Cooking on gas

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 23, 2009 7:59 AM

Are you tired of the constant threat of losing your job as you are told the recession is about to bite even harder?

Here's the answer to all your problems....

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Where did it all go wrong?

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 22, 2009 10:59 AM

THERE'S been a lot of guff written in the national press this week about why Newcastle United's downfall could be down to the fantastical ambitions of the club's fans.

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Thinking Digital

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 13, 2009 5:14 PM

If last year's event is anything to go by, visitiors to the Thinking Digital conference at The Sage are in for a mind-blowing experience this week.

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Money for nothing

Posted by Andrew Mernin on April 8, 2009 11:51 AM

I can't seem to leave them alone these days - Kazakhstani metals that is.

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Funding drought fuels failure

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 19, 2009 5:20 PM

A VERY public spat between a TV chef and a bank could be a microcosm of the current experiences being endured by our army of small businesses.

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Aussie observations

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 5, 2009 2:32 PM

LAST Friday I found myself in weather-related travel network chaos, caused, not by a blanket of snow, but by searing heat.

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A thin slice of hope

Posted by Andrew Mernin on January 8, 2009 10:18 AM

SOMEWHERE within the clouds of gloom emanating from the high street yesterday was at least a glimmer of positive news.

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Escaping the crunch

Tags:
credit crunch

Posted by Andrew Mernin on December 18, 2008 10:16 AM

IF SOMEONE asked me to describe 2008 in two words, I'd say "credit crunch".

And hopefully that would be the last time I'd have to use that awful phrase for a while at least.

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Happy Christmas from HSBC

Posted by Andrew Mernin on December 17, 2008 6:05 PM

THE award for the biggest corporate scrooge on the high street goes to HSBC.

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Corporate Christmas

Tags:
Christmas

Posted by Andrew Mernin on November 20, 2008 1:42 PM

I've done some pretty degrading things in my working life - handing out tissues on the streets of Japan and screwing lids on to vinegar bottles in a factory in Leeds are two notable career low-points.

But neither of these harrowing experiences come close to the plight of Starbucks' embattled workforce.

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Vikings to the rescue

Tags:
Norway

Posted by Andrew Mernin on November 14, 2008 10:51 AM

A POSTER outside a Bigg Market nightspot has confirmed what all of us feared - we are now definitely in a recession.

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Business in the bush

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 17, 2008 12:27 PM

WHEN I first heard that Ray Mears would be talking to North East businesses about surviving the current economic climate, I initially pictured cheesy and tenuous links between life in the Amazon and corporate jungle.

Slogans such as "only the strongest survive" "eat or be eaten" and Alan Partridge-style affirmations like "I'm a tiger" immediately sprang to mind.

How wrong I was.

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The Rock rolls on

Posted by Andrew Mernin on August 22, 2008 2:42 PM

It may be almost a year since Northern Rock's plunge into crisis, but the level of opinion in the region over the handling of the situation has certainly not died down.

When the North East institution went cap-in-hand to the Bank of England, we saw the first run on the bank for a hundred years as every media man and his dog camped up in the region to pore over the failings of the Rock.

Eleven months on, the nation's interest in the situation may be fading, but here in the North East the crisis will not be allowed to go quietly into the night.

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Going down the garden...

Posted by Andrew Mernin on July 23, 2008 3:35 PM

WHEN I was knee-high to a grasshopper the boredom of Sunday afternoons was not complete without a seemingly endless episode of The Waltons.

Time almost stood still as the trials and tribulations of Jim Bob, John Boy and Mary Ellen played out on the small screen - although at least it prolonged Monday morning and the school work that came with it.

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Rules of engagement

Tags:
ebay

Posted by Andrew Mernin on July 14, 2008 5:28 PM

LAST month I set about creating my own retail empire.

After rummaging under my bed for old football programmes, vinyls and even a t-shirt I won many years ago on a kids TV game show I launched my ebay kingdom.

However, my dreams of becoming the next Mike Ashley - minus the pressure of shareholders and the Alan Smith shirt - were short lived.

