product suppliers Archives

The ‘Passion Supply Chain’ delivering customer engagement and commercial success.

The fundamental purpose of any retailer is to bring together a physical customer and a physical product, irrespective of whether the sale is made in a physical shop or online. A successful supply chain is therefore a pre-requisite for any retail business. However, managing the ‘beast’ of the supply chain to ensure customers and their products are ultimately in the same place, at the same time, is not going to-

How ‘Passion Supply Chains’ enable Local Independent Retailers to compete commercially and win!

I’m often asked how small independent retailers can compete against the scale efficiencies and operational expertise of larger chains. There are in fact, many ways, but always my first answer is about being authentic, about generating a unique passion. That ‘passion’ must be genuine. It needs to be engaging and infectious. And that can only be a reality if the owner and the colleagues take an active interest in the-

What can ‘we hardened retail professionals’ learn from the students at the London College of Fashion?

My collaborative project with the London College of Fashion has come to an end, for this year at least. Sad to say goodbye for now, but what an amazing and rewarding experience for everyone. The student’s final presentations were professional and polished. I can honestly say that I have sat through far worse presentations from professional businesses. Whilst I would like to take some credit for my input into their-

Invisible Technologies that turn ‘Product Graveyards’ into ‘Perpetual Distribution Centres!”

In the annual debate about the best use of retail technology budgets, heads are often turned by the ‘sexier’, and highly visible software solutions that enhance the visual interface and the customer experience. The rise of pureplay, the need for graphic stimulation, digital interaction, and brand immersion, all catapulted augmented and virtual reality to the top of IT director shopping lists. They are of course equally amazing and important. But-

Is 2023 the year when being a “Worthy Retailer” is no longer enough?

There are many examples, from politics to business, where those who were at the forefront of driving change failed to benefit from the arrival of those changes. New retailers, born from the ambition to create a world of sustainable shoppers and ethical businesses, have stood out from the traditional crowd of retail alternatives. Namely the exploitative business of recent decades. But as sentiment and sales swing to more ethical choices,-

Can we find hope for ethical retailing in the fallout from Black Friday?

Black Friday is generally recognised as the epitome of mass-market retailing, a customer celebration of huge price reductions, and the shifting of eye-watering volumes of merchandise. For retailers a big blow to margins, but the salvation before Christmas in terms of units sold, and this year an opportunity to offload unprecedented unsold, unwanted overstock to clear the shelves for the next year’s refill. Dreaded by advocates of sustainable & circular-

Is eBay the Sustainability Hero of Black Friday?

In case this sounds far-fetched we should remember that eBay began life as the online equivalent of a glorified car-boot sale. We all spent time selecting our target products, planning our bid strategies, and we passed some enjoyable and exciting times counting down the auction clock and firing in our last-minute offers. Before sustainable retailing became a significant movement, and re-sell was still largely restricted to charity shops, eBay was at the-

“2p or not 2p:” What is the point of Ultra-Fast Fashion?

This story begins with a Channel 4 documentary behind the scenes of the world’s largest ultra-fast fashion retailer. Against a backdrop of endless working hours and horrendous working conditions, apparently each worker earns as little as 2p for every garment they stitch and sew! The next chapter takes us to the inventory bloodbath of what has become Black Friday. For ultra-fast fashion, this is not about exclusive product drops and-

Discussing ‘Experiential Retailing’: Hotel Chocolat – ‘Vertically Integrated Indulgence’

Listen to myself, Tim Radley, on the Louise Lally podcast, discussing the much vaunted but little understood concept of ‘Experiential Retailing!’ Join the free podcast now through this link…Retailing with Meaning Ep1 Store Concepts (podbean.com) The podcast features a discussion on Hotel Chocolat, a brand that not only transformed the ways to create, package and display chosolate, but also revolutionised the vertical supply chain behind the beans. Hotel Chocolat is-

Read “Creating Customer Lifecycles:” Coat Paints – A Brighter Future!

Join me, Tim Radley, in “Meaning in the Retail Madness,” discussing how considerations about the product lifecycle must now be extended forwards to the customer purchase, their relationship with the product, and its disposal. The retail lifecycle must evolve into the customer lifecycle. Solutions must make more use, and more uses, of what the customer buys. Turning away from the throwaway, embracing and enjoying what we have. The terminology needs-