All Opinion articles – Page 16
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Opinion‘Shoppers are unlikely to feel giddy with delight when inflation falls to “only” 9%’
A fall in the rate of inflation this week proved more insipid than had been hoped for, but had it been bigger there would hardly have been cause for breaking out the champagne.
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Opinion‘Retail operations has become the training ground for successful CEOs’
A retail operations background is increasingly the training ground for successful chief executives, says Fran Minogue
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Opinion‘CEOs face the challenge of staying true to a long-term vision amid uncertainty’
Ahead of the World Retail Congress, Spencer Stuart’s Sally Elliott assesses the changing demands on retail chief executives and how effective succession planning can best position companies for success
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Opinion‘As Walmart automates, people still come first in retail’
Retail giant Walmart has unveiled what it described as building blocks that will “help define the next chapter of retail”.
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Opinion‘Retailers using personalisation for a quick buck will end up on wrong side of customers’
Retailers need to think about how personalisation strategies fit with building and retaining customer trust, historically the most important determinant of lifetime value, maintains OC&C’s Matt Coode
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Opinion‘It's not a matter of when a cyberattack happens, but how much damage it causes’
Cybersecurity breaches can result in huge, sometimes irrecoverable, reputational damage. Without proper response and recovery plans, a company’s chance of survival is lower, warns AlixPartners’ Brian Kalms
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Opinion‘As Shein ponders IPO, is the “next Shein” already coming up the inside track?’
A Shein IPO would be testament to a retailer built at warp speed to gargantuan scale, but in current conditions investors may question how strong its prospects are as established digital giants retrench and new competitors emerge.
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Opinion‘A stake sale would risk turning John Lewis into AN Other retailer’
Annual losses of £234m, no staff bonus, the spectre of more job losses looming – no wonder the John Lewis Partnership is considering whether its traditional way of doing things needs to change.
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Opinion‘UK’s economic underperformance matters for all in retail’
Long-term strategic thinking is required to drive progress for the country and retail, argues Matt Truman
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Opinion‘How to recover cost inflation while continuing to offer value to customers’
Grocers must walk a tightrope of managing their own inflationary pressures to preserve margins while continuing to win customers, says Alvarez & Marsal’s Erin Brookes
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Opinion‘Supermarkets aren’t to blame for product shortages, but it’s time to pause for thought’
Imagine the howls of fury from all quarters if grocers raised food prices. Yet, perversely, in the aftermath of salad-gate, that is what many have asked them to do.
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OpinionIWD: Three women in retail predicted to become the CEOs of tomorrow
Retail Week will publish its inaugural Future Leaders report on March 15; spotlighting 30 names predicted to become chief executives at the world’s biggest retailers in the years to come. In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), here’s an exclusive first look at three inspiring women in the line-up
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Opinion‘Can you be sure that AI will capture who you are and what customers like about you?’
Trying to distil the essence of a brand can be tricky, even for a human, let alone an artificial intelligence, cautions Kantar’s Tom Lees
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Opinion‘From automation to home working, Sainsbury’s changes highlight forces shaping retail’
Sainsbury’s disclosure this week of a raft of business changes affecting its Argos general merchandise division, and putting at risk 1,400 jobs, crystallised some big retail themes of the moment.
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Opinion‘Retail job losses hide a happier employment story’
While Christmas was better for retail than many had first feared, the start of 2023 has been marred by a wave of job losses in the sector.
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Opinion‘Does Tile Giant administration signal the end of the DIY boom?’
After a phenomenally busy period when everybody became Handy Andy or Andrea and painted the walls rather than climbed them during the depressing days of lockdowns, things are looking trickier as the consumer mentality shifts from DIY to done-IY.
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Opinion‘As margin pressure builds, retail media businesses offer chance to drive high returns’
Retail media networks are one of the fastest growing media sectors in Europe and offer a significant opportunity, say McKinsey’s Anita Balchandani and Craig Macdonald
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Opinion‘A Morrisons counter-attack could help restore the grocer’s fortunes’
Differentiation, a unique selling point that sets one business apart from another, is often talked about in retail but less frequently achieved.
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Opinion‘Tough times push retailers to innovate and find new sources of growth’
At a time when it’s easy to be gloomy, look deeper and there are reasons for retailers to be optimistic, says eBay UK general manager Murray Lambell
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Opinion‘Three years on from Brexit, the most difficult bit is yet to come’
Three years on from Brexit and the impact to retailers and consumers has been relatively limited. However, in many ways, the most difficult bit is yet to come, says British Retail Consortium’s Andrew Opie