Retail Species – the operational turnaround man

The Person:Chris Yates The Company: Jessops The Job Title: Retail Director The Story: Chris Yates describes himself as ambitious with a small ‘a’. New jobs seek him out rather than the usual way round but he’s been head-hunted from pillar to post in the last few years and now finds himself on the board of…

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Shops and pubs are about community

It is not exactly difficult to work out why shopping centre landlords have sought to bump-up the number of restaurants and cafes in their properties. It is the same reason why the number of coffee shops and eateries has continued to increase in many town centres.   Social action in the shopping centre food court. People…

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Aldi Tops Drinks Retail Websites Table

Brought to you by Retailinsider.com and Cookie Reports  Discount retailer Aldi is the new name at the head of the table of the Top 25 UK’s leading drinks retailing websites for July, which was a month of great change including a serious climb up the table by Naked Wines. Aldi pushed aside last month’s leader…

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Insiders’ view of the world of headhunting

New Monthly column – Excerpts from a day in the life of a head-hunter in the leisure/hospitality/retail sectors Century Club: the new hang-out 8:30am Arrive at Century Club Much of my time is spent in hotel foyers, coffee shops and if I’m lucky the odd pub for what amounts to numerous meetings every week. But…

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Tesco failed to use its secret weapon – customer insight

We all know about the issues Tesco is facing because much has been written about its predicament and many solutions have been put forward by all and sundry. Tesco: searching for the solution it had all along. Blame for its current weak position has been apportioned to numerous sources – some of them more plausible…

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Innovative Retailers – Hubbub

Brought to you by Retailinsider.com and PCMS The Name: Hubbub The Place: Islington but if they have their way all over the place in five year’s time The Story: Marisa Leaf  was all set  to save the world, working long and hard as a human rights lawyer. Trouble was the hours were so long and…

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Movers & Shakers Q&A with Rowan Gormley of Naked Wines

Brought to you by Retailinsider.com and K3 Retail Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines 1. What is the greatest opportunity for your business? Our aim is to get the best winemakers in the world making wine exclusively for Naked Wines’ customers. We can do this by offering them what they want more than anything else…the ability…

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Guest Slot – Analysis Insider – Sarah Wilson

Collaboration should be at the heart of a retailer’s competitive advantage these days.  I was interested to hear a delegate at a recent event who had been away from the retail industry for a decade – taking a career break – say that little had changed in terms of her role within HR and training…

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Retail Species – The networked internet pro – David Smith

The Person: David Smith The Company: GLD Group The Job Title: Head of e-commerce The Story: Cast your minds back. To a distant and forgotten time in space when an organisation as big as the Football Association did not need to have a website and JJB Sports, the official retailer of England kit, did not…

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Packaging makes all the difference

For followers of fashion Biba is still held in great esteem as a pioneer of stylish clothing and its name is well known by most people over a certain age. But what is little known about the business is that it also had a (ultimately fateful) foray into retailing everything from baked beans to dog…

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