Planet Business

Image of the week: Ikea’s veggie balls

Here's a new entry to the Ikea vocabulary: Grönsaksbullar. They are the vegetarian or "veggie" balls that are about to be added to the menu – or, as the furniture retailer puts it, they're a "first step to include a wider variety of healthier and more sustainable food choices" in the refuelling pitstop of doom that is the Ikea restaurant. "This is a natural step for Ikea, building on the vision of creating a better everyday life for the many," said the company modestly.

In Numbers: The 30% Club

21

Percentage of FTSE 100 companies with no female directors in 2010, when the 30% Club was founded by investment funds manager Helena Morrissey and when the British government began taking an interest in gender balance at board level.

0

Number of FTSE 100 companies with no female directors today. However, the proportion of female FTSE 100 directors is still only 23 per cent.

100

Members of the 30% Club Ireland, an offshoot of the gender balance movement led in Ireland by PwC partner Marie O'Connor. Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan became the 100th supporter of the organisation this week.

The Lexicon: Hanami

Hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing parties, popular in Japan in late March and early April, tend to coincide with the beginning of the business year, with the result that many hanami parties are also used by companies to welcome new employees and bring staff together under the glory of nature. As morale-boosting exercises go, a picnic with colleagues under a blooming sakura tree certainly makes a change from paintballing. Reserving a prime position under trees in full bloom is said to be a competitive business, however, as the season usually only lasts for a couple of weekends. That’s still a couple of weekends longer than the duration of “barbecue season” in this part of the world.

Getting to know: Tony King

Tony King is the managing director of Apple Australia who had the pleasure of appearing before an Australian senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance this week. His lack of homework prompted sniggers from the gallery. King told the inquiry that he did not know what a "double Irish Dutch sandwich" was, or, as he phrased it, "Senator, I have no idea what you're talking about." His blissful ignorance came despite "this being a globally recognised and infamous tax avoidance structure", as the Sydney Morning Herald noted, and was met with an "Oh, come on". Apple Australia paid $80 million in tax last year despite earning revenues of $6 billion. But the important thing to know, King said, was that Apple paid all the tax it owes. In common with a few other local Apple chiefs we could mention, he likes to keep his head down most of the time.

The list: McDonald’s greasy year McDonald’s is set to “beef up” its image with a new burger called the “Sirloin Third Pound”. It can hardly make matters worse after a none-too-golden start to 2015. Here are five problems the chain has faced:

1 Ketchup-gate: Burn-suffering workers claimed they were told by managers to treat their wounds with a smear of mustard, mayonnaise or ketchup.

2 Racial bias: Ex-employees sued McDonald's in Virginia, alleging some of them were fired because a supervisor believed the stores had become "too dark". It wasn't a reference to the lighting.

3 Shake Shack, Chipotle and Panera: McDonald's rivals are eating its lunch in the US market, prompting a sales slide. Boss Don Thompson was obliged to say "goodbye to the McFamily" in January.

4 Asian struggles: The rationing of fries in Japan, a scandal involving a meat supplier and some food scares (see below) prompted eye-watering losses.

5 Body parts: McDonald's recently apologised after a human tooth was found in some fries in an outlet in Osaka, Japan.