All Of The Summer School Work

Hello again today I am going to copy and paste all of the summer school work that I have finished here:

Session 1:

How has retail been impacted by Covid 19?

Many retailers have been impacted by Covid in many ways but for now I am focusing on Aldi and Tesco's for questions 2 and 3.

1. How has sector been impacted by COVID-19? What has changed?

For the retail sector there is a lot of changes due to covid 19. One of the main changes to the retail industry is social distancing and what it has forced shops to adapt to. For example, most shops now have: one in one out, 2m distances, and less people in shops. This impacts the way that they must operate as there's one ways systems and less staff on duty as less people have been paying in store. Because of this some stores have had to shut down which have made highstreets empty because of the lack of shops so people would also not feel like they should do their shopping there.

1. What has the impact on employees, costs, and profits been?

For Aldi they have invested £1.3b in the Uk, which opened 100 new stores and over 4000 new jobs. This has made 10% more profit in the year 2020, especially in the non-food and wine section (up to 70% in 2020 from 40% in 2019). This is overwhelmingly positive for Aldi as they have adapted right to the pandemic and seem to be going healthy still. From my research for Tesco's, I haven't found so many figures, but I have found some here. In August 2020 they made 1600 new jobs, 50000 temporary jobs in the first wave, and 11000 more during Christmas to help with the demands during those timings. This is good because they have been able to keep afloat and adapt to what they needed in that time. In terms of money: “The pandemic has also led to significant additional costs, particuly in payroll.” so they have been putting money on staff which helped to keep the store open and them making money.

1. How has the sector adapted over the past 12 months (June 2020 - June 2021)?

Aldi has opened more shops which in turn created more jobs. They have adapted like this probably because they realised that people are out of jobs and can't travel far, so make jobs and deliver shops to them. On top of this, they have used Deliveroo to get groceries to people who are vulnerable to make sure that they can eat and get shopping. For Tesco’s they have made jobs where possible and introduced more times for deliveries to make sure they run smoothly and get people what they need. Session 2: 1.Using the sector ideas that you researched from Session 1, think about how that sector might need to further adapt moving forward. Are there any differences between what's happening in different countries? If so, why do you think this might be?

I think that the sector might have to adapt to be able to use more technology moving forward. This is because we rely on people to help us pay, but for Amazon Go this might not always work but as we move on in the future the tech will get better. The Amazon Go is in America, and I think that America will be doing things differently as many businesses have a main hub in America so they can develop tech in America.

2.Think about the impact on consumers/customers i.e., YOU, and how consumers might need to learn to do things differently in order to be able to continue to access products or services

If I carry on with the tech idea, then we would have to learn to adapt to that change to continue to use them. Also, if you have always done shopping in store and you decide to start shopping online then you would have a learning curve then. This isn't entirely bad as businesses could be getting more customers in from online so they can make money and grow even more.

3.How do you think the sector will continue to be constrained by Government legislation?

If we keep on coming in and out of all these lockdowns, then retail would take more of a hit because more businesses would not have any money to sustain themselves. This is bad because the highstreets is the most impacted, and they could be impacted much more easily now. Small businesses might not be able to go online either so they will be forced to be bankrupt and completely close which is no good.

Session 3:

1.Which area of the value chain might they adapt or change to deliver a new offering to their customers?

They might adapt their primary activities because they would have to change their stock and marketing before anything else. For example, Amazon used to be a book selling website that changed to accommodate people's needs. Now they have multiple stockrooms full of pretty much everything, and a marketing scheme to go with it. As we don’t necessarily associate Amazon with just books, I feel like it’s a big change to get right if you want to change your business.

2. How might you envisage this happening?

I envisage this type of thing to be gradual as if companies take a sudden U-turn, then they might lose customers and make an uproar. One example is amazon again as they started with books, then DVDs, and also sporting goods over a phased plan. This is a good thing as people can get used to it, and Amazon can get stocks and marketing in so people would now know what they were also selling. This would be good going into the future with other companies as if they can sell more goods at a gradual time frame, they could have more business coming in and not lose customers like Amazon.

