comment: Retra
“We are now competing with many other sectors for the consumers’ disposable income”
W
e know historically that it always goes quiet this time of year, with
the notable exception of the Covid years. The market is challenging, down as much as 25% in some areas. Inflation remains stubbornly high, which brings with it the prospect of more interest rate rises. Energy costs are still significantly higher than
pre- pandemic and look set to remain so. Many members say that they expected business
to be difficult this summer and cite the gains we made in recent years as a contributing factor. Consumers are being hit with record food inflation, significant mortgage hikes and effective price increases across the board. What is interesting is that not the whole of society is impacted to the same degree. Those that are mortgage free and have savings are in many cases better off each month. There is still a significant amount of additional
savings, estimated at £200 billion, in consumers’ pockets thanks to Covid. It isn’t evenly spread so we have winners and losers as far as the demographics go. As an industry we are now competing with many other sectors for the consumers’ disposable income. Back in Covid times, there was little that people could spend their money on, and their home became a priority. There can be little doubt that we brought sales forward and that eventually the rest of the economy would reopen. Ryanair reported that June was its busiest
ever. Having said all of that, we do have some members who report that business is still good. The mid to top end appears to be holding up well where members serve the “grey” Pound. Forecasters are saying that the second half of
the year will see some improvement and that with luck we will still avoid a recession so we must remain optimistic.
Energy litigation claim I mentioned earlier that energy prices remain high and will continue to do so. We were contacted recently by a lady called Jacklin Young, who works for a legal company called Harcus Parker, which is pursuing an energy litigation claim through the courts. The case centres around undisclosed
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www.ierdaily.co.uk Retra Conference, Delegates chatting
commissions paid to agents by the big energy suppliers. This is alleged to have happened to many small businesses as the business energy market is not regulated the same as it is for consumers. If someone acted as your agent or advised you to go with one supplier over another, it is very possible that the agent received a commission which you were unaware of. Harcus Parker is funding a case and is looking
for people to sign up with them. It is like the emissions claim on diesel vehicles. If you think you may have a claim, you can contact Harcus Parker at
energyliligation.com. Just a word of caution. It operates on a no win
no fee basis, but takes about a third of any award you receive. There is also the possibility that if they lose the case then some of the costs would be shared between the claimants. Jacklin tells me she is extremely confident that they will win the case, but please do read all the T’s and C’s before deciding if you sign up. With business being a little slow for many, now is the perfect time to sign up staff to the Retra e-learning platform. Three are many modules available with new ones just being launched. All the details are on the Retra website, and the
training is completely free to members.
2023 Retra Conference Finally, I want to encourage you to attend this year’s Retra Conference. It is being held at The Double Tree by Hilton, Coventry on October 17. The theme is “A Sustainable Industry”. Our keynote speaker will be Steve Fowler,
the editor of Auto Express. Steve will take us through the whole switch to electric vehicles and how this will affect businesses like ours. Once again, our host for the day is Declan
Curry. Other speakers include Andrew Goodacre [BIA CEO], Robert Williamson from Symphony Kitchens, Nick Simon [GFK], Paul Hide [Amdea ] and many more. On the evening before the conference
there will be a welcome dinner which is free to anyone attending conference the next day. Full details of how to book are on the Retra website or you can e-mail Pat Sheldrake on pat. sheldrake @
retra.co.uk. There are some limited free places still available to Retra members [one per company] so if you would like to join us at the conference, please book as soon as you can to hopefully qualify for one of the free places.
July/August 2023
Howard Saycell, chief executive atRetra, says that summer is finally here with all the traditional elements that make a UK one so special – flooding, hosepipe bans, strikes and, of course, a drop in business in our industry
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