by charles cowling
There isn’t a single successful
business in Britain that doesn’t seek
to grow through mergers
and
acquisitions. Consolidation, they
call it. It’s a factor of competitive
capitalism. Or greed, if you prefer.
Whichever. The bigger you are,
the more efficiently you can trade.
Economies of scale enable you to
bring your prices down, blow off
competitors — and hey Tesco.
So far so bad for Britain’s independent
undertakers. Your days are surely numbered.
Consolidation is under way. There’s no
future for plankton in an ocean ruled by
whales. Co-operative Funeralcare, Dignity
plc and Funeral Services Partnership are
coming to gobble you up.
If you don’t believe it, consider the fate
of our brewers. In 1900 there were 1,324
distinct beweries in England. By 1975 there
were 141.
Take heart! Just when the big brewers
thought the field was theirs, something
interesting happened. The Campaign for
Real Ale (Camra) turned the tables on them.
Camra’s campaign stimulated an appetite
for well-made beers and choice. In the
words of James Watt, managing director
of craft brewers BrewDog, “People want
something better, something ethical, and
something made by passionate people.”
He’s right, of course. The total number of
breweries in England is back up from 141 to
around 700 and rising.
continued