Prepare for Brexit | BUSINESS ADVICE


POST-BREXIT Are you ready for business


Confi dence has improved since the general election and Brexit is going ahead, but retailers need to know just how it may affect their business and what they can do to plan for it


T


he people have spoken and we have a Government with a large majority. With an upending of traditional voting patterns, Boris Johnson managed to secure Brexit and the UK left the European Union at the end of January. However, the Government may not agree a trading agreement with the EU and the transitional phase will cease at the end of 2020, no matter what.


The EU typically takes six to seven years to agree a trade deal, however. And worryingly, a recent Telegraph article suggested that the EU may give the UK tougher trade terms than Canada, Japan and other leading nations.


If the UK fails to secure a good trading agreement, no one knows what that may mean. One thing is certain, retailers will need to make sure they are ready.


They may face price hikes and supply chain disruption and will need to plan ahead to keep their customers happy.


April 2020 · real Secure supplies


With so many of the KBB products we sell in the UK being imported from the EU, the fi rst concern relates to the free movement of goods, especially with retailers engaged on projects


that can span 10 weeks – Lee, a any


worsening of that will cause customer friction. Andrew


consultant at Expense Reduction Analysts, is also worried about the


potential for disruption at the ports. While he’s hoping that


“nothing material happens


overnight other than perhaps documentation requirements”, businesses need to ready themselves for the risk of delayed deliveries. On a more optimistic note, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the chief of the French channel ports, was reported by iNews as saying that little will happen if both sides do their homework: “There are certain individuals in the UK who are whipping up this catastrophism for their own purposes. This has provoked a lot of concern, but basically ‘c’est la bullshit’. Nothing is going to happen the day after Brexit. Britain will be a third country, that’s all, and there is no reason why this should lead to any problems.” But if Puissesseau is right and if goods continue to fl ow freely, Lee warns that tariffs on imports after the transitional period may cause price pressure. Customer expectations should be managed and retailers would do well to liaise with suppliers as that day approaches.


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