I’ve never seen bigger icicles in the UK, I’ve never seen better snow for skiing and sledging, I’ve not seen so many people gathered together having such fun for a long time!
Certainly in the minds of many children – and a lot of adults – that constitutes a fun start to the year, with bigger and better prospects. I think so too.
Many businesses have been “treading water”, for some time now but when the water freezes, then you can walk on it.
The “big freeze” has frozen many businesses and their trading activities even more, than late last year. Traffic at a standstill, fewer shoppers on the high street, all in the midst of a recession. Yet John Lewis, Next and even Marks and Spencer, report record takings.
So what’s the secret? Are we turning the corner of recession? I suppose the answer is, we probably are starting to do so but prices have reduced, many people’s wages have been reduced by their employers, lean thinking is no longer just a “buzz word” to many businesses, it is a necessity and has been fairly fully embraced.
We’ve all suffered but businesses are leaner, cuter, more agile, more customer focused, more customer service aware and more acutely aware of what can happen in the real world.
The “Sales” may not turn out to be as successful as anticipated due to the abnormal weather conditions and that will clearly be an “ill wind” for many but the creativity of many to modify the “Key Success Drivers” of their businesses to cope with the current business climate can only assist sustained improvement.
The “Ambition Club” by Rubicon Developments Limited assists, nurtures and develops the skills needed for managers to succeed and is a partly government funded management and leadership programme.
Those businesses with ambition will succeed – stick with it!
Peter Saunders
Director (Rubicon Developments Limited)
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Reduced VAT on kitchen appliances ? is it justified?
We read continually about energy saving ideas and how to recover hard cash through savings. Couple that with “switching” suppliers and the significant savings make for a very happy consumer. “Switching” however, does little for the environment.
Payback on boiler replacement can be in as little as 4 years, with annual savings reported as high as £200 to £300 pa and something as simple as investing in a hot water cylinder jacket can be recovered in a matter of months.
So what about a new kitchen? Is it wrong to think of such a “big ticket” purchase, in terms of savings and cost recovery?
There are tangible benefits to fitting a new oven, microwave combi, dishwasher, hob and A+/ A++ rated refrigeration equipment.
The consumer can achieve annual savings and reduce chemical usage, hence contributing to environmentally friendly initiatives.
For instance, Siemens appliances offer a “pyroKlean” function, which takes approximately one hour at 2.5kw, costing, say 14p per kw hour. In real terms, this costs about 35pence, with no chemicals! Compare this to more traditional scrubbing – in itself unpleasant and kind to neither hands nor environment, costing about £1.23 when taking into account raw materials and proprietary chemical cleaners, there is a saving of almost 90pence per clean.
An induction hob by Siemens or Gorenje, uses automatic pan recognition to heat only the area of the base of the pan, unlike traditional ceramic hobs, where the red glow around the outside edge of the pan clearly represents the amount of wasted energy.
“Quick Stop” functions on Siemens gas hobs eliminate wasteful use of unnecessary gas and hot water taps, such as “Quooker” and “Insinkerator” by Emerson, totally eliminate random clicking of electric kettles and heating of unused water. That can certainly add up to a considerable saving!
Humidity control on fridges reduces fresh food waste and “four star **** ” freezer compartments allow food to be stored at less than -18 degrees centigrade and for longer periods, reducing food waste.
Modern state of the art refrigeration electronics, monitor fridge and freezer cycles, saving considerable levels of energy by initiating cycles only when needed.
A+ refrigeration uses up to 25% less energy than A rated and A++ refrigeration appliances are 45% more energy efficient. This means that a Siemens IQ700 “A cool” fridge costs as little to run as £20.17 per annum.
So, can the cost of a new kitchen be linked to “payback” and cost recovery? Can the purchaser be considered to have an “environmental conscience”? You be the judge but new kitchen technology indicates that it can.
I wonder when government will start giving grants for appliances other than boilers? It makes sense. Maybe VAT could be held at 15% on domestic appliances, against a justifiable energy consumption saving?
Peter Saunders
Director
Payback on boiler replacement can be in as little as 4 years, with annual savings reported as high as £200 to £300 pa and something as simple as investing in a hot water cylinder jacket can be recovered in a matter of months.
So what about a new kitchen? Is it wrong to think of such a “big ticket” purchase, in terms of savings and cost recovery?
There are tangible benefits to fitting a new oven, microwave combi, dishwasher, hob and A+/ A++ rated refrigeration equipment.
The consumer can achieve annual savings and reduce chemical usage, hence contributing to environmentally friendly initiatives.
For instance, Siemens appliances offer a “pyroKlean” function, which takes approximately one hour at 2.5kw, costing, say 14p per kw hour. In real terms, this costs about 35pence, with no chemicals! Compare this to more traditional scrubbing – in itself unpleasant and kind to neither hands nor environment, costing about £1.23 when taking into account raw materials and proprietary chemical cleaners, there is a saving of almost 90pence per clean.
An induction hob by Siemens or Gorenje, uses automatic pan recognition to heat only the area of the base of the pan, unlike traditional ceramic hobs, where the red glow around the outside edge of the pan clearly represents the amount of wasted energy.
“Quick Stop” functions on Siemens gas hobs eliminate wasteful use of unnecessary gas and hot water taps, such as “Quooker” and “Insinkerator” by Emerson, totally eliminate random clicking of electric kettles and heating of unused water. That can certainly add up to a considerable saving!
Humidity control on fridges reduces fresh food waste and “four star **** ” freezer compartments allow food to be stored at less than -18 degrees centigrade and for longer periods, reducing food waste.
