Chief Executive, NEXT plc
'The growth of retail' interview with Lord Simon Wolfson, Chief Executive of Next plc
Following Simon's key note speech at the BMF members' day, the Chief Executive talked to ACO on Air about the excellent results in retail, including merchants, and how the economy, as a whole, is on the mend. Despite this, Simon explains that we can't relax.
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About Wolfson Guise
In a 2014 interview, Lord Wolfson stated that the economy was "on the mend," citing record employment, returning consumer and mortgage credit, normalizing housing transactions, and a slowdown in the decline of real wages. He also expressed caution, warning that growth risked being channeled into asset price inflation, particularly in house prices, rather than into real infrastructure projects like new homes, shops, and roads. Wolfson argued that the government's role should be to "liberate the economy" rather than direct it, and that the free market, including builders and merchants, should determine what homes to build. He advised the merchant community to engage with local planners and media to advocate for projects, stating that people "will listen to reason" if arguments are made publicly. Wolfson also emphasized recruiting for "attitude" and training for skill, suggesting that businesses should prioritize hiring trainees with the right mindset over requiring graduates.
Transcript (12 segments)
I
Interviewer0:06
Lord Wolfson, thank you for joining us in our studio box here at the BMF conference. We have a few very quick questions to ask you. Picking up on your keynote speech earlier, we see some very excellent results from retail generally. Is that really a reflection that the economy is on the mend? I think it is. How relaxed should we be?
W
Wolfson Guise0:38
Well, the economy is definitely on the mend. Employment is at record levels, consumer credit's coming back into the economy, mortgage credit's coming back into the economy, housing transactions are back at more normal levels, real wages are beginning to stop declining so that people aren't getting poorer at the rate they were over the last four or five years. So there's good reason for hope, but there's also reason for vigilance. And that is that there is a risk that the growth in the economy will all be channeled into asset price inflation, house price inflation in particular, and won't end up as real growth in real things—the building of new houses, new shops, new services, new hospitals, new roads, the things that this country desperately needs.
I
Interviewer1:18
So you were speaking about funneling proceeds... is success...
W
Wolfson Guise1:27
Yes, I mean, I think there's a job on infrastructure for government to do, and only government can do that. But I'd hate for people to think that it's somehow government's job to tell the economy how to grow. Actually, what government should do is allow the economy to grow in the way that it wants to grow. And that doesn't involve politicians sitting down and telling people where to build houses or what houses to build. It involves quite the opposite—it involves releasing land and then letting the free market and the collective intelligence of the builders, the builders' merchants, the architects, everyone who's involved in building those homes, build the homes that people most want to live in. It's about liberating the economy rather than directing it.
I
Interviewer2:04
So in your keynote you were talking about the... but if the merchant community have any political lobbying to do, is that where they should be placing their efforts?
W
Wolfson Guise2:24
Yes, they should start with the planners, the local councillors. And what's interesting is that people will listen to reason if you shout loud enough and harness local media as well. If you've got a project that you want to get through planning and the planners have just said they're going to turn it down, go to local media and tell them that you plan to build a new builders' yard, or a new shop, or new homes, and the benefits of that and how many jobs will be created. And far from being horrified, you'll find a lot of people get quite excited about it. And then it's difficult for local politicians to turn it down. But you've got to fight the battle—you can't just turn up and accept the no that you'll almost always get at first instance. You've got to fight your corner.
I
Interviewer3:05
So it's not them to do it?
W
Wolfson Guise3:06
It's all of us, exactly, including the merchants. Everyone. There are too many people in this country who sit back and say, 'Why don't they do this? Why don't they do that?' Who is 'they'? They are the people that we put in power, and it's our responsibility to try and change things. And if we don't do it, no one else will.
I
Interviewer3:23
I have one last question. It's talking about the merchants. We've been talking about developing young people and investing in their dream and their commitment to trade. And perhaps they need even more say if they've got to take on the lobby. But is this something that you would really be focusing our attention on? Would you say this is the right thing?
W
Wolfson Guise3:51
Absolutely. You know, good people are the key to every business. It's almost a platitude to say that, but if you get the right people who have energy, intelligence, who want to work hard, who are enthusiastic, keen to learn—those people will deliver you success. And the key, in my view, is to recruit for attitude and then train for skill. Because if people have the right attitude and the basic skills—reading, writing, maths—if they have the basic skills and the right attitude, then you can take them to places that they would never have thought they could get to, just with that good attitude and your training. And one of the things I think is rather sad about today's society is how often we fall back on requiring graduates rather than just saying, 'No, we're going to take trainees,' because actually there are a lot of people who haven't got a degree who will be brilliant at their job. And if you get the right attitude, everything else will follow.
I
Interviewer4:50
A clear challenge. Lord Wolfson, thank you very much.
W
Wolfson Guise4:53
Pleasure, thank you.