SMEs in the UK are planning to slash costs in 2017 due to the weak pound and uncertainty caused by the Brexit process and a Trump presidency, said a survey by alternative finance provider Liberis.
The survey polled 200 owners and managers of small and medium enterprises and found that 58% of SMEs are planning to prioritise decreased costs in the new year, over business expansion or improving employee skill-sets. Twenty-one per cent of these businesses were in the retail industry.
The automative industry, in comparison, said that training employees was their biggest concern. Larger SMEs with a workforce of 50 plus were also concerned with enhancing staff expertise, while their smaller counterparts were worried about cutting costs.
Competition was also listed as a major concern among respondents across several different sectors.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