As the ten-day selling period drew to a close, I was left with virtually nothing. No late bids came in for the footy merchandise and even the Frank Sinatra record couldn't tempt the online masses into parting with their cash.

In fact I was actually left 90p in the red due to ebay charges, and in a matter of days my online shopping empire had collapsed like a pack of cards.

But apparently I am not alone in my ebay woes. And for some online businesses where the stakes are higher than my tin-pot operation, ebay is becoming an increasingly difficult place to do business.

Last week I spoke to a number of North East entrepreneurs who have built their companies around the internet auction site and the common consensus has been one of frustration.

The main gripe is the fact that buyers can leave negative feedback for sellers but sellers can't do the same in return. According to ebay this rule was introduced to stop people abusing the feedback system and to thwart so-called 'feedback bribery'. For some, however, the new rule puts sellers at a disadvantage.

Other complaints include the increasing difficulty that some dealers are finding in getting their goods on display in other overseas market - mainly the lucrative US territory.

According to ebay this problem is being addressed although it may take a while to persuade some disgruntled punters that the US market has been completely unlocked.

There's no doubt that ebay remains a fantastic online trading tool, especially in these tough economic times when money for old rope can help pay for increasingly expensive fuel and food.

But, for those building a business around the site, the changing rules mean the game may have become that little bit harder.

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Game over?

Posted by Andrew Mernin on June 20, 2008 5:04 PM

In Canada it's 40%, in France it's 20% and in the UK it's precisely 0%. What am I talking about I hear you ask.

Well, as those who visited this week's GameHorizon conference will know, I am of course referring to Government subsidies for video games companies.

Over the last 25 years, through organic growth from several major firms, the UK has slowly but surely established itself at the top of the video games ladder.

Our companies, including a number of North East success stories, have created a reputation that Britain is best when it comes to pixelated fun - a fact which was reaffirmed this year with the release of British-made global phenomenon Grand Theft Auto 4.

However, all these years of hard work could be undone thanks to the UK Government's inability to support one of the country's most lucrative industries.

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Inner Space

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 29, 2008 10:14 AM

Anyone who attended the Thinking Digital conference in Gateshead last week no doubt came away with their heads full of the mind-boggling technological ideas that await us in the future.

There were holographic presentations - like something from a Star Wars film - and even one scientist who predicted that we will one-day live to the age of 1,000.

Another tech expert hailed the end of face-to-face meetings thanks to 'telepresence' while the audience was wowed by a futurologist who believes video games will one day be played in the real world in real time.

But for me the most impressive piece of future technology on display reminded me of the 1980s family film Inner Space.

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Big brother is watching

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 9, 2008 9:35 AM

With every year that passes, our working lives seem to creep closer and closer to the pages of 1984.

From the monitoring of email and internet usage to the recording of phone calls "for training purposes" an increasing number of bosses seem more focused on the surveillance of their staff than watching what their customers are doing.

But now a piece of legislation is about to come in that is so Orwellian it would make even the thought police proud - welcome to the regime of the National Staff Dismissal Register.

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The revolution

Posted by Andrew Mernin on May 1, 2008 9:29 AM

When I was in short trousers I remember watching a sketch on The Two Ronnies called the worm has turned. The skit was set in a world in complete parallel to 1970s Britain where women ruled supreme and a small band of men tried desperately to cling on to their rights.

What does this have to do with business? I hear you ask.

Well it seems to me that, just as the worm turned on men in The Two Ronnies sketch, the worm is beginning to turn on the corporate giants, as the customer launches its fight back.

Last week a High Court judge confirmed what bank customers have been arguing for years - that bank charges are unfair and we no longer deserve to be hit in the pocket for going over our overdraft limit.

It is still up to the Office of Fair Trading to assess the situation, but it looks as though last week's ruling will pave the way for customers to win back the fees they have paid.

Meanwhile, as two oil giants posted record-breaking profits this week, truck drivers staged a protest in London's Park Lane, blaring their horns to protest a 30% climb in the price of diesel over the past year.

