Morrisons is hanging in there but it may not be able to defy gravity for ever

Outlook

(AP)

The woes of Britain’s supermarkets have been well documented, with the relentless rise of Aldi and Lidl, and a brutal price war, leaving the big players having to run fast in a vain attempt to stand still. And yet here we have the Morrisons chief executive David Potts saying there is everything to play for and talking turnaround (although it might take a while).

Is this credible? Well, Morrisons is back in profit at the pre-tax stage and even nudged into positive sales territory in the fourth quarter, albeit by a pitiful 0.2 per cent. That was at least better than the City’s consensus forecast.

On the flipside, the dividend was slashed and the underlying profits – which strip out writedowns and profits or losses made on disposals – tumbled 26 per cent. There was talk of growing it again by £50m or more “in the medium term”. But talk is cheap.

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel, which grocers like to whinge about when it shows them in a negative light, also looked worrying for Morrisons. But hey, there’s that deal to supply Amazon, with Mr Potts and his team opening the gates to the Trojan horse that has long worried the sector.

The chief executive is actually doing some good things, and it’s worth remembering just how bad a hand he started with.

Morrisons was a latecomer to just about every retail party. The internet was first seen as a fad, and then created a panic that left the group in an unhappy marriage with Ocado. And while its rivals were re-colonising high streets, opening a huge number of convenience outlets, Morrisons sat back until it was too late.

One of Mr Potts’s big decisions was to give up that particular ghost. Was that a good idea? Perhaps he just felt he was throwing good money after bad, as Morrisons’ late-entry convenience arm burned cash it couldn’t afford to waste.

Faced with all that, plus a brutally competitive operating climate, it remains a wonder the chain is still around. But it is still fair to ask whether it will be around in the long term, because the best news the company has had is a deal with an internet retailer seemingly unencumbered by the need to turn a profit.

Morrisons doesn’t have that luxury. It remains the case that the only winners in the sector are the customers, who are now getting their groceries at prices they wouldn’t have dreamt of when a cosy oligopoly ruled the roost and poured money into shareholders’ pockets. The shoe is on the other foot now, and while Morrisons is still in the race, it’s hard to feel optimistic.

Are we ready for a higher state retirement age?

There is a broad consensus that longer lifespans necessitate raising the state retirement age – at least if the country wants to avoid going broke.

However, the TUC has identified a gorilla in the room: how long you live, and the quality of your twilight years, largely depends on how much money you have.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics demonstrate that the differences are stark. Males living in leafy Wokingham, Berkshire, have the longest disability-free life expectancy at birth (71.9 years). But if you’re female you should move to Richmond upon Thames (if you can afford it), because there the figure is 72.1 years.

On the flipside, while Tower Hamlets is the doorstep of the City, it remains one of the nation’s poorest boroughs. And the disability-free life expectancy for men living there is just 55.1 years, while for women it is only 52.7 years. Pensions are going to be the least of its residents ‘worries.

Raising the retirement age therefore entrenches inequality. But at the same time, can we really ask the young to foot the bill for the general increase in life expectancy by reversing the policy? Younger demographics have borne the brunt of the Government’s austerity policies, while the benefits for the elderly have largely been protected.

Addressing ageism in the workplace, and fostering the creation of jobs suitable for older people, might go some way to helping those healthy enough cope with the changes. At the same time, a civilised society should recognise that those unable to enjoy a disability-free old age need protecting from a rising pension age. Sadly, there is little sign that the current Government recognises this.

Downturn for hire: going gets tough at recruiters

Who would want to be working for a recruitment company right now? Their shares have been on a downward path for months amid fears that the troubles of the global economy will lead to one of the sector’s cyclical downturns. The latest might already have started.

Michael Page wasn’t able to assuage those fears with its latest numbers. Things started to slow down for the recruiter in the fourth quarter, and the trend has continued. Greater China is proving particularly worrisome, and closer to home there’s the looming fear of Brexit.

Page Group is fortunate in having Steve Ingham as its chief executive. He has been here before, and so he’s used to riding the cycle up and down, and managing the business accordingly.

What must have proved frustrating for Mr Ingham this time around is that nerves were frayed throughout what just about passed for “good times” – and they might now be over.