Britain is now a major offshoring hub for the US
A fairly boozy and tech-y week this week in The Stuff.
Hello,
I found myself pondering Radio 2 this week. What is it? When will I make the transition? Is there a ceremony? Will they still be playing ABBA and Pet Shop Boys in 25 years?
Unfortunately, I’ve never been quite cool enough to listen to Radio 6 so my radio habits are pretty much limited to Greg James on Radio 1. The samey pop music and Mr James’ off-beat but wholesome chit chat gives me the sense that everything’s ok in the world on a Tuesday morning... for about an hour and then I’ve got all I need to get on with my day.
Radio 2 is aimed at those over the age of 35 so I’m not far off making the switch. I wonder how it will happen. Will the sounds coming out of Radio 1 suddenly insult my ageing eardrums like a banshee’s wail? Will I find myself humming along to Simply Red and think “hmm maybe I’ll just leave this on”? Or will some instinctive reflex, like a bird migrating, instruct me to flick over? Only time will tell.
I’ll keep holding on,
Hugo
Radio Stuff Controller
The Business of Stuff
The Stuff
US outsourcing jobs to the UK because pay is so far behind 🚶- everything from film production to legal work and software development is being offshored by American companies to Blighty thanks to the difference in wages and the comparative weakness of the pound. A bit of a backhanded compliment if ever there was one but economic growth is economic growth.
Cafe Patrón is back for a limited time only ☕ - there was absolute uproar when the tequila x coffee liqueur was discontinued by Bacardi to focus on tequila but they’ve heeded calls to give the people what they want. It was announced on the 1st of April, which seems like a mad day to announce something that is actually happening.
The price of agave has plummeted in Mexico 🌵 - in a possibly related piece of news, there is a massive oversupply of the crop that is used to make tequila. As demand for the end product has skyrocketed, the production of agave has outpaced it as farmers rushed to cash in on the trend.
The Boots of Chinese medicine sold for $590m 🪴 - Eu Yan Sang International is being bought by a Japanese pharmaceutical company and trading house. Eu Yan Sang sells products derived from natural ingredients to sort out your meridians and that sort of thing. It recently saw an annual increase in revenue of 16%.
Samsung Electronics profits are up 900% since the start of the year 💾 - there has been a huge resurgence in the price of semiconductors thanks in part to the boom in interest in generative AI which has seen technology companies massively increase their investment. Chips have been the biggest revenue earner for Samsung for several years.
Amazon Web Services is cutting hundreds of jobs ✂️ - the affected jobs are mostly in sales, marketing and global services. The team is 60,000 strong so it's not a huge chopping but is reflective of their need to streamline, as their dominance has become challenged by Microsoft, who have been quicked to capitalise on the wave of AI.
The Body Shop could be saved through lower rents 🧼 - the European arm of the cosmetics group went into administration in February after it was purchased by Aurelius. A Company Voluntary Agreement, if agreed by those owed money could be used to restructure the business, repay their debts and lower future rent obligations. Exhilarating stuff!
Ping Pong restaurant chain to charge a “brand fee” 🏓 - they’ve controversially dropped tipping by card and instead take 15% that goes to the restaurant. They are instead paying their staff £1 an hour more than minimum wage. I’m no fan of confusing tipping culture, and it feels like we’d at least reached relative stability in the UK with a standard service charge. Ping Pong has clearly figured out they’re losing money to their staff so all this “we pay an extra £1 an hour” feels a bit duplicitous.
Nyetimber makes an offer to buy The Lakes Distillery 🍾 - there’s nothing like a bit of regional M&A activity, but in this case, it’s a pretty serious deal. Nyetimber is offering to buy the maker of whisky, gin and vodka for £71 million. The leadership of The Lake Distillery have recommended to the board that the sale go ahead.
Microsoft has split its Teams business from Office globally ⚖️ - this comes after an investigation by the European Commission after Slack complained about them “bundling’ their products which is seen as anti-competitive. Microsoft has had €2.2million in antitrust fines over the past decade - the perils of being such a dominant player.
Quote of the day
"It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on." - Marilyn Monroe