Shows / The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show with people at the top giving insight into what matters
Episodes
- The Bottom Line
The Northern Powerhouse
Can the Northern Powerhouse solve Britain's North-South economic divide? For now, the Northern Powerhouse is a concept: an idea that towns and cities in the…
- The Bottom Line
Breaking the Mould
Rewriting the rules: what does it take to be a non-conformist? Evan Davis is joined by a banker, a brewer and a tech entrepreneur as they discuss how success…
- The Bottom Line
Financial Engineering
What does a financial engineer do? A mechanical engineer may design a machine, one that does a task or overcomes an obstacle, but what problems does modern…
- The Bottom Line
Fast Fashion
From the design desk to the shop window, how do fast fashion brands deliver the latest trends in double-quick time? Evan Davis and guests discuss fabric…
- The Bottom Line
Sponsorship
Whether it's high-profile sports events or blockbuster art exhibitions, companies like Adidas and Unilever spend millions of pounds on sponsorship - to get…
- The Bottom Line
Going Public
Companies like Royal Mail, Saga and the AA have recently listed their shares on the stock market. It gives them access to plenty of money to help them grow…
- The Bottom Line
Crisis at VW: A Bottom Line Special
Volkswagen is dealing with a corporate crisis following the emissions rigging scandal. Evan Davis and guests discuss. Guests: Sir John Egan, former CEO…
- The Bottom Line
Art and the Business of Taste
How do you value something like a painting? What makes one artist worth more than another? Who decides what is in vogue and why do they have so much power in…
- The Bottom Line
Supermarkets
Food deflation, the rise of the discount grocers and continuing price wars. Evan Davis and guests discuss who are the long-term winners in the supermarkets'…
- The Bottom Line
Entrepreneurs and Education
Who needs qualifications for success? Three business leaders tell Evan Davis how they made it to the top after leaving school with just one A'Level between…
- The Bottom Line
Newspapers - to pay or not to pay?
Despite widespread predictions of their demise and amid falling numbers of readers, newspapers are still with us. How are they adapting to the challenges of…
- The Bottom Line
Newspapers - to pay or not to pay?
Despite widespread predictions of their demise and amid falling numbers of readers, newspapers are still with us. How are they adapting to the challenges of…
- The Bottom Line
Burger Battles
The British love fast food. Each year we munch our way through thirty billion pounds worth. On The Bottom Line this week Evan Davis and guests discuss the…
- The Bottom Line
Angel Investors
How to spot the next Google, Paypal or LinkedIn? Three successful entrepreneurs tell Evan Davis how they use their own money to back promising start-ups…
- The Bottom Line
Outsourcing
Outsourcing has had a bad press over the years: What with taxpayers being charged for tagging offenders who were dead, the fiasco over security at the London…
- The Bottom Line
Corruption
The scandal at FIFA is just the latest story of corporate corruption to dominate the news. What steps can businesses take to avoid getting caught up in…
- The Bottom Line
Failure
If your business venture doesn't succeed, how can you be sure it's worth trying again before admitting defeat? More than 50% of businesses fail within 5 years…
- The Bottom Line
Productivity
Why is UK productivity lower than in many other countries? Evan Davis begins a new series of The Bottom Line by looking at the productivity problem. The…
- The Bottom Line
Corporate Scandal
Phone hacking, financial mis-selling and fraud: How do companies recover from scandal and negative headlines? Evan Davis and guests discuss the skills and…
- The Bottom Line
Football's Billions
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore joins Evan Davis and guests to discuss the economics and business of football. In light of the recent Premier…
- The Bottom Line
Going Global
Whether you're selling breakfast cereals, criminal tags or excavator buckets, expanding your business overseas can be a game changer. But when's the right time…
- The Bottom Line
Whatever Happened To?
