Today marks International Women’s Day (IWD), a worldwide event that celebrates women’s achievements – from the political to the social – while calling for gender equality. It has been observed since the early 1900's and is now recognised each year on 8 March. It is not affiliated to any one group, but brings together governments, women's organisations, corporations and charities. One of the original aims was to achieve full gender equality but according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, there is still a huge amount of work to be done. Western Europe has taken the largest strides toward parity, currently at 76.7%, closely followed by North America at 72.9%. South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are at the lower end of the scale, with parity sitting between 60.5% and 66.1%. The report concludes that none of us are likely to see true gender parity in our lifetimes. Nor will the next generation. All told, it could take as long as 99.5 years to achieve. This year’s IWD theme is #EachforEqual, recognising all of the actions we can take to challenge stereotypes, fight prejudice and celebrate women's achievements. Progress is being made..but all too slowly.
Whilst the IPF seminar on sustainability scheduled for Thursday morning at Deloitte’s new offices fell victim to ‘Miley Cyrus’ (apparently the rhyming slang for Coronavirus), a hundred or so guests braved the elements to attend the Carter Jonas’ seminar which included a lively debate on UK multi-storey warehousing. A highly pertinent topic given how the concept appears to be gaining some traction here. The thinking behind a multi-storey shed feels like a no-brainer. London’s industrial land supply is in long-term decline. The growth of e-commerce, rising consumer expectations, a supportive draft London Plan, London’s strong population growth and the increase in city centre living have all driven up industrial land values. In fact, across Greater London, industrial land values increased by an average of 12.9% in 2019, with values in Dagenham and Barking and Park Royal rising by 31.3% and 26.7% respectively. The feedback from the panel was very much that occupiers and landowners are now increasingly exploring the opportunity to build ‘up’ instead of ‘out’. For example, Gazeley are in for planning for a 425,000 sq. ft three-storey warehouse in Silvertown (London Docklands). However, despite this apparent upsurge of interest, a note of caution. Not a single multi-storey unit has been built here since 2008 when Brixton delivered X2 at Heathrow Airport. Why? Well, a lack of an established rental pricing model, valuation uncertainty, a lack of developer experience, higher business rates, traffic congestion and existing road layouts were all touted as possible reasons. The prospects of multi-storey sheds may well be increasing but the barriers to them currently appear to be as high as the proposed buildings themselves.
It wouldn’t be a topical Weekly without dwelling on the Coronavirus. We are all talking about it. We are all watching to see how quickly it is spreading and, by the look of things, we are starting to panic-buy essential house-hold items. According to a survey from Retail Economics, as many as one in ten of us are stockpiling products like hand soap, toilet roll, pasta, rice and long-life milk. However, if we think us Brits have got it bad, you should check out some of the other countries that have been affected. In Sydney, supermarket shelves have been cleared in minutes, forcing one chain to enforce a four-pack buying limit of toilet roll. Armed robbers stole pallets of toilet roll in Hong Kong following panic-buying induced shortages there. In China, according to e-commerce site, Pinduoduo, demand for health, entertainment and cosmetics products is exceptionally buoyant. Nintendo’s Ring Fit Adventure game for the Switch console, which combines exercise and role playing, has been a star seller, whilst sales of yoga mats and rowing machines have also soared. Hair clipper sales have surged more than 400% with people fearing they may be unable to leave their homes for a trim. With the virus in danger of forcing schools to move online, there has also been a sharp rise in sales of student exercise books. Sales of electric eggbeaters are also up 260% as the Chinese reckon being stuck at home all day is the perfect time to learn how to bake. Oh, and condoms are among the ten most popular items being sold!