Merseyside firm Nichols, which makes the fruit drink Vimto, has seen its profits rise by 39% this year after an early Ramadan increased shipments to the Middle East. The region has become a sizeable export market for Vimto, which is used as a tonic by Muslims fasting during Ramadan. Pre-tax profits increased to £6 million in the first 6 months of the year, based on sales of £44.2 million. The drink is a stronger version of the juice that is available in the UK, and it is packaged more conservatively for the Middle Eastern market. In the UK, Vimto sales have increased by 19% as a result of increased advertising on television and online.
Back in 1999, Gordon Brown, then chancellor of the exchequer, decided to sell off almost 400 tonnes (the vast majority) of the UK’s gold reserves. At that point, the gold had been sitting idle in the Bank of England’s vaults for many years — its value had fallen and many regarded it as a poor investment. However the growing demand for jewellery in China and India meant that by 2009, the value of gold had risen sharply to just below £500 per ounce. Following the laws of supply and demand, there has been a rash of companies offering to exchange people’s gold for cash, but concerns have been raised about this new, unregulated industry. Research by the consumer magazine Which? reported that gold buyers offered customers ‘shockingly bad value’, and in January 2010, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched an investigation into five companies following consumer complaints.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
