Person of the Week

Sir Rocco Forte

Sir Rocco launched The Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily this week, his first luxury resort development. The £120 million project is the 13th property in the Rocco Forte Collection. He told the Sunday Times, "I have always wanted to do a major golf resort. I don't think there is anywhere in Europe that does it well."

Quote of the Week

"You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all."

Reader comment on a HR blog on the best "Out of Office" messages
(NB: EP Condense does not recommend you try this!)

Facts of the week

Will 'healthy eating' replace organic as the key food trend?

Whole Foods reported a £36 million loss in its UK subsidiary this week – how is the business looking to reposition itself?

Since launching their flagship store in High Street Kensington in 2007 Whole Foods have yet to open a new store and, in addition to the operating loss announced this week, its parent company has been forced to write off almost £50 million in its attempt to crack the UK market.

• Inevitably, customers trading down during the recession have impacted on sales in the organic food market generally, and this raises an interesting question about how companies such as Whole Foods will respond.
• The debate appears to be leading towards how to reposition the business with stand-out agenda towards 'true' healthy eating.
• The company's Chief Executive John Mackey commented this week that "we used to think it was enough just to sell healthy food, but we know it is not enough. We sell all kinds of candy. We sell a bunch of junk."
• Jeff Turnas, the US executive parachuted in to lead the operations commented this week put this quote in to context, "Healthy eating went on a Whole Foods from at least about 1980 to 1995. Now we’ve had a 15 year run for the foodie philosophy. We are launching a reversal now. We will be moving into food as health."
• Whole Foods shops are set to be redeveloped around a healthy eating education initiative, including advisory services and a removal of junk organic food. How will this issue impact on other industries?

Source: guardian.co.uk

The power of the Coca-Cola brand

A contrasting look at the evolution of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands through its logos

As one blog points out this week, it is a case for conservatism. Click on the link to see a full size version of this timeline.

Source: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

Article of the week

EP Condense is EP's weekly e-newsletter. But did you know that EP is also a bimonthly magazine available via subscription?

Our Article of the Week provides a sample of what we have featured in past issue.

This week we feature a story from the EP archive. It is a management article entitled "Serial entrepreneurship: a continual learning process"

The subject of entrepreneurs has become a major topic of discussion and debate, whether it is through programmes such as Dragons Den or the increasing awareness of their importance to the economy. This article discusses research by the University of Surrey conducted through interviews with a group of successful serial entrepreneurs - those people who have embarked on numerous ventures with varying business interests. What were the common features of their experience?

You can sample a taster of EP magazine through our Amuse Bouche offer, two issues for £5 - click here.