Sean FarringtonBusiness speaker
INJohn Roberts does not break his words.
The so -called kitchen king began to sell refrigerators with discounted and washing machines after a 1 pound bet with a friend who could not cope.
About 25 years later, he won his bet, and then some.
Currently, he is at the helm of the British Empire in the amount of 564 million pounds selling many large and small household appliances from TVs, laptops and telephones, to the refrigerator, freezers, washing machines, dummies and toasters.
He is a British success story. Being the founder and executive director, Roberts built a company previously known as Appliances Online – from zero to the employer of about 3,000 people in the UK.
The company overcame the pandemic pandemic pandemic recession after Covida in trade and problems with international expansion in order to recently launch its first ransom of shares and increase its prospect of profit throughout the year.
The financial figures of the bumper fly in the face of the grunts about the current economic background, the rigid business environment and reduction of households regarding the types of large, disposable purchases of Roberts.
He goes to the studio for our Interview of the Big BossA new business -feed from BBC, with the energy of someone is looking forward to the first pin on Friday evening, and the variety of the conversation that can come with it.
Nevertheless, for a person who seems to be at the top of the world, he is surprisingly angry, in particular, on the growing obstacles that he perceives, the government puts firms such as him.
According to him, the growth of taxes in the form of national insurance of the employer and concern about the impending bill on employment rights complicates him so that enterprises risk risking the staff and more harshly to compete with Chinese rivals who do not face the same obstacles.
“We cannot bear the costs that some of our competitors do not bear. It is so simple, ”says Roberts.
“In order not to accept this science fiction, and we are a success story in the UK. As a business, we work thousands of people, we make great services. We are root in the UK, and we must be associated with our Government of Great Britain, and not in an unfavorable position. ”
After the budget last fall, AO warned that he was faced with additional 8 million pounds a year as a result of the growth of national insurance of April and the minimum wage.
Such expenses warns Roberts, put “sand” into such enterprises as it.
“We must talk about creating jobs, and not in ensuring compliance with things that make business leaders think twice about the set of people and to give someone a chance,” he says.
“It will still put grain in our business, and granularity is the cost, which means that it is more difficult to be competitive.”
Far from taxes on business taxes, raising individual tax levels is a problem for Roberts, who says that he knows about the rich people who leave the UK.
“I really object to the story that you can simply continue to tax rich people and spend money. We have been issuing incredible amounts of wealth from this nation, ”says Roberts, who over the past 11 years over the past 11 years has donated all its AO shares and any income from other investments in charity.
But his great concern is associated with prospects for youth. He says that he won the “Poglota Index” lottery, born in the north -west of England in a loving family and sending to a good school.
Now, “it was never more difficult” for young people, he says, accusing the government that they are not priority for young people, because “these children do not vote”.
“Politicians live in the world of votes, they only care about the voices,” he says. “You are trying to remove the mint of Murray from a pensioner – an adult. But we closed thousands of youth clubs. This is a national catastrophe. “
According to him, young people with low income, distorted origin are not doomed to failure, “but the hill for the rise is much more complicated.”
“I spoke for many years, we teach children at school for all jobs that do not exist. We do not invest in funds and paths as a nation for children with disadvantaged trips. ”
BBC/AOHowever, behind the obvious disappointment of Roberts is a sense of motivation and optimism for the future, despite its expectation that the country is heading for an economic recession.
“I do not agree that this is not the environment for prosperity. The market is still huge, we are still a very prosperous nation, and therefore there is a ton of possibilities in this.
“We have experienced several recesses over the past 25 years. I see in this one more opportunity. ”
The treasury said that the tax decisions adopted last year meant that the government was able to “provide priorities”, including investments in NHS, a reduction in waiting time and increasing wages for millions of British workers.
“We are the state government that limited the tax on the corporation by 25%, the lowest level in the G7, we reform business rates, concluded trade transactions with the USA, EU and India,” the statement said.
Bi -Bi -See speaks with the bosses of some of the largest firms of Great Britain to find out the stories standing behind the people who lead them.
