52
MAY 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
WHICH? AWARDS 2014
SHORTLIST OF BEST
UK BUSINESSES
Best UK Businesses Shortlisted for the Which? Awards 2014
The best retailers, supermarkets, banks and
home appliances have
been announced in the
shortlist for the Which?
Awards 2014 today.
The Which? Awards publicly recognise and celebrate
the very best businesses in
the UK that consistently get
it right for consumers.
Each year the Which?
Awards put the spotlight on
the importance of excellent
customer experience, and
those businesses that go the
extra mile and build trust
with their customers.
The Which? Awards 2014
shortlist is:
• Best Car Manufacturer:
Audi, BMW, Honda, Mazda and Skoda
• Best Banking Brand: First
Direct, M&S Bank, Norwich and Peterborough
Building Society and The
Post Office
• Best Insurance Services
Provider: John Lewis,
LV=, Nationwide Building
Society, NFU Mutual and
Saga
• Best Audio-Visual Brand:
LG, Panasonic, Samsung
and Sony
• Best Photography Brand:
Canon, Nikon, Panasonic
and Sony
• Best Home Appliance
Brand: AEG, Bosch, Miele,
Neff and Siemens
• Best Telecom Services
Provider: giffgaff, Plusnet, Tesco Mobile, Utility
Warehouse and Zen Internet
• Best Customer Service:
Ecotricity, RAC, Trailfinders, Utility Warehouse,
First Direct and Lush
• Best Retailer: John Lewis,
Lakeland, Lush, Richer
Sounds and Screwfix
‘The Which? Awards have been celebrating the very
best of business in the UK since 2007, each year
recognising those companies and individuals who
consistently get it right for their customers’
• Best Computing Brand:
Amazon, Apple, Samsung
and Sony
• Best Supermarket: Aldi,
Lidl, Marks and Spencer,
Ocado and Waitrose
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “The
Which? Awards have been
celebrating the very best of
ONS: UK economy
grows by 0.8% in
first quarter
The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first
quarter of 2014, according to the latest figures
from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It marks the fifth
consecutive period of
GDP growth - the longest positive run since
the financial crisis.
Gross domestic product
is a measure of a country’s economic activity,
including all the goods
and services produced in
a given period.
The ONS also said the
economy is now 0.6%
smaller than its 2008
peak.
Chancellor George
Osborne said this figure
showed that “Britain is
coming back”, but that
the recovery could not be
taken for granted.
“The impact of the Great
Recession is still being
felt, but the foundations
for a broad based recovery are now in place,” he
added.
Talk of quarterly growth
accelerating to 1% in the
first quarter of this year
proved unfounded.
But with services, manufacturing and construction
all registering expansion
between January and
March, a more balanced
recovery seems to be
developing.
The floods do not
seem to have had
much impact on
overall economic
activity.
Surprisingly, while the
building industry may have
been affected by the weather, the floods and storms of
January and February do
not seem to have had much
of an impact on overall
economic activity.
But while economies like
the US and Germany have
now moved ahead of their
pre-recession peaks, the
UK is still lagging a little
behind.
It seems likely the economy will reach that milestone in the middle of the
year.
“The biggest risk to economic security would be
abandoning the plan that is
laying those foundations.”
Shadow chancellor Ed
Balls said that despite the
positive growth figure,
“millions of hardworking
people are still feeling no
recovery at all”.
“Now that growth has
finally returned, the question is whether ordinary
working people will
properly feel the benefit
and we have a balanced
recovery that’s built to last,”
he added.
business in the UK since
2007, each year recognising
those companies and individuals who consistently get
it right for their customers.
“This year’s shortlist is
no exception, with these
companies proving that
what’s good for consumers
is also good for business. I
look forward to announcing the winners in June as
we put the spotlight on the
importance of building and
maintaining consumer trust
in business.”
The Which? Awards 2014
winners will be announced
at a ceremony held on
Thursday 19 June.
CPA Manual Will
Help Installers Meet
Evolving Consumer
Demands
The Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has
published a document called
‘Why are the legalities important?’ from which installers
can find out how they can
use legislation changes; legal
frameworks and insurance
backed guarantees to boost
sales within their business.
The manual can be downloaded from the CPA’s
website. Jeremy Brett, who is
a Director at the organisation,
comments: “The legalities do
matter- whether it is terms
and conditions to protect an
installer’s business, insurance-backed guarantees and
deposit protection that are
crucial to winning profitable
new business; or changes
around consumer legislation
and the industry – we can
help.
“And this guide is a starting
point for a number of these
issues. Busy installers don’t
often have time to find out
all of this information – that’s
our job. We’re here to offer
support and knowledge so
installers can concentrate on
growing their business.”
At the start of 2014 the CPA
also launched ‘Fast Track’ – a
growth acceleration tool that
packages the CPA’s 22 years
of experience to help home
improvement companies
grow. The ‘why are the legalities document’ is part of the
‘Fast Track’ initiative.
Call 01462 850062 for more.