Opinion – Page 339
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Opinion
Retail can and will survive this recession
So that’s it. Credit crunch Christmas 2008 is over, the decorations are back in their boxes and the administrations came as fast as new year resolutions fell by the wayside.
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Opinion
Economies are always cyclical
Retailers are finally learning that a long-term view is still important in times of recession.
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Opinion
Primark: good housekeeping
Hoover the floor, change the sheets, clean the windows. All of these activities come under the umbrella term “housekeeping” and are what most people do a little of from time to time. It’s also a word used in retailing to indicate that the floors have indeed been polished, the carpets ...
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Opinion
Don’t discount Tesco’s success
Tesco has posted its worst Christmas performance since the recession of the early 1990s – evidence that as the downturn bites the UK’s top grocer is losing its touch and has been knocked by rivals.
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Opinion
A new era for grocery chiefs
As Co-op's merger with Somerfield draws near, chief executive Peter Marks should look at how his competitors' businesses are run to emerge as a grocery favourite.
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Opinion
Pre-pack abuse needs to end
Retailers face many injustices, some real, others perceived. But they don’t come much bigger than this. One of your biggest rivals – which has been in administration and then bought out – has a store on a major high street. And you’re paying their rent.
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Opinion
Primark: too close to home
Primark’s stellar first-quarter trading results have been somewhat overshadowed this week by the revelation that one of its suppliers has allegedly employed illegal immigrants in sweatshop conditions in Manchester.
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Opinion
Pre-pack exploitations are damaging retail property
Going bust used to be a big deal. The consequences were serious and far reaching, and for the individuals involved it meant curtains, at least in the short term.
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Opinion
Accounts an ongoing concern for retailers
For listed companies, the combination of scrutiny and disclosure obligations potentially makes life very difficult
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Opinion
M&S was right to spend on stores
There was a time, not very long ago, when Marks & Spencer store interiors were frequently described as “Stalinist”. The inference was that while the stock might have been OK, the store design department had been virtually non-existent and the shops had been preserved in aspic from some point in ...
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Opinion
NRF: Recession creates new rules of retailing
National Retail Federation president and chief executive Tracy Mullin opened the organisation's 98th convention in New York on Sunday with a blunt message to businesses trying to ride out the recession: they need to get real to the new rules of retailing.
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OpinionEngine room of Britain’s economy
Retailers generate jobs and property, so why isn’t that recognised by the media or Government?
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Opinion
Grocers are bucking the jobs gloom
As Retail Week launches its Backing UK Retail campaign, grocers including Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons are likely to play a huge part in staff recruitment.
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Opinion
A poor Yuletide but no wipeout
A week into the new year but - at least by the time Retail Week went to press - few formal profit warnings so far.
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Opinion
Backing UK Retail
Backing UK Retail is about the whole industry putting its differences aside to demonstrate how important this industry is to the economy, to society, to the very fabric of this country. Throughout January, in print and online, Retail Week will be highlighting retail’s vital role.
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OpinionMarks & Spencer: margins & errors
Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose appeared irked yesterday by journalists’ questions about the retailer’s lacklustre Christmas trading figures. Why, he complained, hadn’t the results from Debenhams and Next come under such scrutiny?
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OpinionCaution urged on contactless payment adoption
Barclays will soon begin issuing debit cards with contactless payment technology, a move that goes some way towards breaking the chicken-and-egg deadlock of contactless payment adoption.
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Opinion
Now is the time for landlords to get real
Landlords' rent concessions may be the difference between survival and demise for some retailers
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Opinion
Wilkinson an example to all retailers
Just before Christmas, a trip to a store in Leicester revealed what is, in today's climate, a curiosity.
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Opinion
New retail insolvency rules will improve communication
It’s Christmas, but with the torrid time retailers and landlords have had this year, is it the season to be jolly? From the list of retailers that have collapsed into administration, it doesn't feel like it.