The former head of UK retailer Waitrose, Lord Mark Price, has told the Checkout Conference that the ongoing Brexit negotiations are a "bit of a deflection" from the challenges facing the UK retail sector over the coming years.
Speaking at the conference, which took place in Dublin, Price said of Brexit, "There's no majority in Parliament for [a] no-deal [Brexit]. There's no majority in Parliament to do the whole thing again, so the only thing there is a majority for is to find a deal."
He said that his "instinct" was that while a deal will be found, the transition period by which the UK formally exits the European Union will likely take longer than the year and a half currently indicated.
"From the European perspective, I genuinely feel there is goodwill towards finding a way through," Price said.
"My instinct is that it will go through once they sort through the detail, the transition period will be longer, and we will get to a sensible and pragmatic place," he furthered.
Jobs Under Threat
Price noted that worrying figures over both real and potential job cuts in the retail sector are perhaps not getting as much focus as they should be.
"I'm less worried by Brexit – if worried is the right word – than I am by the challenges that retailing will face in the coming years," Price told the conference. "The British Retail Consortium are saying that up to 900,000 jobs in retail could go from the retail sector by 2025 – that's up to a third of the workforce.
"My challenge for the government is far more about what are you doing to help people think about that change that's coming down the track? Who is responsible for the retraining? Is it business, or is it government?
"For me, Brexit is a bit of a deflection from really pressing issues, such as making people feel that the system works for them, affordable housing, things like that," Price added.
Price was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Checkout Conference, with other speakers including Kari Daniels, chief executive of Tesco Ireland, Malachy O'Connor of IPLC, and Nielsen's Mike Watkins.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
