All articles by Dan Coen – Page 3
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OpinionComment: An IPO filing for Poundland will need to be well thought out
This week, Poundland announced strong results, with sales rising 15% to £880 million and pre-tax profits growing 29% to £23.1 million for the year to March 31.
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OpinionComment: Retailers need to think locally – and act locally too
You could be forgiven for thinking that UK retail has finally turned the corner in recent weeks. Sales at Debenhams stores that have been open for over a year rose 1.9 per cent in the 10 weeks to August 31st.
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OpinionComment: Thorntons enjoys the sweet taste of success
Just two or three years ago, there was a lot of talk about Thorntons being another victim of the structural demise of the high street.
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OpinionComment: Greater innovation is helping mobile commerce to thrive
According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, the proportion of online sales made through mobile devices doubled in the three months to the end of July.
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OpinionComment: The OFT needs to remove ambiguity in price promotion laws
Last week, six furniture stores and carpet retailers came under scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for their pricing strategy.
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OpinionComment: Amazon - Sales are vanity, profit is sanity and cash is reality
I’m often reminded of the saying “sales are vanity, profit is sanity and cash is reality” when reading reports on retailers’ financial performance.
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OpinionComment: New Look enjoys a new lease of life
New Look was in the headlines this week after revealing plans to introduce concessions such as nail bars into its stores in order to increase shoppers’ dwell time.
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OpinionComment: Flexible contracts may be more ‘hero than zero’
A lot has been written this week about zero-hour contracts, whereby employees need to be available for work, but are not guaranteed any set number of hours.
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OpinionComment: Crown Estate's pop-up retail venture is inspired
Anyone who reads this column will know that I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative ideas in the UK retail space – and clearly I am not alone.
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OpinionComment: One-off events can’t guarantee retail success
There’s no doubt that ‘feel good’ events, like the birth of the Royal Baby, can have a positive impact on the retail sector.
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OpinionComment: Retailers need to learn that trust starts on the shop floor
Reports out this week have revealed that Tesco has launched a new marketing campaign as part of Philip Clarke’s plans to reinvigorate its fresh food offer.
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OpinionComment: Not all administrations are created equally
Several more retail businesses have hit the headlines after falling into administration in recent weeks. As this list continues to grow, it’s interesting to note the very different reasons why retailers end up in this situation.
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OpinionComment: Tesco continues to innovate with new projects
With news out this week that Tesco is to launch a wine brand which will be created by consumers, the supermarket giant looks likely to set a new benchmark for customer engagement.
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OpinionComment: Smart retailers have nothing to fear from quarterly rent day
We’ve had some sombre news this week as four more UK retailers headed for administration, putting an estimated 2,000 jobs at risk.
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OpinionComment: The online shopping experience needs human interaction
Burberry has just unveiled its latest attempt to humanise the online experience by allowing consumers to seal their electronic messages with a real kiss. ‘
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OpinionComment: Tesco’s woes are the dreams of others
Another week, another Tesco bashing. Whilst it is clearly going through a rough patch, its issues are exacerbated by the fact it is the bellwether, not just for UK retail but for the UK’s economy.
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OpinionComment: Ocado’s pet store - The dawn of an online empire?
Just this week, the Centre for Retail Research released new findings predicting that the share of online from overall retail sales will rise from 12.7% in 2012 to 21.5% by 2018.
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OpinionComment: WH Smith continues to confound the critics
WH Smith has just received the unfortunate ‘honour’ of receiving the lowest customer service rating in a UK league table of customer satisfaction.
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OpinionComment: Boots must remember its loyal customers
The owner of Boots has just announced a trading profit of £1.27bn in the year to March 31 – marking its second straight year of double-digit growth.
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OpinionComment: Management changes at Jack Wills hint at global aspirations
Jack Wills has just announced some more high-level changes to its management team as the company prepares for its next phase of expansion.