Sock Shop, Golden Wonder and Lehman Brothers: big names that once dominated the high street, the supermarket shelves and the financial world. They faded from…
- The Bottom Line
Waiting in Line: The Business of Queuing
The science and psychology of the queue. This week Evan and his guests look at how businesses manage queuing. We're often told that queuing is one of those…
- The Bottom Line
Inventors
Artificial snow, a plastic hairbrush and a non-spill baby beaker: How do you turn an idea into a successful business? Three entrepreneurs discuss with Evan…
- The Bottom Line
Gold
It's soft, shiny and rare. A symbol of love, of power, of wealth - gold has been prized for thousands of years, its value rises and falls as the economies…
- The Bottom Line
Trading Places
Naked bath bombs, in-store coffee shops and customer satisfaction charts: Evan Davis and guests discuss some of the secrets to retailing success. Each of them…
- The Bottom Line
The Price of Time
How should we price services? By the hour? By results? Or by the difficulty of the task? And what impact does each model have on how businesses are run? In the…
- The Bottom Line
Upside-down Management
What is the role of a business leader? To tell staff what to do or allow them to decide for themselves? One theory about management is that it should turn…
- The Bottom Line
Family Rivals
Taittinger champagne, Clarks shoes, Theakstons beer - three famous and successful family businesses that have passed down through the generations. So what…
- The Bottom Line
Live Long and Prosper
Very few companies survive for centuries. Evan Davis hears from a luxury jeweller, a removals firm and a diversified business that makes money from ships…
- The Bottom Line
Wearable Technology
From smartglasses to smartwatches, tech companies like Apple, Google and Samsung are investing big money in technology that you can wear. They're designed to…
- The Bottom Line
Flash Sales
Flash sale companies are growing fast. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this new retail sector is changing the way we shop. How does the business model work?…
- The Bottom Line
TripAdvisor Etc
Online postings about hotels, restaurants, hairdressers, electricians: How much can you trust the views of a total stranger when it comes to deciding what to…
- The Bottom Line
Celebrities and Fans
Social advertising: Evan Davis and guests discuss the growing power of celebrities, the rise of the money-making super-fans who "like" their products and the…
- The Bottom Line
The Saviour Returns
The best person for the job? Evan Davis hears from four bosses who took back control of the companies they had once founded. Why did they leave and what events…
- The Bottom Line
Recalls
Faulty children's beds, mislabelled horsemeat burgers and exploding dishwashers are among the products recalled by companies in the UK to protect the health…
- The Bottom Line
Location, Disruption, Location
Civil war in Sierra Leone, political unrest in Ukraine, the Japanese tsunami and Hurricane Sandy on the east coast of the US - three guests tell Evan Davis how…
- The Bottom Line
Second-Hand Trade
Making money from old phones, engines and plastic bottles is the topic for Evan Davis and guests. How do you ensure that you collect what others throw away?…
- The Bottom Line
Mental Health
Would you tell your boss you had depression? In The Bottom Line this week, Evan Davis hears from three successful business people who talk openly about what…
- The Bottom Line
Single Product Companies
Can you conquer the world by selling only one product? Many companies start small, focusing their energies on a single item, with plans to expand into other…
- The Bottom Line
The Muslim Pound
How big is the market for halal - not just food, but holidays, fashion and music too? Muslim consumers - and how best to serve them - are the topics this week…
- The Bottom Line
Sex and Drugs
Making money from products with a controversial image is the topic for Evan Davis and his guests who represent companies selling drugs and sex toys. These…
- The Bottom Line
Bitcoin
The new economy based on bitcoins, the computer-generated crypto-currency, is the subject for discussion. What can you buy with them and as the market…
- The Bottom Line
Cyber Security
Can you keep business safe from hackers? Many companies now feel besieged by constant attacks and few can claim not to have been targeted. In the first of a…
- The Bottom Line
Serving the Super-Rich
Serving the super-rich: what do the seriously wealthy do with their money? How do they preserve or spend their multi-million or even billion pound fortunes?…
- The Bottom Line
Energy Upstarts
Turning up the heat: the new energy companies breaking into a market dominated by big established firms. Evan Davis meets two small entrants to the sector to…
- The Bottom Line
Transformation
Corporate turnaround and transformational tales. Evan Davis and guests discuss how companies fail, struggle and find their way again. Guests: Bruno Cercley…
- The Bottom Line
Chocolate
Chocolate is a big business as well as a delicious indulgence. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this global industry is tackling the pressures of rising food…
- The Bottom Line
Self-Improvement
Self-improvement: If you want to look better, feel better, perform better, there's no shortage of help available. Whether it's cosmetic surgery for the perfect…
- The Bottom Line
Life After CEO
Business leaders spend their lives climbing the corporate ladder, so what happens when it is time to step off? Evan Davis and guests discuss life after CEO…
- The Bottom Line
TV Formats
Successful TV formats like Big Brother, Pop Idol, X-Factor and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire are sold and broadcast all round the world, netting their creators…
- The Bottom Line
MBAs
Business school or school of life? An MBA from a top business school is what defines many of today's high powered CEO's - but is the qualification worth the…
- The Bottom Line
The Sharing Economy
The "sharing" economy is the topic of discussion for Evan Davis & his guests in the first of a new series of The Bottom Line. The market is built around…
- The Bottom Line
Design
Decorating your home is big business - in the UK and around the world. In China and India the home decor market is evolving fast - but will the result be a…
- The Bottom Line
Shipping
It's the lifeblood of the world's economy, moving most of our imports and exports and around the globe. But shipping is changing: vessels and ports are getting…
- The Bottom Line
Planning for the Future
Infrastructure projects can take decades to complete and are meant to last for generations. Planning for new rail networks, roads, bridges, airports - in the…
- The Bottom Line
Deals
When the world economy is booming, many corporate bosses love nothing more than buying each other's companies. Takeovers, mergers and acquisitions soar. But…
- The Bottom Line
Who's the Boss?
What is the role of a business leader? To tell staff what to do or allow them to decide for themselves? One theory about management is that it should turn…
- The Bottom Line
Digital Marketplaces
Where can you find a hand-stitched crochet blanket, the latest Lady Gaga video or sell your old sofa? Trading online makes it easier than ever to find a…
- The Bottom Line
The Business of War
Where there is war and fear there's money to be made from protection. In The Bottom Line, Evan Davis talks to ex-army leaders turned businessmen about the…