Author: Tim
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“What’s the Real Cost of Retail Store Disciplines?”
On a benchmarking tour of value retailers this week I found my initial curiosity and enthusiasm slowly but surely drained as I was repeatedly faced with dull store interiors, poor lighting, dirty shelves, torn graphics, display chaos and in some instances such a scarcity of staff that I could have used happily bedded down for a few hours…
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“Take the Easy Money” – M&S Bakery Heaven in a Block!!
Wandering around a Marks & Spencer food court in the weeks before Easter is still a very pleasurable experience if you enjoy comfort eating at this inclement time in an inclement year. M&S has had its fare share of criticism over recent years, quite rightly in many cases, however it still remains one of the…
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“The Fight for Retail Independence or Multiple Monotony!”
An interesting article caught my eye today from online research company Onbuy.com. Their survey was comparing the opening and closing of retail outlets by region of the UK, for multiples & independents. It goes to show how things quickly change in life, and in retail in particularly, the most dynamic of industries. Because what…
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“Global Local Retailing” – Familiarity & Contempt in the Backyard
The combination of a powerful global brand with local creatives, craftsmen and manufacturers has to be a recipe for success in this international world with its ironically specific local tastes. Passing through central London on an Oxford Street East to West route taking in the crisp morning air it seems that the better US brands…
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Maxximising Potential: TK Putting on the Style
TK Maxx is now so central to so many customers’ buying plans that it’s difficult to remember the huge strides it has taken over the recent decade to propel its proposition into the mainstream and its results into the realms of high street fashion fantasy land. It’s original UK arrival was so American and…
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Saving & Making Money from New Store Concepts & Re-fits!
We may all be forgiven for believing that physical stores are dead-in-the-water of the tidal wave of retail revolution carrying all convention before it on a journey to outlet oblivion.However it’s very much a matter of saving theatrics for new store concepts rather than dramatic and premature obituaries. But, before we get down literally to the…
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Are you truly a Retail Brand or just a Product Provider?
On the surface this may appear to be a question stimulated by the omnichannel evolution. In truth it has always been an important question however in previous times with a less demanding customer and a lower level of competition, being a retail brand was a less pressing consideration and the repercussions of not having a…
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Spanish Statement: The Primark Pinnacle of Pre-eminence
The last decade has seen the rise of Primark as a tour de force in the world of value fashion as it strides from the UK and Ireland across Spain, Germany, Italy and now to the United States. It is easy but incorrect to brand Primark as simply low prices. These it certainly has through…
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E-commerce efficiency: Facilitating your failure?
Don’t get me wrong I’m a believer in e-commerce and an avid online shopper, and I get as frustrated as the next man or woman when it comes to inefficient websites, product misinterpretation and expensive and extensive delivery times. And of course, efficiency is an absolute essential to any online retailer, and will make the…
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Omnichannel Overload: Finding focus in a confusion of retail possibilities
Why is omnichannel the focus of retail? The short answer to this is because it’s what the customer wants, and never has the old adage “the customer is always right” been so apt or so accurate as in the consumer-centric world in which we now live. Customers want the convenience of the online world with…
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