Poundland’s Uncertain Future
Aims
A retailer’s possible troubles could affect its workers and the smaller businesses that supply its shops.
The lesson, stage by stage
- News10 min
In the news: The story
Read a 147-word news story: When a Big Customer Is at Risk
A family-run confectionery supplier in Bradford says it could lose several million pounds if Poundland collapses. The retailer is one of its biggest customers, and the two businesses have worked together for many years. The supplier says it can survive the loss, but smaller firms may not. Poundland is still trading and is not yet in administration, a process for dealing with a company that cannot pay its debts. If the retailer enters administration, suppliers may get back only a small part of the money they are owed. Some stores may find new owners, but there is uncertainty about jobs. The possible trouble comes before the busy holiday period, when shops order large amounts of stock. The supplier says this could create a ripple effect for other businesses and workers. Government ministers are asking the owners for clearer plans as talks continue about keeping the retailer solvent.
- Vocabulary8 min
Vocabulary: Words in the news
6 items
- Discussion10 min
Discussion: Businesses that depend on each other
2 discussion questions
- What do you think makes a good working relationship between a shop and its suppliers?
- If a major customer stopped buying from a small business, what could that business do next?
- Discussion10 min
Discussion: Your experience as a customer
2 discussion questions
- Have you ever changed where you shop because a store was closing or changing? What influenced your choice?
- When you hear that a familiar shop may close, what do you usually think about first?
- Discussion10 min
Discussion: Wider effects
2 discussion questions
- What kinds of support might help workers and small businesses when a large company is in trouble?
- How much responsibility should a large business have for the people and firms that depend on it?
Target vocabulary
In a Tuton account these words become your student's vocabulary deck, so they come back in practice between lessons.
- supplier
- A business that provides goods to another business
- collapse
- To fail suddenly as a business or system
- administration
- A process for dealing with a company in serious financial trouble
- stock
- Goods that a shop has ready to sell
- ripple effect
- A series of effects caused by one event
- solvent
- Able to pay the money a business owes
This plan comes from the Business course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.