Michael Jary
Michael Jary is senior adviser at OC&C Strategy Consultants.
OpinionMichael Jary: ‘New normal? Retail needs to get used to the new weird’
Back in March I wrote on Retail Week that coronavirus would bring a tipping point: a permanent change in industry structure. At the time some readers wondered whether I might be hyperbolising. It turns out I hardly knew the half of it.
- Opinion
‘The new channel split is one of mission: buying vs shopping’
Why has online retailing not grown more during the Covid crisis? And what does that tell us about its limitations?
- Opinion
Michael Jary: Post-coronavirus, sustainability will matter more than ever
Back in a previous era, otherwise known as two months ago, public and business momentum finally seemed to be gathering for a serious response to climate change.
- Opinion
Michael Jary: Coronavirus brings a retail tipping point
In a crisis as big as this one, acting on the immediate challenges is critical. Thinking about the longer-term may seem impossible, or at least deferrable. But in many ways, it is even more important.
- Opinion
Michael Jary: Driverless cars will change everything about retail hot spots
In his autobiography, Sam Walton described why he preferred a small propeller plane to a jet. The Walmart founder could fly closer to the ground and see how America’s towns and cities were growing.
- Opinion
Opinion: Stores can beat online by avoiding the tyranny of choice
The gloomy Danish philosopher Kierkegaard found much of life to be painful, but it can be assumed he would have harboured a particular ennui for online shopping.
- Opinion
Opinion: Nine reasons why you are not really a digital retailer
In all the retail digital transformations I’ve been involved in over the past two decades, a simple truth has emerged.
- Opinion
Opinion: Are retailers ready for the new consumer ecosystem?
Many commentators, myself included, have shared their thoughts on retail-week.com on “the future of retail”. We all conclude that retail is undergoing rapid transformation. And yet, we have all missed the point.
- Opinion
Fairtrade ensures supply security, as well as morality
The aroma of a coffee plantation in full bloom is sweetly intoxicating. Jinaldo encouraged me to sniff the white flowers on the tall, delicate trees and compare their complex bouquets.
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Retailers can't treat customers like one-night stands
We often hear that we are in a general crisis of trust. Not only among brands, but also bankers, politicians, the media and nearly all institutions.
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Opinion: Improving is not winning in retail
The roll call of failed or struggling retailers is growing: Toys R Us, Maplin, Poundworld, Carpetright, Mothercare, House of Fraser.
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Follow Nike’s lead and remodel the brand/retail deal
It’s time to rethink economic partnerships and reward stores for their role in sales, no matter in which channel transactions are made.
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The future of retail? You ain’t seen nothing yet
It’s difficult to predict what the retail landscape will look like in the next decade. One thing’s for sure – it will be altered beyond recognition.
- Opinion
Opinion: The grocery market is not Amazon's true target
Most commentators have portrayed Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods as a drawing of the battle lines in the grocery market.
- Opinion
Opinion: Quest for frictionless shopping misses a trick
Current wisdom has it that retailers must smooth away ‘friction’ from the shopping journey.
- Opinion
Opinion: Time to rethink strategic planning
In retail, strategic planning used to be simple, but today there are a multitude of options to assess in order to become, and remain, successful.
- Analysis
Opinion: There’s never been a better time to open retail space
Space is big, as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy accurately noted.
- Opinion
Opinion: The armchair statistician knows nothing of diversity in the UK
How did we, including politicians, pollsters, betting markets and pundits, misread the mood of the nation so spectacularly when it comes to Brexit?
- Opinion
Opinion: Why retailers are choosing to own more of the process, not less
For a brief while the capital-light Uber model was touted as the “future of everything”.
- Opinion
Opinion: Retail’s productivity conundrum is as pressing as ever
Christmas brought a continued acceleration of online migration: not perhaps an inflection point, but certainly a quickening of pace.