Shell and BP may have shrugged off any criticism they received, but at least the customer is finding its voice and it could only be a matter of time before the fuel firms are forced to listen.

Anyone looking to join the customer revolution, but needs inspiration on where to start, need look no further than comedian Dom Joly's new TV show The Complainers.

The show consists of various big businesses and institutions getting it in the neck by Mr Joly and friends largely by giving them a taste of their own medicine.

One campaign involves the traffic warden’s warden – armed with an in-depth parking rule book he stops wardens in their tracks by uncovering illegally marked parking spots which, by law, can not be used to enforce fines.

Train operators and call centre companies are also among Joly’s other numerous targets.

To join the revolution watch Channel Five, Monday night at 10pm.

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The secret's out

Posted by Andrew Mernin on April 17, 2008 9:48 AM

It's official. Women can't keep secrets. And what's more, they are prepared to give away private information with the lure of nothing more than a chocolate bar. But don't shoot the messenger. This isn't me being sexist, this is according to the latest survey by a top research body with too much time on its hands.

A survey by Infosecurity Europe found that women are far more likely to give away their computer passwords to total strangers than men.

Apparently 45% of women versus 10% of men were prepared to give away their password to strangers masquerading as market researchers with the lure of a chocolate bar as an incentive for filling in the survey.

The research also asked for workers names and telephone numbers so that they could be entered into a draw to go to Paris, with this incentive 60% of men and 62% of women gave up their contact information.

So there it is - proof if it were needed - that men are more trustworthy than women.

Admittedly the survey should be taken with a pinch of salt as only 576 people were questioned but it also highlighted the dangers of internet security, or lack of it.

To read the full report click on the link below.

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The future's bright

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 19, 2008 9:24 AM

AS news that 2,000 Northern Rock workers will lose their jobs broke, almost every member of the region's business support network threw its name into the 'we can help' hat.

The announcement, which we've been fearing since last autumn, had barely hit the newsstands before One NorthEast launched its rapid response unit aimed at putting the Rock's redundant into work.

At the same time, the CBI revealed it had been meeting with a number of regional stakeholders to "find the best response" for the region.

Meanwhile various other pillars of business society came forward and gave their two cents on what's to be done to find work for the unlucky third of the Rock's North East team.

It looks as though the response team will tout former Rock employees to finance and other admistrative companies in and around Newcastle and there will certainly be no shortage of takers.

Apparently there are currently 1,100 jobs openings in our finance sector and this looks set to rise thanks to Newcastle Building Society, which will create 500 new jobs in the next few years.

But what I wonder is where does this leave the many recruitment agencies in the region? With the weight of government and business leaders focusing on absorbing 2,000 people into the job market, the middle man will effectively be cut out and agencies will be redundant as job openings which may have been on their books, are filled.

For Northern Rock employees - who have been exemplary in keeping their heads while all around them have lost theirs - the future may be uncertain.

But given the help at hand and our buoyant job market, there are positive signs and there could be a feeding frenzy among finance businesses looking to snap up the Rock's experienced, loyal staff.

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Well-baked success

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 12, 2008 9:21 AM

Last year, as one Geordie institution spiralled into crisis, another rose from the ashes to report record-breaking profits.

As vultures from the nation's press descended on the North East to pick over the bones of the Northern Rock crisis, snack giant Greggs was continuing its rapid recovery from a poor 2006, and yesterday the baker delivered a 27.1% increase in profits for 2007.

Last year I was lucky enough to go on a guided tour of the Greggs factory in Gosforth, which for a steak bake-addict like me was exciting to say the least.

Ok, so it wasn't exactly a savoury snack version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inhabited by little orange men and sausage roll trees, but it certainly was an eye-opener.

One thing that quickly became apparent from our guide was that the factory had changed very little over the years and the baking process remained similar to how it has always been. Stotties are still made the same way they have been for generations and cakes are still iced by hand.

