Day 197 - 07 Dec 95 - Page 09

     
       1      happen again and it actually did.  I was still at that
       2      time finding problems controlling the cost side of things.
       3
       4 Q.   It is a difference between 30 per cent and 31 or 32 per
       5      cent?
       6      A.  Well, it is -- what it actually means, I was spending
       7      that extra per cent which is coming off the profit of the
       8      bottom line.
       9
      10 Q.   That resulted in -----
      11      A.  That would be less profit for the Company because I
      12      was spending that extra per cent on the food.
      13
      14 Q.   Then it says:  "Remember, we are not a charity but a
      15      business trying to make a profit".  Then it says:  "You
      16      are to a large", at the bottom, "extent judged on the
      17      profitability of your store".  Does that ring true to you?
      18      A.  I always felt that that was the most important thing.
      19
      20 MR. JUSTICE BELL:  How much longer did you stay on as Manager
         after 1988?
      22      A.  Till I actually left the Company which was August
      23      1991.
      24
      25 MR. MORRIS:  Three years.
      26
      27 MR. JUSTICE BELL:  So three more years?
      28      A.  Three more years.  I think I had been a Manager about
      29      10 months at this stage -- just under the year, I think.
      30
      31 MR. MORRIS:  The paragraph above the last one:  "Labour is the
      32      only item which has come in consistently as expected".
      33      Just note that.  If we go to page 39, first paragraph, it
      34      says:  "You have a consistently good attitude".  Then it
      35      says:  "After over a year as Store Manager you have only
      36      now started to settle down in the job."  Note that.  If
      37      you go over the page to page 40 under "Profit", have you
      38      any comment about that paragraph, the first paragraph
      39      under "Profit"?
      40      A.  Well, by this time I had actually settled into the
         managerial role and I was feeling much more confident in
      42      the way I was dealing with things.  Basically, again it is
      43      saying here, that although it is actually improving, that
      44      still want to shave off those little bits more, and reduce
      45      the costs down so .....
      46
      47 Q.   It says in the middle of that paragraph:  "Areas of
      48      concern remain food (29.66)"?
      49      A.  So it has actually come down from where it was 31, so
      50      I have reduced it from over 31 per cent to down to 29.6.
      51
      52 Q.   Was that within their targets they were setting? 
      53      A.  Yes, and they were now saying:  "OK, well, you have
      54      brought it down that two per cent; let us try to get it
      55      down further".
      56
      57 Q.   Then the next paragraph it says:  "Remember that" -----
      58
      59 MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What are the percentages of?
      60      A.  Per cent of -- the sales were always calculated in the