Opinion – Page 319
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OpinionArcadia: a tale of two brands
Arcadia’s recent results mask the fact that there are some less than ideal formats in the group
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OpinionThe writing was already on the wall
Threshers owner First Quench has plunged into administration. Where does that leave its some 6,200 staff?
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OpinionIs Matalan really worth £1.5bn?
Would you buy a business from John Hargreaves? For the sake of clarity, that’s as much a compliment to him as it is a caution to others.
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OpinionCreating opportunities out of today’s adversity
Beneath the debates over when the recession is going to end, whether shoppers will come out for Christmas, and how bad 2010 will be, there’s a quiet revolution going on in non-food retail.
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OpinionArmbands on the Titanic
It’s a funny word, ombudsman. Apparently it’s Old Swedish in origin, and Sweden established a Parliamentary Ombudsman as long ago as 1809.
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OpinionCan retailers deliver the goods?
The postal strike has cast the spotlight strongly back onto the doorstep and with it the abiding challenge of ecommerce; the ‘Last Mile’, that final hurdle of fulfilment for pure-play and multichannel alike.
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OpinionRetail surgery: Ensuring minimum disruption during the postal strikes
The Royal Mail strikes will severely affect our online fulfilment. How can we keep track of everything and ensure minimum disruption?
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OpinionRetail surgery: Ensuring online shopping carts cope at Christmas
We lost business last year in the run-up to Christmas because our shopping cart couldn’t cope with the traffic spike. How can we prevent this happening?
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OpinionLast night a kiosk changed my life
Just a couple of years back most retailers had written off in-store kiosks. But I had a moment in an Argos store yesterday; and it has made me think again about whether consumer perceptions of the technology have changed.
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OpinionWho are they kidding?
Today’s Times suggests landlords think the retail recession is over. That optimism might be misplaced.
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OpinionRetailing’s bit of rough
The rise and rise of the pop-up shop has meant that many eyes have turned to the lower end of the market for new ideas.
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OpinionA touch of Qatar
Just when we thought a year might pass without talk of a bid for Sainsbury’s, the Qataris are back in business.
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OpinionBig screen should boost HMV
The curtain rises on the latest phase of HMV’s reinvention today, with the opening of its first cinema in partnership with Curzon.
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OpinionNational postal strike would be a low blow
The art of letter writing is dead. You can send cards electronically, and even the gas bill now arrives as an email. It all adds up to bad news for Royal Mail, so you’d think the UK’s postmen and women would be thanking their lucky stars for the one glimmer ...
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OpinionDon’t fear a turnaround job
Why would anyone of sound mind ever contemplate doing a retail turnaround? The reality is that if you pursue a career in retail, the volatile nature of this sector means that you are more likely than not to spend some of your career in a business undertaking a turnaround.
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OpinionA VAT nightmare waiting to happen?
Retailers are probably losing sleep now thinking about next year. Will there be a recovery?
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OpinionRetail surgery: Disposing of old computers safely
We are replacing all the computers in the back offices of our stores. How can we dispose of the old ones in a safe and secure manner?
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OpinionRetail surgery: Assessing beginners to retail
Since the recession began, we have had a lot of people applying for positions in our stores who have never worked in retail. How can we tell if they would work well in our industry?
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OpinionWill Arcadia's Cinderellas come to the ball?
In what has been an extremely turbulent year for the fashion market, the shining lights in Arcadia’s laudable 13% profit rise were once again Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge.
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OpinionIs multichannel worth the money?
Investment in ecommerce and creating a multichannel customer experience is no longer optional according to the many retailers I’ve seen present at various ecommerce events in the past couple of weeks.