But one thing that worries a pasty lover like me is for how long Greggs' well-baked success story can continue.

As the Government strives to nanny us into a healthy state by tackling obesity, alcohol problems and smoking-related diseases, how long before cakes and pasties are on the hit list?

Prices are already set to rise because of the growing cost of ingredients but within a few years, we could see pasties and cakes follow fuel and alcohol as goods that are taxed because they are bad for us or our environment.

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One lump or two?

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 6, 2008 1:06 PM

According to a radio phone-in I heard this morning, detectives make the best cup of tea. Apparently finding the perfect blend between tea, milk and sugar is a vital tool in coaxing a suspect into a confession and tea-making goes alongside clue-spotting as one of the key skills of the real life Dalziels (and Pascoes). But in other professions perhaps the importance of a hot milky brew is often overlooked. Take the example from Teesside we reported on this morning.
Up to 300 construction workers walked off site at Sabic after an alleged row over tea-making.
Staff downed tools after freezing conditions meant there was no water to boil a kettle. Perhaps this a lesson to bosses everywhere - never underestimate what a cuppa, or the lack of one, can do for staff morale.

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Awards season

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 4, 2008 10:10 AM

It may not have been as incident-filled as the Brit Awards - with Sharon Osborne berating a far-from-sober Vic Reeves and Amy Winehouse making her comeback from rehab - but last week's North East business awards were certainly entertaining.

Ok, so host Wendy Gibson may not have caused as much controversy as Ozzie's missus but her slick presenting skills coupled with hilarious gags from funnyman Nick Davies made for a cracking night all round.

One observation made by the Mancunian comic was how divided the North East is geographically. "The Tyne is hardly the Orinocco" he said to express his confusion at why Newcastle and Gateshead are separate cities.

He also brought up the true story of the Geordie granny who woke up with a Jamaican accent - remember her?

But away from the stage, down among the sea of tuxedos and black dresses, one thing that struck me was the sheer diversity of businesses on show - and this was just the Tyneside and Northumberland heat of the awards.

Alongside international industrial giants like Wellstream, there were drug discovery companies, a firm which makes hi-tech sensors and various nanotechnology groups.

We've certainly come a long way since the demise of our great industries under the Iron Lady's reign.

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The nutty professor

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 28, 2008 1:31 PM

Are you a budding Edison or Einstein with an idea that will change the world? Good news. One of Britain's most brilliant inventors is coming your way.

Yesterday I met Trevor Baylis, inventor of the clockwork radio, over a plate of mince and dumplings at a science and technology conference.

And the man who told me "inventors are not anoraks or lunatics" wants to bring his empire to the North East.

He runs a company dedicated to helping inventors bring their brainchilds to market and is hoping to unearth the next big thing on our patch.

A video of Trevor at yesterday's event is available by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/interactive-business/videos-and-pictures/

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A Mars a day...

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 28, 2008 11:13 AM

After 13 years, the slogan 'A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play' is making a comeback. But surely under the Trade Descriptions Act, a product which contains caffeine and is loaded with sugar, helps you do anything but rest.

Anyway, this got me thinking of other advertising slogans which don't match the products they are trying to sell.

In my personal experience, HSBC's "It doesn't matter where you are but who you are" takes the biscuit. Try accessing your HSBC account at your 'local' HSBC branch in Dubai and you'll see what I mean.

I prefer more honest slogans, like a poster I once saw at an airport: "Visit New Zealand - it's better than Australia."

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Power to the people

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 25, 2008 11:31 AM

Good news for anyone thinking of taking on the might of the high street banks. Apparently the winds of change are in our favour.

Over the last couple of years websites like moneysavingexpert.com have helped thousands of out-of-pocket customers win back bank charges on the grounds that they were disproportionately high. In fact the customer revolution even spurned a pop song with the catchy lyric "I fought the Lloyds and the Lloyds lost".

However the brakes were soon put on the money-back bandwagon once the Government froze all claims until a test case was examined.

