Michael Bergson’s Post

You can tell when an issue has really hit the political radar by how many consultations and inquiries there are into it. Take groceries, supermarkets and cost-of-living. There's the Senate inquiry that launched late last year, the ACCC inquiry that has just been announced, and the Treasury consultation that the Hon Dr Craig Emerson is running. The ACCC inquiry isn't open for submissions yet, but they do expect to "publish an issues paper in February 2024 seeking views on the key issues we will consider in this inquiry" More detail about it can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gSxMQUBx The Senate inquiry is now closed for submissions (it closed last Friday), but may accept a late submission if you ask nicely. More information about the inquiry can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gr_wh4g6 The Emerson inquiry is open for submission through Treasury: Independent Review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct 2023–24 Closes: 29 February 2024 https://lnkd.in/gpuT3z4U Dr Emerson will review the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. The Code is designed to ensure the relationship between suppliers and the supermarkets is fair. You can take a look at the consultation paper in the link above. #groceries #supermarkets In other consultation news: Financial advisers – amendments to certain legislative instruments Closes: 27 February 2024 https://lnkd.in/gXEuDJen Treasury is consulting on draft legislation that will give financial advisers greater flexibility to demonstrate how they meet the conditions of an approved degree. #financialadvisor #financialadvice New Vehicle Efficiency Standard—Cleaner, Cheaper to run Cars for Australia Closes: 4 March 2024 https://lnkd.in/gpjr-npF The Infrastructure Department is consulting on a New Vehicle Efficiency Standard that is designed to improve fuel efficiency standards for new cars being imported into Australia. #cars #fuelefficiency #vehicles #consultations #publicaffairs #governmentrelations FTI Consulting

CDS refund rates need updating before declines in returns start to happen. Recent report from the USA: "The year-over-year decreases might not seem like much, CRI said. But they are part of a multi-year trend that is eating into redemption rates over time. Higher deposit amounts, the inclusion of more beverage types and program improvements for the convenience of customers all could push numbers higher, she said." Just like shown in Waste Management Review article in Australia in August 24, the pulling power of the redemption depends highly on its current value. What was high 20 years ago is very low now. The CDS schemes are very effective when a reasonable return value is offered. Now days it should be around 20 cents. In the USA however with a right wing component in government, any environmental move is just getting killed, no matter what the public or some industry think.

The BCLDB instituted the direct delivery program as a means to allow smaller and mid size LP’s a direct path to retail. This was supposed to level the playing field and create opportunities. In the current program, the LP is taking on all of the logistical and administrative burdens associated with orders (aka additional costs) and is still required to remit a 15% markup to the board. It’s time for a change. Outside of tax reform and price flooring this is a logical next step to support small business and support our industry.

How cool does Robbie S. look in this snappy little video on the #depositreturnscheme announcement? So, October 2027 is the date now. PET, aluminium and steel are all in. Glass isn't - though Wales still has the opportunity to get it in (could this mean return and refill for glass beer bottles, wonders Robbie, with his glass half full). I thought this was also interesting, from the policy paper*: "Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (packaging EPR) is due to commence in October 2025, with annual disposal costs payable by producers from financial year 2025 to 2026. This is two years before the launch of DRS in October 2027." Therefore "drink containers made of PET plastic, aluminium, and steel will be excluded from disposal cost fees and labelling obligations under packaging EPR", unless the DRS doesn't materialise by January 2028. Another delay to DRS? Surely not? (*link in comments) Louisa Goodfellow Paula Chin Paul Foulkes-Arellano Anna Graham British Soft Drinks Association Joe Papineschi Lizzie Smith Kimberley Pratt Reloop AG Barr Group Britvic plc City to Sea Sian Sutherland Libby Peake Susan Evans Michael Lenaghan Robyn Black UKHospitality Andy Rees PhD, OBE Charles Miers Martin Hyde Dean Best Dan Coppins Russ Wakeham Roger Wright Adam Read Anna Willetts David Mills

