Opinion – Page 362
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Opinion
Don’t just blame the market
It gives no one at Retail Week any pleasure that last week’s front page story about The Works being on the brink of administration came true even more quickly than expected.
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Opinion
Payment card industry is finally cracking down
Retailers that have been slow off the mark to become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard are now feeling the pressure.
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Opinion
The Works’ collapse has a silver lining
Having lunch last Friday in a typical property haunt, I noticed one agent give another a knowing nod. He was referring to the collapse of bargain books retailer The Works, which went into administration that day.
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Opinion
Cheap is no longer enough
News that value book chain The Works has gone under should come as no surprise to anyone who’s shopped at a Tesco Extra lately.
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Opinion
A case for the big two?
Speculation was swirling around the grocery sector this week that Asda is poised to make a bid for local grocery chain Somerfield.
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Opinion
The Retail Week – February 1, 2008
Surveying the wreckage of pub company Mitchells & Butlers, you have to conclude that Sainsbury's had a lucky escape when Qatari bid interest collapsed.
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Opinion
Non-food cannot afford to slip the net
Even against modest forecasts, the January trading statement season was miserable.
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OpinionWe’ve 3.5bn years to crack retail
A business model that will stand the test of time is more important than a dash for the finish line
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Opinion
Don't cut back on ethics
With disappointing Christmas trading statements from the high street, forecasts of a stormy global economic climate ahead and the R word on the lips of many a pundit, I have been asked several times recently whether I think UK retailers will be tempted to slash their ethical trade budgets to ...
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Opinion
Cheshire has a big job ahead
While not wanting to question the thoroughness of the search, Ian Cheshire’s appointment as chief executive of Kingfisher won’t have surprised many.
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Opinion
Shepherdson comeback hails new era in ethics
One of the first things Jane Shepherdson will do at the start of her tenure at Whistles will be to bring her ethical nous to the table.
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Opinion
Future looks bleak for minnow Beales
While most department store groups celebrated a happy Christmas, there had to be one that woke up to an empty stocking.
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Opinion
Move over Christmas, roll on St Valentine’s
Our store in St Matthews Quarter, Walsall, opened in June 2007, so we have just completed our first Christmas trading period. I was really pleased with our performance, especially the great effort put in by our new colleagues, who had never experienced an Asda Christmas.
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Opinion
Knowing me, knowing you
Many IT directors employ gatekeeper secretaries, guard mobile phone numbers closely and refuse to set up voicemail in order to keep technology sales people at bay.
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Opinion
Landlords are living in the past
The poor Christmas that many retailers suffered has meant this year has started on a glum note. The usual flux of property stories from retailers setting out their expansion plans for the year has been replaced by stories of caution.
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Opinion
UK is design supermarket
Walk along Regent Street, take a stroll along a high street or visit almost any shopping mall and the one thing you will see everywhere is new shops.
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Opinion
Life tastes better at Morrisons
Morrisons chief executive Marc Bolland will have toasted the grocer’s sparkling Christmas results this week.
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Opinion
Online, the fashion frontier
So, JD Sports has been voted the retailer with the worst customer service on the high street followed closely by another sportswear retailer, JJB.
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Opinion
Store manager’s diary – A successful Sale is all down to preparation
January is all about clearing the remainder of the autumn/winter reductions and focusing on the season ahead.
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Opinion
Bolland’s world of opportunity
When future retail historians write the history of Morrisons, the first quarter of 2008 will figure large. March will be the end of an era, when Sir Ken Morrison steps down as chairman. And what better present could he leave with than the grocer having turned the corner as spectacularly ...