Business Diary: July 23

We can all recall school presentations which were enlivened by, say, including a small animal in a talk about biology.

But can the use of props boost a business presentation?

Well, Yorkshire businessman Tony Sykes clearly thinks so.

Mr Sykes, who runs Audio Visual Equipment, based in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, told Diary that he presented Stephen Hester, the outgoing CEO of RBS, with a boot during a private meeting in Wakefield.

Mr Sykes wanted to protest about the way his firm had been treated by the bank.

Mr Hester listened thoughtfully to the points made by Mr Sykes, and even made arrangements to meet him in London, so his concerns could be taken on board.

Diary is please to report that Mr Sykes’ business is profitable again. He praised Mr Hester as “a genuine man”.

An RBS spokesman told Diary yesterday:

“We worked hard to support this business through a period of difficult cash flow challenges. Mr Sykes is a valued customer of RBS and will meet with Stephen Hester later this week. We hope the meeting will help us better understand the details of Mr Sykes’ complaint and enable us to provide a resolution that will continue the long- term relationship between his business and the bank.”

There is no suggestion that any member of RBS staff acted unreasonably, or against the best interests of either the bank or the business.

Diary would be intrigued to hear about other unusual props which have been used to powerful effect in the corporate world.

It is, of course, not the first time that footwear has been used as part of a public debate.

Readers with long memories will recall that, in 1960, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe on the desk at the United Nations, after a delegate accused the USSR of imperialism in Eastern Europe.

High Street told to ‘adapt or die’

ADAPT or die – that was the message from the new West Yorkshire Business Jury to the High Street.

Each month the West Yorkshire Business Jury, run by Holmfirth accountancy practice V&A Bell Brown and made up of 12 business leaders from Huddersfield and surrounding areas, give their answers to the most pressing questions affecting businesses in the region.

Amanda Vigar, managing partner at V&A Bell Brown, is “judge” as well as “juror” in the proceedings.

She said: “The media repeatedly talks about the death of the High Street, but I do think this is more than slightly premature. I wouldn’t say that the High Street is dying, but I would argue that it is simply undergoing a renaissance and the ‘New High Street’ is being born.

“Cases like Jessops confirm that some High Street brands can be resurrected and live on. However, many that have not easily adapted to the new economic realities will die, and arguably deserve to do so.”

She added: “Where individual High Streets are dying a death, it is because they are failing to adapt. These days, no-one wants the same old shops lacking in individuality. Rather, niche shops on High Streets with character are what the new High Street needs. Take Leeds or York with their eclectic mix of boutique and niche retail outlets that help to make shopping a real experience and you get an idea of where I think the High Street needs to be.”

Morgan Wilson of Holmfirth-based training provider Juice Learning, said people are increasingly bypassing the High Street altogether by shopping on the internet, and that retailers need to adapt to survive.

“It is the end of the High Street as we know it; businesses need to adapt. Comet and HMV are examples of businesses attempting to be run on old models. They were doomed as they did not react, differentiate and find their niche.”

Trainer fired up to meet Dragon Theo

A local retail trainer who teaches at the Source Skills Academy in Sheffield has been shortlisted for a prestigious industry award and will get the chance to meet Theo Paphitis, long-time star of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, chairman of Ryman Stationery and Robert Dyas and founder of the lingerie brand Boux Avenue, at a star-studded ceremony in central London.

Paula Windle, 43, who lives in Rotherham, could win the Trainer of the Year accolade after making the shortlist for this year’s National Skills Academy for Retail’s Rising Stars Awards, run by Retail Week.