3. How might this impact the business costs?

There would probably be more costs in time, money, and procurement. This is because they would need to plan, advertise, and get stocks into stockrooms. Business costs of this is obviously increased as they are spending money on advertising and stocks, but if done well they can make a hefty profit back on what they had spent already.

4. How might the businesses in your sector continue to add value for their customers?

Two examples are Aldis and Amazon. Their examples are:

Aldis: Operations process that means there is no conveyor belt after the checkout assistant, so that the consumer puts shopping back in their trolley to spend time packing at a bench instead. The value is the fact that consumers have a shorter checkout queue, and therefore perceived time saving. Amazon: Uses cookies to identify your likes and purchases to make recommendations for additional current or future purchases. The value is time saving and a more adapted Amazon page for everyone.

Final Activity

A sign outside a Sense charity shop in June 2020 indicates an indefinite closure due to COVID

June 2020 –

Furniture retailer Ikea reopens 19 of its UK stores.Prime Minister Boris Johnson commissions a review into the 2-metre social distancing rule, amid concerns its continuation may make large parts of the hospitality industry not viable. The review will be completed before 4 July, when pubs and cafes are scheduled to reopen. On the eve of the reopening of non-essential retailers, Johnson urges people to "shop, and shop with confidence".

This shows that in June 2020 the world was opening back up again and retailers would be selling again.

July 2020

4 July UK’s first local lockdown comes into force in Leicester and parts of Leicestershire. More restrictions are eased in England, including reopening of pubs, restaurants, hairdressers. 18 July Local authorities in England gain additional powers to enforce social distancing.

This shows that in July 2020we went back into lockdown in some parts of the country. Businesses would be impacted in these areas as it's not easy to go out or even legal at these points in time.

Augst 2020

3 August Eat Out to Help Out scheme, offering a 50% discount on meals up to £10 per person, begins in the UK 14 August Lockdown restrictions eased further, including reopening indoor theatres, bowling alleys and soft play

The government tried to open up England with the eat out to help out scheme. This goes on until November 5th when the government locked us down again. Eat out to help out helped a little but was not enough for some businesses to survive again.

December 2020

2 December Second lockdown ends after four weeks and England returns to a stricter three-tier system of restrictions 15 December PM says Christmas rules will still be relaxed but urges the public to keep celebrations “short” and “small” 19 December PM announces tougher restrictions for London and South East England, with a new Tier 4: ‘Stay at Home’ alert level. Christmas mixing rules tightened. 21 December Tier 4 restrictions come into force in London and South East England 26 December More areas of England enter tier 4 restriction.

Highter restrictions means more businesses closing down and people losing jobs over Christmas.

2021

January, we enter third lockdown so retailers have to pump up online action to stay afloat, and some workers can't help out as kids are still at home. This has a knock-on impact to people's personal lives and how they shop.

22 February PM expected to publish roadmap for lifting the lockdown. This will help businesses as they can prepare for when their sector would be opening up again. The impact of this is good as businesses would get more money and people can start earning again.

February to June 2021 has seen most of the roadmap follow through. Businesses seem to be trying to get back on their feet again as everything is opening up with them and people are feeling more relaxed about Covid.

Bibliography:

Tesco 1:

Covid-19 - Tesco PLC

tescos. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.tescoplc.com/covid-19/> [Accessed 22 July 2021].

Tesco 2:

Tescos. 2020. Adapting to Covid19. [Online]. [22 July 2021]. Available from: https://www.icaew.com/insights/interviews-and-profiles/2020/July-2020/Adapting-to-COVID19-the-Tesco-story

Aldi 1:

The guardian. 2020. Aldi to create 4,000 more UK jobs as sales surge in Covid crisis. [Online]. [22 July 2021]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/28/aldi-uk-jobs-sales-covid-crisis-supermarket-stores

Aldi 2:

Aldi. 2020. Adapting to Covid19. [Online]. [22 July 2021]. Available from: https://www.aldi.co.uk/covid19

Amazon:

Cbsnews.com. 2021. 20 years of Amazon's expansive evolution. [online] Available at: <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/20-years-of-amazons-expansive-evolution/> [Accessed 28 July 2021].

20 years of Amazon's expansive evolution - CBS News