When economic times are as challenging and unpredictable as they are today - in all markets - it is tempting for retailers to pin all the blame for poor trading on these external factors. Most retailers, most of the time, will always say they have little influence on the macro picture so you just have [...]
Posts under ‘People’
People power
It seemed appropriate that on the day that Retail Week ran its Retail Investment Summit, J Crew should announce that it has sold the business to private equity. Retail Week’s excellent 2 day event brought together private equity houses, retailers, investment banks and advisors to the PE community to discuss the current state of play [...]
Passion, people and product
So, after 18 months of waiting and planning, the 2010 World Retail Congress seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. But from the many conversations I have had during and since the Congress closed, there is so much to take-in. Unsurprisingly given the scale and breadth of the event with its 130+ [...]
Fun, fun, fun
For anyone walking through London’s Covent Garden last weekend, they may have been wondering if they had stumbled across a film premier. There were crowds of people snaking around the Piazza, safety barriers, cheering and loads of excitement. But this wasn’t a film premier, this was the opening of Apple’s latest flagship store. London’s Regent [...]
The size of the challenge
The big news in UK retailing last week was the announcement of a new CEO for Marks and Spencer. After months of speculation, the company unveiled their choice for this crucial position to be Marc Bolland, the former Heineken COO and then saviour of UK food retailer, Morrison’s. A surprise on the one hand - [...]
A question of talent
Its become an annual obsession every late August here in the UK to discuss educational standards. The reason is that this is when students at both 16 and 18 year old age level receive their exam results and so determining their future path to further education, or not. Its become an obsession - mostly by [...]
Power to the people
Co-hosting a retail dinner last night with Oracle, it was fascinating that much of the discussion focussed around the importance of people, morale and service. For the assembled retail executives, there was of course an acceptance of the current tough trading environment. Some retailers in the value sector of fashion were even, quietly, admitting that [...]
Painful recovery
Visiting Berlin this week on the day that the giant Arcandor group filed for bankruptcy was a sharp reminder that this recession still has some way to go before it is played out. This is despite the fact that over the last few weeks, commentators have been latching onto any positive indicators that have been published [...]
