Business Diary: February 15

The group, which has an innovation hub and factory in Hull, showed off its diversity with a slide presentation for analysts, unveiling innovations planned for 2011.

Executive vice president Rakesh Kapoor first revealed Durex Play Massage 2-in-1– an “intimate lube which can also be used for all-over body massage, in either a sensual or stimulating fragrance”.

But analysts were brought back down to earth with Reckitt’s next product – Scholl Fungal Nail Treatment, which “kills 99.9 per cent of nail fungus, helping prevent the spread and recurrence of infection”.

Diary struggles to see these two “innovations” ending up in the same shopping basket.

Life for a high-flyer at cost-cutting Ryanair

EVER wondered what it’s like to work in management at budget airline Ryanair, which is presided over by its colourful chief executive Michael O’Leary?

Well an insight into the airline’s cost- conscious world was provided by Ken O’Toole, the director of new route development at Ryanair, who attended a networking event organised by Marketing Leeds at the Mint Hotel in Leeds last week.

According to Mr O’Toole, Ryanair keeps meetings to a minimum, has no mission statement, and “no navel gazing”.

“We may present (an appearance) of eccentricity, but we do so with a purpose,’’ he said. “We take a satirical view of what’s going on in the market. Humour gets more recognition and more retention than any other type of communication.”

He also confirmed to Diary that Ryanair would consider buying aircraft from Russian and Chinese manufacturers, adding: “We’ll talk to any aircraft manufacturer that can deliver a product that meets our expectation at a cost that meets our expectation. In China and Russia there are emerging markets and emerging companies who have significant ambitions... to challenge Boeing and Airbus. It would be remiss of us not to talk to those companies in terms of their ability to support our strategic growth.”

Great divide over Royal Wedding day off

IT appears that the North-South divide is wider than ever – even when it comes to the Royal Wedding.

Leaders of Yorkshire’s SMEs are more likely to give their staff a day off for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding than any other region in the UK, according to new research.

The latest Business Barometer from Close Invoice Finance found that seven out of 10 employers in Yorkshire and the Humber planned to embrace the extra public holiday in April compared with just 54 per cent of business owners in the South East.

The research also shows a general North-South divide in attitudes, with businesses in the North of England more likely than their southern counterparts to close the office on April 29.

As it presently stands businesses are under no obligation to give workers the extra day off.

Almost two in five (38 per cent) of the 500-plus SMEs polled across the UK said they would open as usual unless the public holiday was passed into law.

Ian Steward, the local head of Close Invoice Finance, believes the current economic climate is to blame for an apparent lack of generosity.

“There is clearly an interesting North-South split but regional attitudes towards the wedding aside, most businesses are in a no-win situation,” he said. “Many simply can’t afford to let employees take any unnecessary leave, especially those struggling to recover from the recession and also coming to terms with January’s big VAT increase.”

The facts behind the figures all add up

ACCOUNTANTS are everywhere you look these days.

You often become so used to seeing them that you actually forget what they are for, apart from charging you lots of money to produce paperwork with lots of numbers on.

Diary found himself in front of a professor of accountancy and finance last week. Using this opportunity, Diary asked Peter Moizer, the Dean of Leeds University Business School, what the most important principle behind accountancy.

He said: “The most important thing is to realise that accounting helps people make decisions.

“Accounting is about providing useful information.”

Good advice.