The case is still pending but my sources (the bloke who tried to sell me an 'upgraded' but strangely more expensive account at my local branch last week) can reveal that the mood among the bankers is that they are almost certain the test case will decree that the punters deserve their charges back. Roll on the revolution.

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Less red tape please

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 18, 2008 11:11 AM

There was outcry yesterday after the Chamber of Commerce revealed the cost of new regulations to British business since Labour came to power a decade ago has risen to almost £66bn.

To me this seems a phenomenal amount of money and would suggest that the Government has failed in its drive for better regulation.

Surely, 'better regulation' should mean less burden and time-consuming red tape for businesses to deal with, not over-regulation and the introduction of more and more hoops to jump through when setting up a company.

Clearly we don't want to do business in a country where corruption reigns supreme and transparency is non-existent, but by the same token we don't want a situation where, in tough international conditions, we are held back because of rules for rules sake.

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Sharia compliance

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 8, 2008 9:34 AM

It may be some time before Islamic laws become widely accepted by British society as requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, Sharia law is already alive and kicking on these shores in the finance sector.

As the Muslim population of Britain grows, so too does the demand for Sharia-compliant finance packages. The basic characteristics of Islamic insurance and banking services are that you can't earn or pay interest on loans. Also, money can only be invested in worthy causes - this is similar to the western concept of socially responsible investing.

But these finance packages are not purely reserved for specialist Islamic banks. They are fast becoming a lucrative business for global banking giants.

I spent some time working in the Middle East where the major trend was that more and more Western institutions such as Axa Insurance and Barclays were turning their attention towards the rewards of Islamic finance.

There's no doubt this trend has already reached Britain and it may only be a matter of time before every bank on the high street has realised the benefit of catering for Muslim customers.

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The fear factor

Posted by Andrew Mernin on February 6, 2008 9:21 AM

New England football boss Fabio Capello took charge of his first game this week and apparently he has already laid down the law to his players.

The Italian, who has a won a treasure trove of trophies on the continent, reportedly leads with an iron fist and has made it clear that he doesn't want to be best friends with any of the players.

He looks set to instill a climate of fear among his squad and has already issued players with a list of rules as long as Peter Crouch's lanky frame.

But I wonder whether the idea of motivating people through fear works in the daily grind of the business world.

Many moons ago I had a job in the hospitality sector (Ok..I was a waiter), with a head chef so fearsome he could make Fabio Capello look like Mary Poppins.

A dropped plate or mistaken order would be met with a thunderous tirade of abuse not disimilar to a certain foul-mouthed Scottish culinary celebratory.

And his unorthodox management style did seem to work among most of the kitchen staff. His regime of terror served as a major motivating factor which meant most members of staff raised their game to prove him wrong.

However, at the same time, certain people became alienated and apathy ensued as an attitude of' 'don't talk to me like that' set in.

So what do you think is the best motivator in the work place - the Capello 'fear factor' or the Kevin Keegan 'arm round the shoulder' style of management?

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Failed resolutions

Posted by Andrew Mernin on January 8, 2008 12:16 PM

On Friday there were two things I knew were certain to happen over the weekend. Firstly the BBC would show the now infamous Ronnie Radford FA Cup goal for Hereford against Newcastle in 1972.

The Beeb's love of FA Cup giant killing means that every year without fail, they wheel out one of Newcastle United's most embarrassing moments to illustrate the mythical "magic of the cup".

And so, with predictability, I was proved right and they showed it again, again...and again.

The second certainty for me was that a trip to my local on Saturday night would bring an untimely end to my 2008 resolutions. And so, several pints of lager and a stop at the chippy on the way home, once again - unfortunately - proved me right.

Now it's back to the drawing board to find new resolutions which I know I can stick to. At the moment I'm taking the 'reduce my carbon footprint' route, although I'm not really sure where to start.

Only problem is that next week I'm jetting off on holiday - another untimely and unfortunate end to another resolution.

