Papa John's UK

Papa John's is an American pizza take-away with a market in Britain. They currently have 142 stores throughout the UK and have plans to open 40 more in 2010. They have seen a rise in sales for more than four years and saw a particular increase in the last winter.

The rise may owe partly to the recession as many preferred eating at home rather than going out to restaurants. Papa John's have also benefited from their new online order system where people may order even up to 14 days in advance. Thirty percent of their orders come online.

The company is one that looks for people franchising and in the last year has had around 1'200 applications. Their Managing Director Ian Saunders promises the franchisees great support before, during and after and recommends this course for those who would not want to risk running their own entrepreneurial venture in these economic times but would still like to run a business.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (27-01-2010)

Papa John's UK

UK Space Industry

When imagining space crafts most people would think of the USA. However there is also a growing space industry in the UK. The space industry is said to be one of the highest value adding sectors in the UK economy.

Surrey Satellite Technology is a manufacturing company in this industry based in Guildford, Surrey, although their products are usually launched in sites across the former USSR.

The company launched 34 satellites in the last 25 years. Most of the satellites they make are for taking images of the Earth using cameras, but they also make other telecommunication and navigational ones as well. The biggest contract they have right now is making 'Galileo' which will be a navigation system for Europe and up against Americas GPS system.

The company claims to already be popular within the industry. The popularity has grown out of the country and last year a European Satellite manufacturer bought a controlling stake of the business.

So how does this small British company compete with the massive manufacturers in the United States? Their answer is lowering the costs. Rather than using the traditional and very expensive space qualified components, Surrey Satellite Technology uses commercial of-the-shelf parts.

With their alternative methods, this UK company has managed to give a substitute to the American products for the UK and European space industry, and so far their exports are on the rise.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (26-01-2010)

UK Space Industry

Halfords Incorporate New Techniques

Starting as a small hardware store in 1892, Halfords has now become a huge business having 370 superstores and an online presence. The company works in two main areas, car maintenance products and bicycles.

After first only selling car maintenance products, the company now also fits the parts for its customers, changing the company from a retailer to a service provider. In the last few months they have spent on training their workers for the tasks involved in the service and have also scheduled extra workers for the busiest times.

As for their bike sales, according to their Chief Executive David Wild, this area is a major one for income and is doing better each year. The business does well in offering an extended range of childrens' bikes and also has a focus on premium bikes.

Halfords now sell their products online. There were fears initially that an online option would impede customers coming into stores. After implementing it however they have learnt that around 80% of online customers still come in to stores. With a reserve and collect service, where the online user can choose a product and check which stores it is available in, shopping in store is actually becoming more attractive.

The online presence also brings new customers who otherwise would not shop at Halfords, but now do after seeing the company's offers online.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (21-01-2010)

Halfords Incorporate New Techniques

Text Loaning

A new method for acquiring emergency loans has emerged known as text loaning. These are loans which an individual can receive by just text messaging the companies that give them using a mobile phone.

One company known as Txt Loan offers this service. After a registration and approval procedure a customer can text the company any time of the day for a quick fix of up to £100.

The interest rate can be quite steep, from £10 interest on a £100 loan to be paid back in just a single week; a rate of 994% APR, although being paid back weekly it may never come to so much.

There is a concern over how this may affect peoples' debts, especially in times like Christmas and when most of Txt Loan's customers are in their 20's and 30's. However, Gert Koppel, Chief Executive of Txt Loan says it is value for money and that the rates are clear and easy to understand.

Txt Loan claim to be responsible and only give loans to persons who earn at least £400 a month. They say only around 10% of applicants are ever accepted on the deal and that most pay their loans back on time.

Some organisations, such as Credit Action, are still wary though that other companies might try something similar and irresponsibly target more vulnerable people such as students.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC.

Text Loaning