John Roberts, the chief executive of AO, a prominent UK retailer of household appliances, emphasizes the importance of government support for businesses like his. Roberts takes home a stunning annual salary of £546,000. He has, among other things, led AO, formerly known as Appliances Online, from a startup into a Fortune 500 company that employs almost 9,000 people across the UK. At 51 years old and a proud father of five, he reflects on his journey from humble beginnings to leading a £564 million business.
For Roberts, his extraordinary career started when he lost a £1 bet with a friend to kick off the idea for AO. He started out selling cheap fridges and washing machines. Today, his business has expanded to carry a wide range of home goods with televisions, laptops, and scales filling the floor display. This success story starts, perhaps surprisingly, in the north west of England. He attributes his wonderful loving family and the excellent education he received at Bolton School as key factors in preparing him for that journey.
Roberts is bullish about what’s ahead. He contends with the recent economic shocks, such as the post-Covid pandemic slowdown in trade and difficulties with developing his international footprint. He recently announced AO’s first share buyback and raised the company’s profit outlook for the full year. He cautions that as the uncertainty fades, the UK is probably still facing an economic tsunami into recession.
In his speech, Roberts makes an important point about government support being a crucial ingredient in the business incubation recipe. He stated, “To not accept that is fantasyland, and we’re a UK success story. As a business, we employ thousands of people, we do great service. We’re rooted in the UK, and we should be turbocharged by our UK government, not disadvantaged.”
One of Roberts’ biggest fears is the cost that it will take to run a business in our new normal. He noted, “We can’t carry costs that some of our competitors are not carrying. It’s as simple as that.” This sentiment mirrors his larger, overarching critique of government policies — from regulations to taxes — that he feels are standing in the way of job creation and investment.
The chief executive’s hearts and minds campaign focused on discouraging taxation of rich people, as bad for business. He stated, “What I really object to is the narrative that you can just keep taxing wealthy people and wasting the money. We are driving incredible amounts of wealth out of this nation.” His comments reveal a goal of creating a more business-friendly environment that nurtures innovation and promotes long-term growth.
Though he knows the economy isn’t making things easy, Roberts remains positive that the potential is still out there. “The market is still huge, we are still a very prosperous nation and so in that is a tonne of opportunity,” he remarked. This line of thinking highlights just how confident he is in AO’s evergreen resiliency and chances for ongoing accomplishments.
Roberts’ leadership style is an extension of his focus on social responsibility, too. For the past 11 years, he has donated all his AO share options and any earnings from other investments to charity. His philanthropic approach illustrates a deeper commitment to overall business success. Along the way, he tries to make the world a better place.
Roberts provides incisive guidance through the thicket of today’s economic landscape. He continues to emphasize the importance of job creation and developing a nurturing atmosphere for businesses to thrive. He stated, “We should be talking about job creation, not enforcing things that make business leaders think twice about recruiting people and about giving somebody a chance.”
Roberts’ ambitious plans for AO and the entrepreneurial community more broadly intersect perfectly with his belief that government should be engaged proactively. His main point was to explain just how often these politicians pursue votes instead of enacting true economic growth. “Politicians live in a world of votes; they only care about the votes,” he observed.