Latest / Best of Business / Chris Wilkinson: First Retail Group managing director on the rise in online shopping outlets charging for returns

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Chris Wilkinson: First Retail Group managing director on the rise in online shopping outlets charging for returns · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. There'd be
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  Speaker 1: follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: Now. It looks like online shopping is and for a
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  Speaker 2: bit of a shake up, a UK retailer Asos is
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  Speaker 2: going to start charging UK shopers about four pounds to
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  Speaker 2: return items unless they keep forty pounds worth of their order,
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  Speaker 2: and in New Zealand returns will cost us about nine
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  Speaker 2: bucks New Zealand dollars. It's one of a number of
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  Speaker 2: changes being brought in by a big online retailers. Boohoo
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  Speaker 2: recently introduced a freight charge into New Zealand, and Nike
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  Speaker 2: has pulled out of shipping here all together. First Retail
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  Speaker 2: Group Managing director Chris Wilkinson is with us.
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  Speaker 3: Now, Hey Chris, Hey, how are you, Heather?
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  Speaker 2: I'm very well, thank you know, is this because people
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  Speaker 2: are taking the mickey with what they're ordering and how
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  Speaker 2: much they're ordering.
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  Speaker 3: There's been there, it has been that situation in the UK.
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  Speaker 3: Around six percent of Asos's customers make up a very
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  Speaker 3: large portion of those returns.
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  Speaker 2: What are people doing? Are they? I mean, is it
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  Speaker 2: true that you've got some people who are buying clothes thing,
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  Speaker 2: trying it on, wearing it out and then sending it back.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, there's a bit of that. You'll if anyone follows vloggers,
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  Speaker 3: you'll often see people you promoting the halls that they've done,
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  Speaker 3: trying stuff on, showing it online and then sending it back.
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  Speaker 2: How prevalent do you think that is?
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  Speaker 3: Well, it is growing in prevalence, and the abuse abuses
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  Speaker 3: are certainly causing most of those retailers in the UK
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  Speaker 3: big challenges.
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  Speaker 2: I imagine this is quite a pricey part of their business
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  Speaker 2: right because it'll be quite labor intens of having to
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  Speaker 2: unpack all the staff, make sure it's all there, presumably
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  Speaker 2: refresh it or whatever, and then put it back out.
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  Speaker 3: We've just come back from working in the UK. It's
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  Speaker 3: an industry in itself, these returns. There are factories dedicated
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  Speaker 3: to taking the product back, checking it, refreshing it and
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  Speaker 3: then either putting it back into stock or in some
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  Speaker 3: cases it has to go to landfill.
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  Speaker 2: Chris, is it going to impact how we buy from
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  Speaker 2: these places? Because I'll be honest with you, I don't.
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  Speaker 2: I really struggle buying stuff online because of the uncertainty
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  Speaker 2: of sizing and the quality of the stuff, and so
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  Speaker 2: knowing that you can send it back without any added
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  Speaker 2: cost is kind of reassuring.
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  Speaker 3: It's true. It's interesting because these retailers are encouraging Obviously
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  Speaker 3: Asos doesn't have stores, but for the other big retailers,
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  Speaker 3: they're encouraging people to bring those returns back into store
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  Speaker 3: and we're seeing store traffic is starting to rise back
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  Speaker 3: in the UK.
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  Speaker 2: Interesting, that's a very smart move. Okay, So is this
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  Speaker 2: just something we need to get used to. This is
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  Speaker 2: just the way it's going to be from here on in.
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  Speaker 3: I think so people will just have to realize this
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  Speaker 3: is going to be the way of the future. All
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  Speaker 3: the big retailers are doing it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Chris, thank you. Always good to talk to you
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  Speaker 2: appreciate it. Chris Wilkinson, First Retail Group Managing Director.
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