How Pret ate itself 👇 ‘I’ve always thought the tastiest item in Pret A Manger is the soup and the most interesting fact about the chain is that its co-founder Julian Metcalfe is a grandson of Major ‘Fruity’ Metcalfe, Edward VIII’s mistreated sidekick. I always thought too that in its early years, Pret was the best new brand on the high street: Metcalfe and his business partner Sinclair Beecham genuinely cared about the quality of their food and service – and gave what was unsold to the homeless. ‘Their sale in 2001 of a one-third stake to McDonald’s did no apparent harm. Then in 2008 McDonald’s sold to the private equity giant Bridgepoint, which took majority ownership for £364 million. Ten years later Bridgepoint sold for £1.5 billion to JAB, a brand conglomerate controlled by German billionaires. Meanwhile, Pret outlets, more than 500 of them, sprang up everywhere. ‘But the success story has gradually soured, one bad piece of PR following another. The Club Pret £30-per-month discount scheme introduced during Covid seems to have descended into chaos. When inflation hit, there were allegations of profiteering (‘the £7.15 cheese baguette’). In the tight post-pandemic labour market, counter service suffered. A Veggie Pret sister chain failed. And last year the firm was fined £800,000 after a worker was stuck in a walk-in freezer for two-and-a-half hours. ‘So the smart talk is of ‘peak Pret’ – and certainly there’s a natural arc of rise and decline for any ground-breaking business in a competitive marketplace. There’s also the curse of private equity, which prioritises profit extraction ahead of the founder-entrepreneurs’ urge for perfection. But at least there’s still spicy lemongrass chicken broth for my lunch at the desk.’ ✍️ Martin Vander Weyer

Instantly Redeemable Coupons are a part of the new sales and marketing initiatives we continue to roll out. This photo was taken at the River Valley Co-op in Northampton, Massachusetts. Our data on redemptions has revealed that our IRCs are particularly effective in smaller stores, that is single stores or stores with two or three locations. As the CEO of a company with only five employees, it goes to show you that small businesses, despite all the bravado of large companies and big chains, still have a mighty role in the market. #tofutti #dairyfree #vegan #cpg #smallbusiness

As business owners, staying ahead of regulatory changes is essential to maintaining trust and transparency with our customers. California's new SB 478 law, effective July 1, 2024, mandates that all mandatory fees be included in advertised prices to eliminate hidden fees. This significant shift affects nearly all industries but has specific nuances for restaurants and third-party delivery services. What is SB 478? SB 478, part of a broader effort to protect consumers, bans hidden fees by requiring all mandatory charges to be included in the advertised price. This means no more surprise fees at checkout, ensuring your customers know exactly what they will pay upfront. Impact on Your Business: While the law covers many sectors, including event tickets, hotels, and short-term rentals, restaurants have a specific carve-out. If you clearly display all fees on your menu, you're exempt. However, third-party delivery services are directly impacted and must adjust their pricing strategies accordingly. Steps to Ensure Compliance: Review Your Pricing Structure: Ensure all displayed prices include mandatory fees. Update Marketing Materials: Reflect the total cost in all advertisements, whether online or in-store. Train Your Staff: Ensure your team understands the new regulations and can communicate transparently with customers. At SmarterSwipe, we are dedicated to helping you navigate these changes smoothly. Our solutions are designed to ensure compliance, maintain customer trust, and streamline your operations. We're here to help you adapt and thrive under these new regulations. #SB478 #CaliforniaLaw #BusinessCompliance #SmarterSwipe #TransparentPricing #RestaurantOwners #BusinessOwners #StayCompliant

