Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Lib Dem MP calls for regulation of shop signage?

Richard Younger-Ross has been at it again with his EDM, but instead of moaning about there not being enough curry houses or full pints this time round it is "shop signage". He's unhappy that they all look the same apparently and wants the Government to regulate so that businesses stop trading under brands.

OK, so he doesn't literally say that, but that is the implication of his motion because he's basically having a go at Costa Coffee and Starbucks, or perhapsd BurgerKing and McDonalds. After all none of them do proper curry or manly drinks like beer, but I digress.

Interestingly he tabled anothe motion just before the signage one - for he clearly likes doing things in twos - complaining about high street chains using single contractors for their building work. Still, on the plus side he did save a little time by starting both motions with the same words.

5 comments:

anthonynorth said...

I'm undecided whether I agree with you here, Dizzy. Curry houses, a definite no no. Pints - now that's a different matter.

Anonymous said...

Nothing new here. These signage proposals crop up every few years and always from the left. Completely unenforceable, of course.

Speaking for myself, I don't care for long-established pub names being subsumed in corporate identities, but that's a different point. Anyway, I wouldn't legislate against it. Not all my petty grumbles can be cured by Act of Parliament.

Anonymous said...

Whats his beef with 'high street' names and building contractots?

It shows he is clueless about commercial matters. Stores need to get their building work done promptly because otherwise sales suffer. So they are less worried about cost (certainly the 'lowest tender' sort of cost) than prompt and efficient completion of the work.

So they build up a good relationship with their contactors and look to minimise their joint risk. This is one of the benefits of the much maligned PFI model and it increasingly applies to other construction clients as well.

He should be pointed towards the Latham Report.

Anonymous said...

"He's unhappy that they all look the same"

He really is a numbnut. Does he just not understand the corporate branding thing?

Pete Chown said...

Who cares about full pints? Beer should be sold in half-litres. :-)