Modern state of the art refrigeration electronics, monitor fridge and freezer cycles, saving considerable levels of energy by initiating cycles only when needed.
A+ refrigeration uses up to 25% less energy than A rated and A++ refrigeration appliances are 45% more energy efficient. This means that a Siemens IQ700 “A cool” fridge costs as little to run as £20.17 per annum.
So, can the cost of a new kitchen be linked to “payback” and cost recovery? Can the purchaser be considered to have an “environmental conscience”? You be the judge but new kitchen technology indicates that it can.
I wonder when government will start giving grants for appliances other than boilers? It makes sense. Maybe VAT could be held at 15% on domestic appliances, against a justifiable energy consumption saving?
Peter Saunders
Director
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Get ready to roll! Roll back VAT to 15%
The turn of the year is usually the time, when many of us look to new opportunities, new starts, new resolutions and unfortunately, new debts.
These are unfortunate times in some respects but in other respects, offer bountiful opportunities for bargains. Business is tight so discounts are a permanent high street feature, rather than the “one off” rush, normally witnessed at the January sales.
A couple of things have crept stealth like upon us, though. Currency exchange rates and VAT increasing to 17.5% from the reduced level of 15%. We all got used to it, didn’t we?
For a “big ticket” purchase, 2.5% represents a lot of money! Couple that with a foreign holiday and the increased cost, in real terms and it hurts.
Rubicon Developments are involved in the “Home Improvement” industry, through their installation division and also associated retailers and suppliers, such as “Katherine Cavendish Fitted Interiors”, “Bauformat”, “Burger”, “Lechner”, “Siemens”, “Gorenje” to name but a few. The overseas manufacturing element of this impacts further on the back of a weak sterling. “Big Ticket” purchases are the life-blood of this division.
So what do we do? We plan. We forward buy goods and currency, enabling our retail divisions to effectively hold VAT to our customers at 15%, whilst still offering sale discounts of up to 20%.
It’s not easy but as always, innovation is the vehicle, planning is the fuel and training enables us to turn the ignition. Let’s get ready to roll!
Peter Saunders
Director
These are unfortunate times in some respects but in other respects, offer bountiful opportunities for bargains. Business is tight so discounts are a permanent high street feature, rather than the “one off” rush, normally witnessed at the January sales.
A couple of things have crept stealth like upon us, though. Currency exchange rates and VAT increasing to 17.5% from the reduced level of 15%. We all got used to it, didn’t we?
For a “big ticket” purchase, 2.5% represents a lot of money! Couple that with a foreign holiday and the increased cost, in real terms and it hurts.
Rubicon Developments are involved in the “Home Improvement” industry, through their installation division and also associated retailers and suppliers, such as “Katherine Cavendish Fitted Interiors”, “Bauformat”, “Burger”, “Lechner”, “Siemens”, “Gorenje” to name but a few. The overseas manufacturing element of this impacts further on the back of a weak sterling. “Big Ticket” purchases are the life-blood of this division.
So what do we do? We plan. We forward buy goods and currency, enabling our retail divisions to effectively hold VAT to our customers at 15%, whilst still offering sale discounts of up to 20%.
It’s not easy but as always, innovation is the vehicle, planning is the fuel and training enables us to turn the ignition. Let’s get ready to roll!
Peter Saunders
Director
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Christmas - Is it over?
Due to the bad weather preventing me getting the car off the drive since about New Year’s Eve, I’ve taken to walking and using public transport quite a lot.
I’ve been amazed by the number of people I’ve heard referring to the “Christmas Break” and saying things like....”I’m glad it’s over!” and “I don’t miss it!”
Bearing in mind the tremendous build up, the amount spent by us all, the welcome holiday with the family, I ask myself “Why?”. I know Christmas can’t go on forever but surely there’s more to the whole thing than a post Christmas series of regrets?
Times are bad for many, at the moment, both commercially and personally, as money is tight and jobs are lost but based on the premise, that there are no problems, only opportunities, we should feel reflective, renewed and energised after Christmas.
Without putting aside the real reason for Christmas, which we shouldn’t forget, January presents a time for fresh thinking, renewed energy and extra challenges. This time of year, as always, even 2010 years ago, presents a fantastic opportunity, so let’s not, as then, waste it through disbelief and doubt.
It’s “SALE TIME!”..... let’s be creative, forward thinking and plan for the future. It’s a time when we should not just look after ourselves but others, too. Training plans can be part of that ethic.
Develop a “20-20” vision in “20-10”.
Peter Saunders
Director
I’ve been amazed by the number of people I’ve heard referring to the “Christmas Break” and saying things like....”I’m glad it’s over!” and “I don’t miss it!”
Bearing in mind the tremendous build up, the amount spent by us all, the welcome holiday with the family, I ask myself “Why?”. I know Christmas can’t go on forever but surely there’s more to the whole thing than a post Christmas series of regrets?
Times are bad for many, at the moment, both commercially and personally, as money is tight and jobs are lost but based on the premise, that there are no problems, only opportunities, we should feel reflective, renewed and energised after Christmas.
Without putting aside the real reason for Christmas, which we shouldn’t forget, January presents a time for fresh thinking, renewed energy and extra challenges. This time of year, as always, even 2010 years ago, presents a fantastic opportunity, so let’s not, as then, waste it through disbelief and doubt.
It’s “SALE TIME!”..... let’s be creative, forward thinking and plan for the future. It’s a time when we should not just look after ourselves but others, too. Training plans can be part of that ethic.
Develop a “20-20” vision in “20-10”.
Peter Saunders
Director
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