Member Info for hjhj

Now then, Squire Trelawny, tell Old John Silver, "Where Be The Oil?" Yaargh. Aargh.

The pub/inn you refer to is The Penny Hedge, near Sainsburys on the southern fringe of Whitby. I believe that it ticks over o.k. However, can you please give details of the Premier Inn, as I am unaware of any Premier Inn in Whitby? As an aside, I think that holiday traffic in Whitby may be peaking, due to the fear factor with people cutting back on spending. In past years the Goth Weekends saw the town rammed from Thursday afternoon until Monday early afternoon; now Thursday is dead, Friday is quiet, Saturday is very busy as before, and many go home on Sunday. A sign of the times, I fear.

Spoke too soon. Down again.

Interesting movement today, but I wonder if long-time holders will ever get back their original investment. If they do, I shall be delighted.

What's this? Another day and it has not fallen. "Shome mishtake, shurely?"

In the UK it would seem that truly clever managers are in very short supply, and the prevailing mode is boardroom musical chairs whereby the players move on when the dirt is about to hit the fan. "Cheers and trebles all round", as they used to say in Private Eye.

Not only Marstons, but well run companies like Youngs and Fullers are being hammered on share price.

Down, down, down, down. Down among the dead men......

Like so many others these days, it's such a great company that there are no director "buys".

Fullers on a downward trend, and Youngs a nervous 1000 + or -. Rather worrying, and the weather this Easter is going to do us no favours.

Back in the 1970's restricted opening signalled the death knell for those cinemas which resorted to this measure as a hedge against poor business. I am sorry to see this happening in the pub trade.

CJ66 - You are so right about good management, very much in short supply in GB companies. Many of the current breed make their companies an easy target for acquisition by foreign predators and asset strippers.

I went round the large Morrisons at Scarborough today. Reasonably busy, but gaps in display, baked beans disappearing fast with the Savers variety gone. Toilet rolls heavily depleted, but still available. However, as on my last visit I spotted lots of young staff picking online delivery orders. Ken Morrison reckoned there was no money in home delivery, but I daresay if it can be done locally in sufficient volume then it may be worthwhile. Also noticed more price reductions, and more items now matching Aldi/Lidl on price. Re. Aldi I have noticed that some of their centre aisle one-offs are not the great buys of yesteryear, much of it is expensive and some end up being knocked out cheap a couple of months later.

Thank you, Kahuna Jim for your informative post. I do hope that some Supermarket supply business is profitable. I have noticed Marstons brands well represented in Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl, and hope there is some profit in this.

This could prove a rewarding tie-up. Marstons' portfolio of ales is the most impressive in the UK, and Carlsberg should be able to seriously boost export sales. I just hope that Marstons don't lose interest in brewing and sell their 40% share in a couple of years. Both Youngs and Fullers seem to have done well by concentrating on upgrades and careful acquisitions to their pub and hotel estates (mostly freehold). I think this is a good direction to take.

At my local Aldi the shelf space given to Banks Bitter has doubled this week, indicating that they must be selling in quantity.

Enjoyed your post, CynC. Ken Morrison would seem to have been a wise old chap. I think that Dave Potts is nursing the company rather well through some difficult times, and I believe that the manufacturing side of the business is going to shine in the next few months. The next interim report will be revealing.

Interesting email from Dave Potts to customers and staff. He says that Morrisons are stepping up production at their manufacturing facilities to replenish stocks depleted by the Corona panic. I believe their in-house manufacturing to be a much under-rated aspect of their business. It will be interesting to see how this works for them in the coming weeks or months.

There are now too many supermarkets. The expansions plans of Aldi and Lidl into secondary towns in a crowded market may backfire. A recently opened Aldi in my town is not doing outstanding business. The winners will be those who grimly hang on and in this respect I believe Morrisons have an advantage because of their manufacturing plants, and also their largely freehold estate. Time will tell.

At the next AGM vote against any and all increases in remuneration packages and bonuses.