All articles by Tony Gregg
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OpinionMove of the Week: Mitchell the latest savvy appointment for John Lewis
John Lewis has been among the most active recruiters since the turn of the year and this week it revealed another significant senior hire with Kathleen Mitchell joining as trading director.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: It’s no surprise Amazon looked to UK for grocery leadership
Tony Hoggett’s decision to leave Tesco for Amazon is a seismic move that will reverberate throughout the UK grocery sector.
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Opinion
‘For the retail jobs market, this is the calm before the storm’
Monday was meant to herald England’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’. Initially planned for June 21, it has now been delayed until July 19 at the earliest.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Waitrose recruits outside partnership for top retail role
Waitrose’s appointment of the Co-op’s Tina Mitchell as its new retail director is significant for a number of reasons.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: John Lewis fills gaps at the top to face post-Covid balancing act
I’ve noted before how the leadership teams that took retailers into the pandemic will not be the same as those that lead their recovery. This is especially true of retailers most disrupted by Covid-19 – specifically those whose heritage is in stores and who sell discretionary items likes homewares and fashion.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Marks & Spencer takes big leap forward in its leadership team
The promotions of Stuart Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe announced this week mark a significant step in the evolution of the M&S leadership team.
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Opinion
‘As the jobs market reopens, be ready to seize opportunities’
For the 3 million people who work in British retail, the past 12 months have, almost without exception, been extremely challenging. Whether you’ve been stretched to your limit working for an ‘essential’ retailer or faced with the uncertainty of being furloughed, I wager it’s not an experience many would wish to repeat.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Dixons’ sustainability hire is a sign of the changing times
Dixons Carphone ’ s recruitment of Moira Thomas to lead a new sustainability drive could hardly have been better timed.
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Opinion
‘As the way we work changes forever, let’s not forget the value of office life’
When John Lewis Partnership chair Sharon White wrote in a recent letter to partners that “difficult decisions taken now will hopefully set the course for those next generations”, she was referring to the rebalancing of the business’ operations from store-based to digital channels.
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Opinion
‘Retail leaders face the task of reuniting furloughed and non-furloughed staff’
The government’s furlough scheme has been a lifeline for many retailers forced to cease or limit trading during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Waitrose veteran upgrades to Fortnum & Mason CCO role
Where does a passionate foodie go after ending a 17-year career at upmarket grocer Waitrose? The answer in the case of Rupert Thomas is an even more upmarket grocer in the form of Fortnum & Mason.
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Opinion
‘Tough choices about which staff to retain will soon come to a head’
Boris Johnson’s statement to the nation on Monday contained good and bad news for retailers. The good news is that non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen from April 12 barring a reversal in infection and vaccination trends.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: BP's Clements aims for market-leading convenience
The recruitment of Tracey Clements is a statement by BP that it finally intends to take its convenience business seriously.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Key fashion players bring relevance and style to M&S
The appointments of Fiona Lambert and Anna Braithwaite provide some welcome cheer for M&S’ clothing business.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: WBA’s Brewer hire marks a big step in the right direction
It’s hard to overstate the significance of Rosalind Brewer succeeding Stefano Pessina as the new chief executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA).
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Finance boss Marsh rejoins Dixons in a very different era
When you’re in the middle of a major transformation programme, it pays to recruit leaders with experience of significant organisational change.
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Opinion
‘Times may be tough, but 2021 brings hope for a fresh start’
Happy new year – in spirit, if not yet in reality for many of us involved in the retail sector.
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Opinion
‘This rapid change is not destroying retail but reshaping it’
At a time of mass redundancies on the high street it is only right to be sanguine about the prospects for the job market in 2021.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Williams tasked with maintaining eBay momentum
In a desperate week for high street retailers, Eve Williams’ move from Asos to eBay serves as a reminder of how the balance of power has shifted in the industry.
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Opinion
Move of the Week: Steve Carson swaps supplements for sofas at ScS
It takes a brave person to trade selling health and wellness products for big-ticket furniture items on the cusp of the deepest economic downturn in 300 years. Fortunately, Steve Carson has never been afraid of a challenge.
