All Opinion articles
Most recent first.
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Opinion‘A Christmas profit warning is inauspicious, but retail has reasons to be cheerful about 2025’
Despite a hefty profit warning from Shoe Zone, as long as retailers overall meet muted Christmas expectations then City appetite for their shares could pick up in the new year, writes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Don’t waste a cost crisis – it can catalyse much-needed change’
Economic pressure forces evolution, observes AlixPartners’ Brian Kalms. Now is the time to break free from outmoded business models
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Opinion‘At Christmas most people shop with their hearts and if they can spend, they will’
Dire predictions about retail’s Christmas performance are almost as traditional as holly and mistletoe, but rarely come true, says Charlotte Hardie
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Opinion‘Twenty years on, is a boutique-style M&S store an idea whose time has come?’
Marks & Spencer’s pilot fashion and beauty store in Battersea is a very different proposition from the retailer’s usual approach to fashion. The format may bring challenges but is likely to prove worthwhile, believes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘As retail media grows, the roles of chief marketing officers are evolving rapidly’
Marketing directors must embrace the skills needed to stay competitive in a new era of retail, observes headhunter Clarity’s Fran Minogue and Callum Loader
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Opinion‘Perhaps there’s something retailers should admire in Jaguar’s rebrand’
Ensuring continued brand relevance relies on the drive and vision of people willing to take risks. You only need to look at the once much-loved retail brands that haven’t survived to be reminded of that, argues Charlotte Hardie
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Opinion‘After years of erosion, it’s time to reclaim retail’s lost profit pool’
Retail’s profit margins have been eroded over years, but OC&C’s Matt Coode has some imaginative ideas about how they can be boosted by embracing the great position of strength retailers hold as a window to the consumer
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Opinion‘Allan Leighton has turned Asda around once, but can he do it again?’
Since being appointed as executive chair of Asda a few days ago, Allan Leighton has been making all the right noises, believes George MacDonald
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Opinion‘The Lords committee believes high streets can flourish again – this is why’
The challenges faced by high streets are surmountable if change is embraced, believes Lord Moylan, chair of the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee, as he publishes the findings of a committee inquiry on the subject
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Opinion‘Christmas adverts have become too centred around a carrot and a bunch of copy-carrots’
Christmas adverts have become centred around a carrot and a bunch of copy-carrots, and it’s time retail led the industry through some well-needed step changes once again, writes Lucky Generals chief executive Cressida Holmes-Smith.
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Opinion‘Retailers are heading into a challenging period of adjustment post-Budget’
To make the numbers work post-Budget, retailers face tough choices to balance spiralling costs with the need to invest in productivity-enhancing areas such as technology. There is some action they can take though, points out Alvarez & Marsal’s Erin Brookes
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Opinion‘Retailers who miss the shift in customer interactions are likely to face an existential risk’
Shoppers are taking inspiration and guidance from a much wider range of sources than their preferred retailer, observes Accenture Song’s Sarah Lambert. That means retailers need to reach customers in new ways across new formats
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Opinion‘Entire retail industry is scratching its head to find a way to make the numbers work post-Budget’
Unexpected extra costs imposed in the recent Budget have left retailers reeling in shock. They will need all their legendary resilience to leap the hurdles placed in their way by the government, warns Charlotte Hardie
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Opinion‘Grocers’ Budget anger is understandable, but passing on the pain to consumers would be unforgivable’
The supermarkets have led an uncharacteristically brutal retail response to the recent Budget. While grocers have every right to feel aggrieved, Hugh Radojev writes, they’d do well to have a good hard think before passing costs onto their consumers
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Opinion‘Retail needs to sit up and listen to every available different way of thinking’
It may feel as if the retail industry is embracing the challenge of change, but Julia Reynolds wonders whether too often it’s surveying the scene through the wrong end of the telescope
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Opinion‘How retailers operate will change post-Budget as they confront new economic reality’
‘Last week’s Budget is likely to prompt changes to the operating models of retailers as they seek to adapt to new economic realities, believes BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson
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Opinion‘Next’s membership of retail’s billion club is likely to be longer-lived than some’
Big-name retailers have made profits of £1bn only to fade afterward. Next looks likely to beat that trend, argues George MacDonald
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Opinion‘Consumer sentiment is low but some retailers can still be optimistic about golden quarter’
Retailers that can make consumers feel like their purchase is essential or make products feel like an affordable treat are likely to have the greatest success this Christmas, maintains PwC’s Lisa Hooker
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Opinion‘As Mike Ashley steps back into the ring, why is he set on Boohoo for his comeback fight?’
The sector held its breath this morning as one of retail’s last great heavyweights stepped back into the ring. But why now, for Mike Ashley? And, more importantly, why Boohoo? Asks news editor Hugh Radojev
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Opinion‘Last Sunday my daughter and I watched a shoplifter headbutt a store worker outside Sainsbury’s’
Retailers need to seek fresh ways to ensure a genuine understanding of the unacceptable pressure that store colleagues face, says Charlotte Hardie