybelessthanthe‘new’price
Association(MPA)tohelp Government’sexistingplantoreinstate pointingoutthatreversaloflastyear’s acustomerisaskedtopayatthetill
consumerstogetqualityinformation the17.5%VATrateon1stJanuary. VATcutwillcomeduringmostretailers’ couldbemoredifficultthanlast
onchoosingawedding Whilsttheincreaseitselfisnotwidely busiestandmostimportanttimeofthe December’sreversescenario.
photographer,viatheYell.com opposed,thedatecouldnotcomeata year.DirectorofBusinessEnvironment “Retailerswillbedoingtheirutmostto
website.Thepartnershipwillsee worsetimeasfarasmostretailersand TomIronsidesaid:“Thisisawelcome getthejobdoneasquicklyas
articlesgivingadviceand indeedmostconsumersare indication thattheGovernmentcould possible.ButIurgetheGovernmentto
informationdevelopedbyMPA concerned. giveretailerstheextraflexibilitywe’ve followthroughonthisconsultationand
featuringwithinspecialeditorial SirPhiliptoldTheTimesthathehoped beencallingfor.Repricingtensof ensureretailershavethetimethey
capsulesthatappearontheright theGovernmentwouldseethatthis thousandsofitemsisamammothand needandaren’tunfairlypenalised
handsideofYell.com'sresultpages. movewouldbeunwiseforeconomic costlytaskandithastobe whilethisworkisbeingcarriedout.”
recoveryandpostponeit.“Let’sjustbe
sensible.One,two,three,fourweeks CUSTOMER SERVICE
LET IT SNOW, LET IT laterwouldn’tchangeanybody’slife
SNOW, LET IT SNOW anditwouldcreatealotofgoodwill.”
CUTTINGCOSTSOR
Thehighstreetshouldhaveits OnFriday,TheGovernment
fingerscrossedforacoldsnap. Not announceditistoconsultonan
justprovidingaboostforclothing amendmenttothePriceMarking
CUTTING CORNERS?
retailers,adropintemperatureis Orderwhichwouldgiveretailersmore
ATHIRDOFORGANISATIONSHAVESLASHEDCUSTOMER
essentialforconsumerstogetthat timetochangethelabels.
SERVICETRAININGTHISYEAR–BUTWITHCHRISTMASLOOMING,
‘Christmassy’feelingandgetthem Thelawcurrentlygivesretailersjust
SURELYTHISCANONLYSPELLTROUBLEATTHETILLS?
buyingpresents. twoweekstoadjusteveryprice
The“slashandburn”approachtocost companieswithareputationforservice
cuttingcoulddamagerelationshipswith excellenceandcommittedfrontlinestaff
customersatatimewhencompetitionis havea24%highernetprofitmargin
fierceandhighsatisfactionlevelsare thansame-sectorrivalswhodonot
vitaltosurvival. Followingarecentpoll enjoysimilarstanding,andcanachieve
bytheInstituteofCustomerService,we 71%moreprofitperemployee. The
canseethat30%oforganisations goodnewsfromthepollisthatonein
surveyedhavecutinvestmentincustomer fiveorganisationsincreasedinvestment
servicetrainingand21%havelaidoff incustomerserviceandafifthsaidthe
customer-facingstaffin2009. Thatis recessionhadnoeffectontheir
despitetheInstitute’sresearchthat businessplans.
PRO SHOW
CANON’S PROSHOW
Canon’sProphotoSolutionsshowwas portfolioreviewswithadistinguished
heldlastweekattheBusinessDesign panel.Studiopresentationscovered
Centre,Islington. topicssuchasshootingwithavailable
Heldon27thand28thOctober,the light,onandoffcameraflash,
showwasdesignedtoenableCanon wirelessstudioshooting,andlarge
toshowprofessionalphotographers formatprint,andavailableproducts
howthebrandcanprovidea includedcameras,lenses,broadcast
completeworkflowsolution. 39 lensesandprovideocamcorders,
seminarswereheldoverthetwodays throughtoproinkjetandlarge
from18industryexperts.Therewere formatprinters,projectors,paper
alsootherdisplaysandattractions, andink.
includinga120degreecamerarig ExhibitorsincludedApple,Adobe,
fromTimeslicefilmsusedtocreate Wacom,Lexar,OnOne,Sandisk,
frozentimeeffects,firstseeninthe Bogen,MitsubishiandProPhoto.
movieTheMatrix.Theshowwas MembersoftheEOSProfessional
specificallydesignedwitha Networkofretailers,likeCalumet
professionalphotographer’sneedsin Photographic,ParkCameras,ASK
mid,withlockersforthosecarrying andJacobsDigitalalsoattendedthe
theirequipmentorbuyingnew,and show.
06PIXEL
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