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Making the call

Posted by Andrew Mernin on January 3, 2008 2:42 PM

Apparently yesterday saw the highest level of workplace truants in the calendar year. Some five million people were expected to have called into work sick - a combination of hangovers and January blues were no doubt the biggest culprits although there must have been a few genuine absentees perhaps through Turkey excess or Christmas-pud-itis.

It would be interesting to hear the weird and wonderful range of alibis made by sofa-bound workers across the country yesterday morning as the last remnants of Christmas cheer fizzled into the gloomy skies above.

The tried and tested excuses - doctor, dentist, waiting for a delivery, transport troubles - must have been trotted out in their thousands but there were no doubt some groundbreaking and original excuses concocted to boot.

So what's the most bizarre excuse you've heard or even used yourself? After doing some digging on the web, the best one I found was a man who said he couldn't work as he was beginning to "feel pregnant like my wife".

Also, what techniques do you or your bosses use to cut absentee levels?

I've heard executives talk about using a league table system to shame repeat offenders into turning up for work rather than staying at home with a hangover watching Trisha and Neighbours. What other techniques have you come across?

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Dragons' Den

Posted by Andrew Mernin on December 18, 2007 10:40 AM

I'm going to have to find something else to fill the void on a Monday night. Last night saw the end of BBC Two's brilliant Dragons' Den series.

Over the past nine weeks the sublime and ridiculous business ideas have been pitched to Britain's most no-nonsense venture capitalists.

My favourite moment was when one chap desperately tried to pass off little more than a sewn-up sheet as a potentially profitable device for carrying Christmas trees without dropping needles on your carpet.

The only problem with the Tidy Tree Sack was that it cost just as much as the average tree. And isn't hoovering up needles all part of the festive season - a sign that Christmas is coming to an end for another year?

Anyway, last night's episode also saw a first for Bannatyne and his well-heeled mates. Two young inventors pitched their unique two-in-one water carrier and purifier aimed at people in disaster-hit and poverty stricken areas. The pair needed £50,000 of investment. And guess what? All five dragons had a whip-round and put in £10,000 each. And so, for the first time, all five luminaries will be involved together on a business venture.

Now a cynical hack like me would say that this is great PR for the five entrepreneurs to be involved in such a humanitarian project. But it's also great to see that our universities continue to harness the country's top talent to produce solutions for the world's poorest areas.

And it's also heartening to know that this is something that's happening on our doorstep. I recently had the pleasure of meeting one of the North-East creators of a device to allow women with diseases such as Aids to breast-feed their children safely. The young entrepreneurs' creation looks set to make a real difference in disease-ridden areas all over the world in the future. Hopefully the new year will see other life-saving devices making the transition from our university laboratories into the market place.

Meanwhile ahead of the next Dragons' Den series I'm currently drawing up plans for my own money-spinning invention. Any ideas on a postcard please.

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Meet the manager

Posted by Andrew Mernin on December 7, 2007 9:15 AM

When was the last time you met your bank manager? For me I think it was back in the day as a student when I had to beg him for a bigger overdraft to get more magical beer tokens and..err...books.

But according to a Lloyds TSB study, over half of us (55%) haven't talked about a money situation with a bank manager for over ten years.

The fear of financial jargon was the most popular reason given by people who avoid having a chat with their bank's manager, while people also said they thought their financial aspirations wouldn't be taken seriously, or that they wouldn't benefit from a financial review.

It used to be the case that the bank manager was the pillar of society and had a responsibility to keep their customers on the straight and narrow in financial security and in the black.

And people used to say bank managers would only give loans to people who didn't really need them.

Today things have changed dramatically. Not only does it seem a lot easier to get into debt these days, the personal touch also seems to have gone and we're more likely to spend hours talking to a call centre in India or checking our account online than get within ten yards of our bank manager.

However, perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of the Lloyds TSB survey was that those questioned said they would be much more likely to pay a visit to their bank manager if he was celebrity X Factor judge Simon Cowell, or This Morning's Phil and Fern, who came a close second.

