Opinion – Page 3
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Opinion‘Retailers must continue to make noise about unsustainable cost burdens’
Government-imposed financial pressures are inflicting pain on the heart of the retail industry – its people, believes Charlotte Hardie
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Opinion‘In a flat-growth market, tech isn’t just an enabler – it differentiates winners and losers’
The uncomfortable truth is that customers’ technology expectations of retailers are set by the best, not the average, maintains AlixPartners’ Brian Kalms
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Opinion‘Marks & Spencer is gearing up to make peak go with a bang’
After the cyber attack on M&S in the spring, it looks as if the retailer is ready to go all-out to be a Christmas winner, believes George MacDonald
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OpinionWhat the 2026 business rates revaluation means for major chains
Forthcoming changes represent a structural shift for big retailers, and they need to be prepared, observes Ryan’s tax services specialist Alex Probyn
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Opinion‘New business secretary’s Body Shop background may be good news for retail’
As the next Budget looms, retailers need all the friends they can get in government, but last week’s reshuffle means they need to build new relationships, observes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Retail doesn’t need more stores – it needs better ones’
Too many retailers still treat online and offline as competing channels but together they create a richer customer relationship, argues Trinny London managing director Mark Smith
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Opinion‘Topshop tie-up is a sign that John Lewis has a new spring in its step’
John Lewis’ deal to become the high street partner of fashion comeback kid Topshop is a coup for the department store group and epitomises new energy and a renewed sense of direction, believes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Retail media’s talent pipeline isn’t keeping up with the pace of change’
If retailers and media buyers don’t fully understand the tools and the context they operate in, a gulf may emerge between what’s possible and what’s delivered, warns Steve Ricketts of Publicis
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Opinion'As Waitrose’s Bailey checks out, he leaves opportunity for his successor'
Waitrose boss James Bailey is leaving next month. He’s steered the grocer through turbulent times and now is the time and his replacement should seize the moment – including more shops – says George MacDonald
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Opinion‘The customer may not always be right, but they must always win’
No retailer ever deliberately puts the customer second, but some make brazen claims about customer-centricity that they fail to come good on. Starting with the customer means taking a few steps back from what you’re selling, argues customer experience expert and former John Lewis director Peter Cross
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Opinion'WHSmith’s American dream takes on nightmarish hue'
A profit warning from WHSmith after the discovery of accounting problems at its US arm came as a huge shock, but comparisons with Tesco at its lowest point may be overdone, believes Retail Week’s George MacDonald
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Opinion‘To employee ownership and beyond! The Entertainer’s toy story shows retail at its best’
The entrepreneurs who built The Entertainer into the UK’s biggest specialist toy retailer are transferring ownership to their employees. What a great advert for values in retail, says George MacDonald
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OpinionFrom assistants to agents: What agentic AI really means for retail
There’s lots of hype, but agentic systems won’t deliver value unless they’re grounded in the realities of how retail works, argues Dunnhumby’s Sandra Stanley
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Opinion‘As it wins approval for restructuring, River Island still faces fundamental questions’
Any restructuring of River Island will only be a small step towards recovery. The retailer needs to find its sense of purpose, believes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Now’s the right time to assess the potential for retail M&A’
The current environment presents a unique opportunity for astute buyers of businesses, maintains PwC’s Lisa Hooker
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Opinion‘It’s time we faced into the reality that people don’t want as much new stuff any more’
Consumers are rethinking what – and how much – they need across all retail categories. OC&C’s Matt Coode suggests ways that retailers might profitably respond to an enduring change in shopping behaviour
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Opinion‘Unemployment fears could weigh on consumers’ minds even more than price rises’
A cautionary comment from fashion powerhouse Next that rising unemployment could be a threat in the months to come will resonate with other retailers, observes Retail Week executive editor George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Fashion sales are in structural decline and that has big implications for retailers’
Fashion volumes have been on a downward trend for some years, observes Alvarez & Marsal’s Erin Brookes, who offers suggestions on how retailers should respond
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Opinion‘Despite the demise of many department stores, the format remains relevant’
A traditional, well-run department store with its range of categories, products and services is a model consumers love, argues retail analyst and consultant Maureen Hinton
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Opinion‘When Walmart bets big on AI, the rest of retail will surely follow’
Two key hires announced this week show that Walmart is putting AI and front and centre of its business. The Bentonville powerhouse has traditionally led the way in retail, so this could signal the shape of things to come, observes George MacDonald