All articles by John Ryan – Page 3
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Opinion
Opinion: Debenhams. What's in a name? Not much.
Looking at the history of the Marks & Spencer logo since the 1930s reveals that there have been seven logo changes in the last 90 years, but that three of these have taken place since the turn of the millennium.
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Opinion
Opinion: A store without stock? Yes please
You don’t need to have ‘stuff’ in a store for it to be a shop. There are alternatives.
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Opinion
Opinion: What Ashley needs to do with House of Fraser
There is an almost pointless anonymity about House of Fraser stores currently. That is the challenge Mike Ashley must address.
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Gallery
In pictures: Retailers set up shop at festivals
With festival season well under way, John Ryan looks at the opportunities for retailers to sell their wares and win new customers at carnivals.
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Gallery
Store gallery: Foot Locker's new London flagship
US sportswear and footwear retailer Foot Locker has opened a store of two halves in central London.
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Opinion
John Lewis ‘pilot’ stores symptomatic of digital shift
The fact that John Lewis will use 15 stores to pilot new ideas is symbolic of coming to terms with digital and the new terrestrial.
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News
Primark stores guru departs after decade at retailer
Primark stores boss Peter Franks is leaving the fashion retailer after a decade to join The Hoxton hotel group.
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Analysis
Boots tackles the world's most advanced beauty market
In South Korea, there are entire streets devoted to beauty retail. Does new kid on the block Boots stand out from the crowd? John Ryan reports from Seoul
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Opinion
Opinion: Click and collect can be an ‘experience’
Whichever way you cut it, clicking and collecting has to be the ultimate non-experience that can take place in a store.
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Opinion
Opinion: Slow down, this is a convenience store
News that Tesco is trialling a cashless Express store at its Welwyn Garden City HQ is no real surprise, given that everyone from Amazon to Alibaba has been grabbing headlines and admiring glances for their scan and go, checkout-free stores.
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Opinion
Opinion: How Primark thrives without doing digital
Talk to almost any retailer at the moment and it will only be a couple of minutes before things digital form part of the discussion.
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Opinion
Opinion: Get naked to get shoppers' attention
Back in 2003, a lot of people took off their clothes and lay down in Selfridges’ beauty hall. Pictures were taken and Spencer Tunick, the artist and overseer of this mass strip, had another notch on his camera.
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Opinion
Is it game over for (mass market) department stores?
All but a few high-profile department stores seem to be in trouble, so has the market changed to the point where the sector is just an irrelevance?
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Analysis
In pictures: China’s Alibaba and JD.com reinvent stores
Retailers are looking East, not West, for the future of retail. John Ryan goes to China to see the tech-enabled stores of ecommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com.
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Opinion
Opinion: Why is Poundworld in trouble now?
There’s a lot more to being a successful discounter these days than having shelves laden with cheap stuff.
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Opinion
Do checkout-free supermarkets matter that much?
China leads the way when it comes to offering shoppers ‘scan and go’ supermarkets, but are consumers happy with what they’ve got elsewhere?
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Opinion
Opinion: Is it wise to open a new store in the UK?
Last week Aussie stationery outfit Typo opened a new store in a London shopping centre and it looked impressive, if pens and fancy paper are your thing.
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Analysis
Making small formats work for big-box retailers
As big-box retailers like B&Q, Screwfix, Dixons Carphone and Decathlon open smaller, high street formats, John Ryan looks at the rules that should be followed.
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Opinion
Opinion: Why has scanning come back to retail?
Back in 2011, a picture went round the world of a young man pointing his smartphone at a poster on the Seoul subway.
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Opinion
Opinion: Are you an emotionally engaging retailer?
Those of a certain vintage may know of a Jimi Hendrix album entitled Are You Experienced, and for the past five or more years this might have been the theme for any retail conference anywhere.