My personal choice of celebrity bank manager would be boxer Floyd Mayweather who seems to throw money at anyone who goes near him.

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Business jargon

Posted by Andrew Mernin on November 13, 2007 3:15 PM

'Blue-sky thinking', 'turn-key solution' and 'inclusive visioning' are just some of the daft business phrases that have been discussed and laughed at on our forum this week.

Whether its due to more and more bosses reading American management guides or people taking The Office's David Brent as a genuine role model, the business world seems to be awash with terminology which is ultimately meaningless.

There really are some gems floating around in offices across the region. My favourites include brain dump - to extract the knowledge of an expert employee for the benefit of others - and bouncebackability - the ability of a business to (yes you guessed it) bounce back.

But if you think these are bad, then take a look at some of the phrases being used across the pond in corporate USA.

After a quick browse through a few American websites I managed to find some real corkers. My favourite was "Can I stir fry an idea in your think-wok?", which means "can I have your opinion on this issue?". Others include "blamestorming" - like brainstorming but with the objective of finding a scapegoat - and zerotasking - doing nothing.

So what are your favourite jargon phrases? Have you ever made up your own business terminology?

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People power

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 31, 2007 9:20 AM

The other day I noticed Wispa chocolate bars are back in the shops. Apparently an online petition turned into a mass movement by sweet-toothed web users to resurrect the old Cadbury's favourite which was axed in 2003.

To me this proves two things. Firstly, they should never have got rid of it in the first place and tried to disguise the fact by creating Dairy Milk Bubbly (and when are Wispa Golds coming back by the way). And secondly, the internet is a fantastic tool for businesses to gauge the opinions of their customers.

Before the internet came along, the only way big companies had to find out what their customers wanted was by good old-fashioned market research.

An army of clipboard wielding women would stalk shoppers in city centres across the country to find out vital gems of information like their favourite crisp flavour or which detergent they used to get clothes whiter than white.

Of course, this still goes on in abundance today as a walk up Newcastle's Northumberland Street proves. But with so many online forums, blogs and social networks with appreciation or deppreciation groups, the customer's voice has never been so loud and it's up to businesses to listen.

Meanwhile, I'm starting a petition to bring back Tudor crisps, I'd climb a mountain for a canny bag of them.

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The special one

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 24, 2007 11:39 AM

While Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce has stamped his mark on the team's performances on the pitch, the club's new owner has certainly made his presence felt of it.

At a bitterly-cold St James' Park on Monday night, while the black and whites were disposing of a woefully poor Spurs side, only those shivering in the Gallowgate end would have failed to see the huge Sports Direct banner adorning the famous stand.

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Black October

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 16, 2007 9:15 AM

October has been a terrible month for the region's manufacturing industry.

First off there was the colossal blow of the Atmel closure with 600 jobs set to be axed in the new year.

Next up was the announcement that bosses at the Electrolux factory in Spennymoor have just two months to save its future and the future of its 500-strong workforce.

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Je ne comprends pas

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 10, 2007 9:40 AM

I read a report last week that said one in ten adults are now learning a foreign language to go and work overseas. But what I often wonder is why those at the top of the UK schools system over the last two generations didn't consider the future business climate when coming up with the language curriculum.

Surely 20 to 30 years ago, the powers that be must have realised that the Chinese, Indian and to a lesser extent Middle Eastern economies were going to boom in the coming decades. So why weren't languages like Arabic, Hindi or Chinese more commonplace in classroom timetables across the country?

If they had been perhaps we would see more businesses from the region taking advantage of the many opportunities in thriving cities such as Beijing, Mumbai or Riyadh.

Of course some would say classroom timetables have more to take into consideration than business and without French, German or Italian lessons at school we wouldn't be able to go to Europe and ask for a ham sandwich and a can of coke or tell exchange students what we did last weekend. But surely more languages on the curriculum from the booming economies would have put us in good stead today.

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The green debate

Posted by Andrew Mernin on October 2, 2007 5:44 PM

It seems you can't switch on the TV or radio these days without hearing the words carbon footprint or global warming.

