Features
Features delivers in-depth coverage of the people, brands, and trends shaping the UK retail landscape. This section offers detailed reports, case studies, and interviews exploring innovation, strategy, and performance across high street, ecommerce, and luxury sectors. Retail Sector’s Features coverage provides retail leaders, managers, and suppliers with contextual insight into business transformation, consumer behaviour, and the evolving commercial environment driving long-term success.
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Sep- 2025 -23 September
How the Fine Bedding Company became Family Business of the Year
When The Fine Bedding Company (FBC) was named Family Business of the Year in the Innovation category at this year’s Family Business United awards, it recognised more than a century of combining family heritage with forward-looking sustainability. The accolade marked a journey that began in Liverpool in 1912 and now…
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22 September
Journey to AI: build strong foundations for retail success
While AI has been grabbing headlines and presenting a vision of what is to come, AI is real and effective right now, and it forms the keystone of the retail industry’s future. But for many businesses, the journey to AI feels like a daunting one. Fragmented data systems, legacy processes,…
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16 September
Why Inditex is betting on speed while rivals retract
Fashion retail is in a moment of reckoning. Inflation, freight costs and currency headwinds are pressuring margins across the board, while digital disruption continues to reshape how consumers shop. Many players have responded by scaling back their physical footprint, trimming overheads, or leaning heavily into online channels. But Inditex, the…
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5 September
What does the future hold for Poundland?
Last week Poundland was saved from collapse just days before the company ran out of money after its restructuring plan was approved by a High Court. Barristers told a hearing that it would fall into administration by Friday and could run out of money by 7 September if the plan…
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Aug- 2025 -22 August
Retail media: Hugh Stevens on the data that powers the future
Retail media has emerged from the periphery of marketing strategy into one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving sectors in modern commerce. At the centre of that transformation is a growing recognition that first-party data—properly governed, connected, and activated—offers retailers and brands unprecedented opportunities to collaborate, personalise, and grow.…
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21 August
River Island’s predicament: High Court rescue buys time, not certainty
River Island has won a crucial lifeline after a High Court judge sanctioned its restructuring plan, allowing the embattled fashion retailer to push ahead with sweeping store closures, deep rent cuts, and a debt write-off. The ruling came just days before the company warned it would run out of money…
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14 August
How AI is hijacking fashion retailers’ hard-won website traffic
For more than two decades, fashion and beauty brands have lived and died by the rules of Google’s search engine. From carefully crafted meta descriptions to blogs seeded with trending terms, the quest to climb search rankings has been one of the industry’s most consistent (and most costly) marketing obsessions.…
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Jul- 2025 -29 July
Claire’s on the brink: can the chain avoid another collapse?
For decades, Claire’s has been the go-to destination for sparkly earrings, scrunchies and ear piercings – a rite of passage for generations of teenagers. But the glitter is starting to fade. The jewellery and accessories retailer, which operates nearly 300 shops in the UK and more than 2,300 worldwide, has…
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25 July
What Sycamore’s $10bn WBA takeover means for the UK high street
A $10bn (£7.4bn) takeover of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) by Sycamore Partners has been officially approved, with 96% of shareholders voting in favour. This decisive vote underscores the significance of the deal, which is poised to transform a major entity at the intersection of retail and healthcare. Expected to close…
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17 July
What will separate supply chain winners and losers in the years to come
For decades, logistics and supply chain operations have been the unsung heroes of commerce—efficiently humming behind the scenes, away from public attention. But in a world shaped by pandemic shocks, geopolitical tensions, and shifting consumer expectations, supply chains have stepped into the spotlight. For Emile Naus, Partner at BearingPoint, this…
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