It’s a fresh start. As Keir Starmer took keys to Number 10, his party has to hit the ground running on tackling urgent challenges: cost-of-living, growth, housing, crime, education, employment, environment, health…the list goes on. By end October, we expect our new, first-ever female chancellor (👌), Rt Hon Rachel Reeves first budget, setting out the roadmap for economic stability. A roadmap on plans for business tax is expected within six months. We know employment rights and planning policy will be a big focus. As will net zero and decarbonisation. But to deliver, the new government will need to forge a partnership with retail and other industries. Working with our members, we're ready to be a constructive partner, helping leverage the scale and reach of retail to deliver the policy goals that benefit every corner of the country. The machinery of government had become old, tired and fraught with tension between business and politicians. In order to drive real and positive change, and get more retailers investing in communities, in technology, in climate action and in people, any government needs the power of industries such as ours. Nothing can be achieved without shared endeavour and collective buy-in. Through our #BuyIntoRetail campaign, we’ve been highlighting the importance of retail to our economy: the scale of your contribution in every corner of the country; the creator of 3m jobs. This campaign will continue, so get involved by engaging with your new MP to highlight the power of what we call the ‘Everywhere Economy’ in our Manifesto for Retail. We’ve already built strong relationships with many new Labour ministers and they understand the contribution the industry can make. Now it’s about ensuring follow through on commitments made in the manifesto. The Apprenticeship Levy must change, and Labour’s commitment to a flexible Growth and Skills Levy could provide just the answer. A more flexible levy could be instrumental to Labour’s policy for growth. We hope this will appear in the first Labour autumn budget. Rising rates of retail crime and abuse have burdened retail workers for years. We’re pleased Labour has a tough line, and were first to back the industry’s pledge to create a new specific offence for assaulting a retail worker. We hope implementing this is in the King’s Speech on 17 July. We need more details around other manifesto proposals. There’s no doubt business rates are a hard nut to crack, but all of us, Labour included, agree the system is broken. We’ll continue to work with them to ensure any reform is thought through and reduces the burden on retailers. Ultimately, any reforms should incentivise investment and benefit all retail businesses. We also need to understand more about plans for recycling and building a circular economy, and how it will implement some of its employment law proposals. It’s time for that fresh start. We'll build on the relationships we already have. So let’s get down to business!

"If you pay the true price, what happens to the money?" When I started at True Price 10 years ago, the main question people had was "is it actually possible to calculate the true price?". In more recent times, after we have showed it is possible, most questions we are getting are about true price payments. True price payments are a already a reality, even though experimental, in an increasing number of canteens and events, thanks to the courage of catering companies, NGOs, and local and national Dutch government agencies that request it, and with the pioneering work of supermarkets experimenting with it like De Aanzet in Amsterdam and Penny in Germany. The race to the bottom of externalizing social and environmental costs must be stopped, and we advocate for government action to implement policy against external costs in the first place. But let's face it, there are businesses, people and investors that can already step up and decide to use true prices now. Introducing true price payments in the market can activate us (as people, businesses and investors) and raise hard-needed funds for transition-makers working towards a fairer and regenerative economy. But it must be done right, and that's why with the True Price team we are launching guidelines on this, that will be published soon. With Estefania Marti Malvido we wrote a blog to share some insights: - What does it mean to pay the true price? - What can the role of true price funding be in the transition to a better economic system? - Why we need to speak of 'remediation', and 'Remediation Guidelines'? - Do people or companies pay the true price? Read the blog -> https://lnkd.in/edCqX8bi Subscribe to the True Price newsletter to hear about the upcoming publication -> https://lnkd.in/eugyr4Xn Get in touch if you want to learn more about piloting true price initiatives with your business or your value chain partners. Thank you Chocolonely Foundation for the support, and FairMatch Support, Vermaat, Grounded, Odin, TRUESDAY, De Aanzet, Consumers International and more for the valuable input along the way

(AUSTRALIA 06.02.24) ACTU price gouging report to put supermarkets, health care and airlines under microscope. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is set to release a comprehensive report on price gouging across various industries, including supermarkets, health care, and airlines. Led by Allan Fels, the inquiry received over 750 public submissions and 20 contributions from experts. Fels has already called for an ACCC inquiry into supermarket prices. Public hearings revealed instances of exorbitant pricing beyond inflation. The report is expected to cover retail electricity markets, airports, banks, early childhood education, electric vehicles, health care, and pharmaceuticals. The Albanese government has shown interest in investigating supermarket pricing, directing the ACCC to look into it. State-based inquiries into price gouging are also gaining momentum. https://lnkd.in/gsvAXPfQ