The World of Business

Online retail spending has increased more than four fold in the last ten years - it now accounts for almost one in five pounds we spend shopping. But whilst times are tough for our high streets, e-retailing is far from a licence to print money. With widespread discounting and a growing cost of delivery and returns, margins are being squeezed and many are finding it a struggle to survive. In this programme, Adam Shaw investigates how the economics of e-commerce work, what the move to predominantly online will mean for many retailers and what our shopping environment may look like in 10 years time. Presenter: Adam Shaw Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Penny Murphy Image: A woman packing a box to post Credit: Getty Images

India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing fashion markets and is expected to touch $60 billion by 2022, which will make it the sixth largest in the world. This is due to its rapidly growing middle class and tech savvy consumers, who are buying online, as well as from a plethora of shopping malls which have mushroomed in the country’s bigger cities. International brands are trying to step in and take a share of this demand – some 300 of them are planning to open stores in India within the next two years. The BBC’s Nina Robinson talks to e-commerce brands, retailers, fashion entrepreneurs and influencers. The programme also features the Usha sewing project which is helping to train hundreds of thousands of rural women in sewing skills. Producer/presenter: Nina Robinson Image: Woman from the Usha sewing project at a sewing machine Credit: Nina Robinson/BBC

Twenty million Brits give their time for free each year. From the National Trust to the hospice coffee morning, the Samaritans to the local football club, huge parts of our world rely on volunteers. But how easy is it to manage a workforce who can walk out at a moment's notice? How can you ensure people perform well - or even turn up - without the "carrot and stick" of pay and disciplinary procedures? Presenter Claire Bolderson knows both sides of this: she volunteers at a food bank, but also chairs the governors at her local school. With the help of an RNLI lifeboat crew, a bustling community centre, and a whole roomful of professional volunteer managers, she discovers just how to get the best out of volunteers - and how much managers of paid staff have to learn from them. Contributors include: Tim Ody - Station Manager, RNLI Teddington Pam Bardouille - Volunteer Co-Ordinator, The Dalgarno Trust Jarina Choudhury - Volunteering Development Consultant, NCVO Emma Knights - Chief Executive, National Governance Association Dr Jenna Ward - University of Leicester Presenter: Claire Bolderson Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton Picture: BBC

Strawberries at Christmas? No problem! And as cheap as ever? Yes, of course! Many of us have become used to buying whatever fruit and vegetables we want, whenever we want, no matter the season. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are available in supermarkets all year round. Until recently that was not the case. So what does it take for this to happen and what’s the cost? John Murphy peels back the layers of the berry industry, which has grown massively in recent years. Despite increasing production costs, prices have remained stable. Can that continue? Politics, economics and the environment could have a bruising impact on producers and on the price and availability of the fresh fruit we eat. Presenter: John Murphy Producer: Sally Abrahams Picture Credit: BBC

Chinese technology company, Huawei, is the world’s biggest supplier of network telecoms equipment, and with a research budget of up to $20 billion, its ambition is to be even bigger still. However, it’s also one of the most controversial businesses of our time. The United States and others have banned its involvement in their critical infrastructure, fearing that Beijing might use the company to spy, steal trade secrets, or even wage cyber warfare. Huawei insists that its networks are as secure as anyone else’s, and says that its technology is literally years ahead of competitors, so countries who reject it risk falling behind. As the world prepares for a technological revolution through 5th Generation mobile communications, the BBC has gained rare access to Huawei’s founder and Chairman, Ren Zhengfei, to explore his company’s origins, its rise to global pre-eminence, and what makes it tick. And, to ask if the current security questions threaten its continued growth. Presenter: Karishma Vaswani Producer: Michael Gallagher Picture: Customers entering a Huawei Technologies Co. store in Beijing, China Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images