"John Roberts doesn't mince his words. The so-called kitchen king started AO selling discounted fridges and washing machines after a 1 bet with a friend that he couldn't pull it off. Some 25 years later, he's won his bet and then some. He is now at the helm of a 564m UK empire selling a host of big and small household appliances from TVs, laptops and phones, to fridge freezers, washing machines, kettles and toasters."
"He is a British success story. As founder and chief executive, Roberts has built the firm - formerly known as Appliances Online - up from scratch to an employer of some 3,000 people in the UK. The firm has overcome a post-Covid pandemic slump in trade and problems with international expansion to recently launch its first share buyback and raise its profit outlook for the full year."
"The bumper financial figures fly in the face of grumblings over the current economic backdrop, tough business environment, and household cutbacks on the types of big, one-off purchases Roberts' firm sells. He bounds into the studio for our Big Boss Interview, a new business podcast from the BBC, with the energy of someone looking forward to a first pint on a Friday night,"
John Roberts founded AO after a bet, starting by selling discounted fridges and washing machines and building the company over 25 years into a £564m appliance retailer. The business sells products ranging from TVs, laptops and phones to fridge freezers, washing machines, kettles and toasters, and employs about 3,000 people across the UK. The firm navigated a post-Covid slump and international expansion problems, and recently initiated a share buyback while raising its full-year profit outlook. Roberts criticizes recent UK policy changes, including employer National Insurance rises and the Employment Rights Bill, arguing higher costs and uneven international competition reduce firms' ability to take risks.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]