Speciality Bites with
Paul Hargreaves
Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre
-
“Company culture”
09 April 2018 Speciality BitesOne of the subject areas I have been thinking about for my book is ‘company culture’ -
“Happy Christmas!”
19 December 2017 Speciality BitesOn the basis that most retailers should be far too busy to read any digital content this week, and several suppliers are shutting or winding down, I will keep this week’s piece extremely brief. Learning lessons from Christmas past: -
“Seeing the bigger picture”
11 December 2017 Speciality BitesI was in London over the weekend and as I last visited the Tower of London when I was 10, I thought we should pay it another visit. To stand in the same space as William the Conqueror nearly 1,000... -
“Endings”
04 December 2017 Speciality BitesIt’s been a couple of weeks of endings for several businesses. At Cotswold Fayre, two of our new suppliers for 2017 have stopped trading less than a year after we started with them. Thor Drinks has done it properly and gone... -
“The art of selling”
27 November 2017 Speciality BitesFollowing on from last week’s thoughts, I have been wondering whether digital technology has reduced the need of those within SMEs to be able to sell. The thought stream sometimes seems to be that if you put yourself out on social... -
“Do face-to-face relationships matter any longer?”
20 November 2017 Speciality BitesAs I write this week’s thoughts I am simultaneously preparing for the Cotswold Fayre New Supplier’s Conference tomorrow. This annual event is when we spend a day with our January launch suppliers and allow them to get to know us, our... -
“Do speciality producers really support independent retailers?”
06 November 2017 Speciality BitesI had to pretend to be a chef for the evening last Friday Night. Last June, rashly I had offered into an Auction of Promises for a fund-raising event for our orphanage in Kenya a “Restaurant Quality Meal for 6 Cooked... -
“The growth of crowdfunding for food and drink start-ups”
30 October 2017 Speciality BitesMany of us now have several e-mails a month from the latest food and drink start-up to try and raise funds through crowdfunding, but how many of us have invested? This week I thought I would explore the area... -
“Does the speciality food sector care about the environment?”
23 October 2017 Speciality BitesComing into work this morning, the headline news was that old vehicles were now going to have to pay an extra £10 to drive in the London Congestion Zone. On the channel I was listening to there was at least one... -
“Who’s afraid of Amazon?”
16 October 2017 Speciality BitesI had a phone call earlier today from a journalist wanting my comments on Amazon, as apparently FMCG wholesalers across the pond are having sleepless nights about what they are doing in the market
