Business

Reputation Timebomb – One in three UK brands say Negative Content is damaging their business

Published

2 years ago

18/09/2018

Reputation Timebomb - One in three UK brands say Negative Content is damaging their business

Bad press is number one concern – ahead of poor reviews or social media posts
Threat from media coverage has risen significantly since 2014 – up from 17 to 26 per cent
One in 20 reveals negative content has already cost them more than £500,000

British brands and businesses are facing an increasing threat from negative content – with one in 20 revealing bad press and reviews have already cost them more than £500,000.

According to new research from reputation experts Igniyte, unflattering media reports and critical social media posts are now a major risk and concern for companies across the UK.

A third of those (31 per cent) questioned for their Reputation Report 2018 say they have already been affected – or are worried about the impact this kind of material could have on their business in future.

Negative press coverage is still considered the biggest risk – named by 26 per cent as their main concern going forward.

More general critical online content was seen as the number one worry for another 14 per cent, while negative social media posts and reviews are seen as most damaging by ten per cent.

So almost half – 46 per cent – of the 500 British business owners and decision makers quizzed for the Igniyte research, said they’d already been affected by or thought they could be affected by damaging press coverage.

For another 41 per cent, reviews had caused the most problems, while one in three (31 per cent) felt negative social media posts and inaccurate or malicious postings from employees posed the greatest threat.

For 25 per cent it was content posted by competitors that had caused the most damage – or had the potential to do so.

Negative content that focussed on prominent individuals and executives within the business was also a key concern for 23 per cent, emphasising the importance of tracking personal profiles.

The cost of these attacks can be staggering – and potentially catastrophic.

So one in 20 of those questioned revealed that negative content had already cost their business more than £500,000.

A further five per cent say they’ve lost between £100,000 and £500,000, while one in seven (14 per cent) have lost up to £50,000.

Ten per cent of those asked said they haven’t seen a financial impact yet but are concerned that they will in future.

As a result many British brands and businesses are taking preventative action.

An overwhelming 95 per cent of respondents said they now actively monitor or measure reputation.

Twenty-one per cent use specialist tools and alerts to do this, while 17 per cent enlist the help of a specialist agency – up from the ten per cent seen in Igniyte’s 2014 survey.

Speaking about the findings, Igniyte Founding Director, Simon Wadsworth, said: “We know the importance of reputation to any brand or business and as specialists we monitor the changing nature of reputational risk very closely.

“For the past four years we have been tracking the causes and impact of reputational damage.

“What our Reputation Report 2018 shows very clearly is that threats from both offline and online material are affecting UK brands and businesses – often costing them a huge amount of money.

“Tackling these often requires specialist help, starting with effective monitoring and auditing and including ongoing work to create and maintain a robust brand image – for individuals and businesses.”

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Luxury stocks, ASML lift European shares in early trading

Published

25 seconds ago

20/01/2021

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Luxury stocks, ASML lift European shares in early trading 1

(Reuters) – European stocks rose on Wednesday after Swiss luxury group Richemont and chip equipment maker ASML gave encouraging earnings updates, while investors hoped for a big U.S. fiscal relief package as Joe Biden takes over as the next president.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.2% in early trading.

European bourses mirrored an upbeat mood in global markets after U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen called for big fiscal spending by underlining the need to help the pandemic-stricken economy.

Luxury stocks gave the biggest boost after Richemont posted a 5% increase in quarterly sales, led by strong growth at its jewellery brands in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

The group’s stock rose 4.8%, rival Swatch Group gained 2.9%, while Britain’s Burberry jumped 4.4% after earnings update.

Germany’s Hugo Boss added 4.6% after Mike Ashley-led Frasers said it boosted its stake in the company.

ASML Holding NV rose 2.1% after it posted better-than-expected sales for the fourth quarter and said it had seen a strong order intake for 2021.

Italy’s FTSE MIB outperformed after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won a confidence vote in the upper house Senate on Tuesday, allowing him to remain in office after a junior partner quit his coalition last week.

(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Business

Retailer WH Smith set to lose up to 20 million pounds a month till March

Published

3 mins ago

20/01/2021

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Retailer WH Smith set to lose up to 20 million pounds a month till March 2

(Reuters) – WH Smith said on Wednesday it expects to burn up to 20 million pounds a month in cash until March, eating into its remaining resources as it strives to ride out Britain’s latest round of stringent coronavirus lockdowns.

The company, whose shops selling newspapers, sweets and crisps are a fixture of UK high streets, hospitals and airports, said it had performed better than expected in the run up to Christmas, generating cash from its businesses.

The retailer also said that its forecasts for its cash position by March were in line with earlier expectations, and that it now had around 340 million in funds available including 90 million cash on account and some 70 million in restructuring and other dues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has kept people indoors under strict restrictions and depleted both domestic and international travel, hammering revenue from WH Smith’s network of hundreds of small kiosks and stores.

Sales from its travel business for the 20 weeks to Jan. 16 were just at 37% of the levels during the same period in 2019, leading to overall sales for WH Smith at 59% of the year-ago period. Revenue from WH Smith’s high street business, however, stood strong at 87%, the company said.

Founded more than 200 years ago as a news vendor in London, WH Smith has been expanding its footprint to offset pressure, and the North American market, its second biggest, has shown quicker recovery because of higher volumes of domestic travel, the retailer said.

The company also said it had not used the 300 million pounds of aid it had received from the British government and said the financing facility was being reviewed.

Furthermore, WH Smith said it has not seen any disruption from Britain’s exit from the European Union, and does not anticipate major challenges to imports.

($1 = 0.7321 pounds)

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Business

UK stocks edge higher as miners, Burberry shine

Published

5 mins ago

20/01/2021

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UK stocks edge higher as miners, Burberry shine 3

(Reuters) – UK stocks inched higher on Wednesday as miners gained after a strong production forecast from BHP Group, while luxury brand Burberry jumped on its optimistic outlook for sales growth in Asia.

BHP Group Ltd gained 1.5% after it forecast record iron ore production for fiscal 2021, helped by high prices for the commodity. Other miners Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore rose between 1% and 1.5%.

Burberry jumped 3.5% as underlying sales fell 9% in the three months ended December, but the company said it remained confident in the future, buoyed by sales growth of 11% in Asia-Pacific stores.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% by 0807 GMT after Asian shares hit a record high following U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen’s call for more fiscal support. [MKTS/GLOB]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he looked forward to working closely with Joe Biden after his inauguration on Wednesday as U.S. president, highlighting the shared interests of the two close allies.

The domestically focussed FTSE 250 index added 0.4%, with WH Smith Plc adding 2.9% as trading during Christmas was ahead of its expectations.

(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)

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