Everyone seems to be banging the green drum at the moment as governments and businesses finally look to have got the message that we need to look after the environment for generations to come.

But just how pressing is the need to protect the environment compared to other issues effecting our region? One thing that concerns me is that a number of North-East businesses which employ a significant amount of people and make a huge contribution to our economy are being hindered and even threatened by increasingly stringent environmental constraints.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to think of myself as having a mininal carbon footprint and I'm a firm believer in protecting the environment but how do you prioritise between the environment and economic prosperity for a region which has battled hard to recover from the demise of heavy industry.

I recently spoke to a manufacturing business which is a major employer in the region but is seriously concerned that it may have to relocate overseas because of the stringent environmental pressures being exerted on it.

The company has targeted huge future growth and is fast becoming a major player in its sector but is being limited by the enforcement of green orders.

If the firm did relocate it would be a major blow to the North-East.

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A corporate flaw

Posted by Andrew Mernin on September 17, 2007 9:09 AM

A lot can happen in business in ten minutes. Deals can be struck up, emergency loans can be given or an entire workforce can be laid off. One story I covered recently told how a business was saved from extinction in just ten minutes - no mean feat I'm sure you'll agree.

The North-East firm was rescued from disappearing from the face of the earth by a consortium who placed it into administration for ten minutes as part of a pre-packaged deal.

Within minutes, the firm's debts were cleared and the jobs of its workforce were secured.

But what several readers were keen to remind me was that, while the story was clearly good news for staff and management at the firm, it was indicative of a severe flaw to the British corporate set-up.

Several people contacted me to tell me the fact that contractors or clients can see money they are owed disappear into thin air within minutes is huge problem with the system which needs to be addressed.

So what do you think needs to be done to address this issue and is there enough support available for those businesses which lose out when others are saved?

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Middle Eastern fortunes

Posted by Andrew Mernin on August 13, 2007 3:00 PM

While so many British firms are looking to cash in on the rapidly emerging markets of India and China, an increasing number have realised now many lucrative opportunities are available in the Middle East.

In this week's Monday Interview, Bill McPherson, Emirates Airlines' recently appointed man in Newcastle, talks about the amazing growth he has seen in Dubai since moving there in 2000.

He also told me about the many business opportunities in the Gulf region for North-East firms.

Having spent some time working in the Middle East myself, I would say the Gulf region certainly offers fantastic opportunities for businesses looking to expand overseas.

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The region awaits

Posted by Andrew Mernin on July 16, 2007 1:50 PM

With the dust now settled on Gordon Brown's appointment at number 10, the Prime Minister is set to announce his plan to tackle the impending skills shortage.

The Government will reveal its tactics to meet the recommendations of the Leitch Review of Skills, which was published in 2006.

The study, conducted by Lord Leitch, found that the UK must urgently up its achievements at all levels of skills to become a world leader by 2020.

Among the many objectives set out by the report, the Government is looking to boost the number of apprentices by 500,000 a year and ensure that 40% of adults are skilled to graduate level and above by 2020.

So what could the implementation plan mean for the region? Hopefully we'll see more investment aimed at keeping talented workers in the North-East. Perhaps there'll be the launch of initiatives to increase employer investment into skills development from the region’s corporate heavyweights. And, we could even see the creation of new specialist training academies across the North-East.

See nebusiness later this week for an exclusive interview with Chris Roberts, regional director of the Learning and Skills Council North East to find out more on the Government's plans for the region..

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The CEOs of tomorrow

Posted by Andrew Mernin on June 28, 2007 4:33 PM

Having recently returned to the region after an 18-month spell overseas, I must say things have certainly changed at home. Of course there are the obvious changes like the gaping hole left in Newcastle city centre where the Central Library used to be. Long summer afternoons spent cooped up there as a teenager with head buried in A-level textbooks won’t be looked back on fondly. Fashion also seems to have moved on and left me for dust with all things eighties making a comeback. But it is in the business world where I've noticed the really significant changes.

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