Ajaz Ahmed
Ajaz Ahmed is the founder of Freeserve and chair of Quba.
Opinion‘Don’t sit back and let other people do the innovating’
Covid-19 has kicked some retailers up the behind and woken them up because they had little to no money left in the till.
OpinionOpinion: Why have retailers become entrepreneurs all of a sudden?
Almost every day there’s another story on Retail Week about a retailer doing things in an entrepreneurial way. But where were all these entrepreneurs before the start of this pandemic?
OpinionAjaz Ahmed: There are no queues on Google – why are there on retail websites?
Your office is now empty and meetings are being held using video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Hangouts.
OpinionOpinion: The 2010s, the decade when retailers started to listen
The last decade saw many famous retailers go out of business. Names that we grew up with are no longer with us.
OpinionOpinion: The internet has made fools of timid retailers
The internet has gone from a low-stakes place to reach people to an arena that if you get it wrong, businesses will fall off the edge of a cliff, says Freeserve founder Ajaz Ahmed.
OpinionOpinion: Retailers sleepwalked into the death of the high street
It’s not looking good on the high street – stores are closing and customers are abandoning town centres.
OpinionOpinion: Customers don't say goodbye when they leave
When customers start spending their money with newer retail firms, they won’t bother to say goodbye to you.
OpinionOpinion: We need BAME board members, but not quotas
Should the government think about an ambitious plan to bring more BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic – used to refer to members of non-white communities in the UK) people into Britain’s boardrooms?
NewsOpinion: Retailers shouldn’t say 'it’ll never happen'
All my life I’ve heard smart, intelligent people say the words ‘it will never happen’.
OpinionOpinion: Insular retailers must open their doors to new ideas
We’ve all read stories about how young entrepreneurs who started off small and through hard work and perseverance, became household names.
OpinionOpinion: Dear John… Apple stores still boldly go
Ajaz Ahmed takes issue with Retail Week stores editor John Ryan’s review of the new Apple store on Regent Street
OpinionOpinion: Smartphones mean the digital retail tipping point has arrived
One of the first big internet businesses was Freeserve, launched in 1998 when the internet boom had started.
OpinionOpinion: Sainsbury’s and Argos tie-up? Advisors will do well out of that
A few years ago sales at Argos started to decline, so the retailer hired a consultancy to tell it where it was going wrong.
AnalysisComment: Argos needs in-store technology that stands comparison with Apple
Argos-parent Home Retail chief executive John Walden was recently asked to explain the decline in Argos sales. The stores may be the answer.
AnalysisMorrisons’ may be trying a new logo but it needs old-fashioned retail nous
Ajaz Ahmed was unimpressed when he took a walk around Morrisons’ Merrion Centre store where a new logo is being tested.
OpinionComment: Ikea offers brilliant lessons in the detail of retail
My favourite retailer is Ikea. It such a successful business and it offers so much for companies to learn about focusing on details.
OpinionComment: Is your business too boring on social media?
Social media has transformed our lives, but it is amazing how people pretend they know what they are talking about in relation to it.
OpinionComment: There's a good reason there are no queues for Apple Watch
Unlike other Apple launches, the tech giant doesn’t want people to queue for its watch. But the days of queuing are not over.
OpinionComment: Ask simple questions to enhance online success
Retailers should learn from the best ecommerce operations to ensure their online offer is as appealing as their in-store offer.
OpinionComment: Apps will continue to transform life – and retail
Some technologies have had a big impact on people’s everyday lives and retailers need to ensure they keep up the momentum