All articles by Ian McGarrigle
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VideoReview of the year: What changed retail in 2019?
It has been another 12 months of change in the retail sector. The Retail Week team looks back on 2019 and selects some of the landmark moments and trends that characterised the year and will likely shape the industry in 2020 and beyond.
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VideoJD.com's vice president on how it is creating ‘boundary-less retail’
JD.com vice president and general manager of JD Retail Solutions Chenkai Ling explains how the Chinese ecommerce giant is redefining itself as a technology and service enterprise, and how management got a wake-up call to put consumers first, not numbers.
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OpinionComment: The insight new leaders need to face the changing retail world
With new developments in retail technology and attitudes coming thick and fast, retailers need proper context to create the right strategy.
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OpinionComment: Do today's consumers still care about the brand?
At a recent conference on the future of retail, one speaker’s presentation left people feeling pretty worried.
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OpinionComment: It's too early to call Christmas just yet
Late last month I was asked to present to a German company on the latest retail trends and developments from around the world.
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OpinionComment: Economic optimism at the World Retail Congress
Last week was the seventh annual World Retail Congress. For the past few years, the elephant in the room was undoubtedly the economy.
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OpinionComment: Old-fashioned customer service goes a long way in retail
The battle between online and multichannel retailers shows no sign of abating, despite the Government seemingly dismissing the call for an online sales tax.
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OpinionComment: Retail must offer support to attract the best graduates
At colleges and universities up and down the country, thousands of students are receiving their degrees or diplomas in graduation ceremonies.
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OpinionComment: What next for the landscape of our towns and cities?
When Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke gave the opening address to the World Retail Congress last year, he declared an end to the retail Space Race.
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OpinionComment: Singapore hosts The World Retail Congress Asia Pacific
You only have to be in Asia just a few hours to realise the world is now truly divided into the ‘old’ and the ‘new’.
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OpinionComment: Deciding factors for survival? Specialisation and authority
The last few months seem to have been a tipping point in retail, with major casualties adding to the loss of jobs and the closure of hundreds more high street shops.
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OpinionComment: 2012 - The year 2012 in review
This is my last column of the year. So what sort of year do we think it’s been? A strange one in many respects and certainly quite unique.
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OpinionComment: Retail remains an ever-changing sector
It doesn’t seem that long ago that management consultants and business schools were kept busy churning out reports with titles such as ‘How to compete against Walmart’.
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OpinionComment: Summarising the World Retail Congress 2012
A year in the preparation and planning, and in three days the World Retail Congress 2012 was all over.
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OpinionComment: International expansion is important for long-term growth
At next month’s World Retail Congress, four retailers will be inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame: Sir Stuart Rose, Lew Frankfort, Dickson Poon and Sir Paul Smith.
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OpinionComment: Airports can provide a great retail experience
There is something about airport terminals that makes people behave completely out of character.
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OpinionDepartment stores still have an important role to play
It is probably a generational thing but often when you think department stores you are drawn to a particular name and the town or city that links it.
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OpinionFamily businesses must keep up with the pace
Retailing is often a family affair. Many independents are family businesses and a large number of start-ups are family-run.
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OpinionIt's been a bad few weeks for the high street
The collapse of Game and the closure of nearly half its shops summed that up starkly.
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OpinionWork experience in retail can lead to great things
Ian McGarrigle has been writing about and publishing for the retail sector for over 20 years. He was a member of the launch team for Retail Week.