Insiders’ view of the world of headhunting

‘Excerpts from the life of a head-hunter’ working in the leisure/hospitality/retail sectors. [Unfortunately such is the sensitivity of the head-hunting profession that it is rarely possible that the names of the Insiders’ clients can be divulged] Mid-July – Everything’s gone quiet The nature of my world – and you cannot do anything about it –…

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Movers & Shakers Q&A with Harry Briggs, principal, Balderton Capital

Harry Briggs, principal, Balderton Capital 1. What is the greatest opportunity for your business as an investor in the retail/consumer-focused sector? We don’t look for opportunities, so much as great, visionary entrepreneurs.  When we meet an entrepreneur who’s identified an opportunity that others have overlooked, and we believe the entrepreneur has the talent and energy…

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New era of apps

When you think of apps your mind is undoubtedly filled with consumer-facing applications that make life easier and more entertaining. But what we’ve yet to see, certainly in anger, is the use of apps for business-focused activities. But it is starting to happen and the potential for it to impact greatly on the retail sector…

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Supermarkets’ websites lowly performers among drinks retail sites

Major supermarkets continue to under-perform online compared with the websites of other merchants selling beers, wines and spirits, in the table of the UK’s leading drinks retailing websites for October. The big guns of UK grocery retailing Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are all placed in the bottom half of the…

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Data helped bring Dixons back from near-death

Apple has been in the news recently with the CEO of Burberry taking on the role of head of retail stores and online, which was previously held by John Browett who lasted only six months and now heads up Monsoon/Accessorize. This slightly tarnished the reputation of Browett, which is unfortunate because when you take a…

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Innovative Retailer – Tiger

The Name: Tiger The Place: 250+ stores across 19 countries, 24 of which are in the UK. And before you ask there is no online trading and I will thank you to remember that The Story: Tiger, Tiger burning (very) bright – what a success story this Danish chain begun in Copenhagen actually is. Whatever…

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Retail Insider Breakfast with Simon Russell and Tatiana Fokina

Retail Insider held its latest Breakfast event this week with Simon Russell, director of retail operations development at John Lewis, and Tatiana Fokina, CEO of Hedonism Wines, discussing the evolving role of the store in a multi-channel world. Senior retailers from the likes of House of Fraser, Laithwaites Wine, New Look, and Wayfair along with…

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Guest Slot – Analysis Insider – Sarah Wilson

One of the greatest attributes of the internet is that it helps bring together groups of people who are willing to contribute to a common cause. The likes of Wikipedia sprang up as a direct result of this phenomenon called crowdsourcing. With this idea of outsourcing work to a crowd of ‘workers’ now clearly proven…

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Looking for defensible positions in multi-channel world

Apparently the pure-play retailer has had its day. This was one of the memorable points made by Jacques-Antoine Granjon the inspirational and maverick founder of Vente Privee at the World Retail Congress (WRC) in Paris. Try telling that to the AO.com (formerly known as Appliances Online) that has garnered massive praise from customers, rapidly rising…

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Movers & Shakers Q&A with Gracia Amico, e-commerce director, Hobbs

Gracia Amico, e-commerce director, Hobbs 1. What is the greatest opportunity for your business? International. Although we deliver to 50 countries from our website and have concessions in various countries, we have a very busy time ahead focusing on international expansion. We have just launched our German website and are three weeks away from launching…

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Return of the magalogue and death of the car

‘Magalogues’ is a clunky term that I really didn’t think I’d hear again. It was frequently bandied around in the early 1990s by mail order companies who liked the idea of mixing attractive editorial content with their products. It didn’t really work as the cost of printing these magalogues, with their non-revenue-generating column inches, was…

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Online bottled beer market wide open

Premium bottled beers continue to see rising sales and within this category the beers from smaller craft breweries are enjoying spectacular growth. The market for these beers continues to grow alongside increased brewery numbers and the universe of pubs that stock such beers maintains its upward trajectory. The younger male drinker is at the forefront…

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Innovative Retailer – Zulily

The Name: Zulily The Place: It’s online, don’t you know. But operating mainly in the US, where it has 10 million members, and the UK. The Story: As if your children didn’t already have every luxury money could buy, they can now also have designer wear/toys/nursery furniture at a fraction of the price. Launched in…

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