Movers & Shakers Q&A – Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, president of techUK and non-executive director & advisor

Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, president of techUK and non-executive director & advisor 1. What is the greatest opportunity for consumer-facing/retail businesses? Once upon a time the retail industry was all about selling, now its biggest opportunity is providing unparalleled, interactive experiences to customers. The rise of subscription services and the pervasiveness of connected devices such…

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Retailers have lots of learn from the restaurant experience

As retailers look to deliver more immersive experiences in-store there is a lot they can learn from the restaurant industry where some operators are creating very rich stories in their venues. Among them is Indian restaurant chain Dishoom that has been building a successful business initially in London but soon it will have an outpost…

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Volume is what most brands really value

A few years ago if you wandered into a Poundland store you really would not have known what products you’d find on the shelves. This was because the business sourced many of its branded lines via third-parties because the brand owners would not supply the retailer direct. The issue was that the well known brands…

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Innovative Retailer – Birchbox

Name: BirchBox The Place: Head quartered in New York because, um, that’s where the early adopting cool people live but it’s mainly an online outfit which operates in numerous countries and is now definitely in the UK too. The Story: Every now and again this column likes to give a shout out to a company…

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Secondary Siberia dining rooms

Regular restaurant-goers and those in the industry will know that every venue has its own versions of the Siberia tables, which in the case of the worst examples only the unwitting and timid would fail to reject when directed to by the front-of-house team. Those tables situated right next to the toilets, in draughty doorways,…

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