Gordon Brown

particularly up until 2007.

Exchange rates were all over the place.

Fuel costs were challenging.

Although I did look back and I noticed that diesel was 75 pence a litre then.

I wish it was 75 pence a litre today for some retailers.

And while not every year saw an increase in profitability, that general trend was always upwards.

So it was challenging, but it did move in the right direction, at least up until 2010.

Very much so.

I felt very sorry for them.

I knew the staff in the local stores that I went to.

And they'd seen the writing on the wall for a number of years, they saw.

More out of stocks, which resulted in lower sales, resulted in a downward spiral.

So they had a feeling that things weren't right.

It still came as a real shock to them, though, as you heard from Janet.