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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Nov- 2022 -21 November
How Lightning 50 winner Piglet in Bed is getting the bedding business just right
It was in 2017 that Founder of Piglet in Bed, Jessica Mason, launched her online bedding business with only a Shopify website and three colours of linen bedding and pillowcases. In a handful of years the British-born brand has taken off, providing a refreshing wake-up call to the bedding industry…
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17 November
Geoff Lloyd warns on expected ‘greater demand’ this Black Friday
What led to you becoming director of retail and what responsibilities come with the role? My career began on the shopfloor at Next where I fell in love with the industry. Technology was starting to have an impact on how retail worked, which was something that I found fascinating. This…
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Oct- 2022 -26 October
Henderson Technology celebrates three year collaboration with Gander
Innovative reduced food app, Gander, is marking the three-year anniversary of its Northern Ireland launch in partnership with Henderson Technology. At a time, when the cost-of-living crisis is dominating headlines; showing soaring business costs and reduced disposal incomes – this partnership has proven to be a positive solution to reverse…
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20 October
Why Scurri predicts a spartan Black Friday
Can you tell us a little bit about Scurri and what it offers as a platform? Scurri is a cloud-based delivery management platform that connects and optimises online ordering, shipping and delivery. We like to call what we do ‘connecting commerce’, because we help retailers get their parcels into the…
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18 October
Beyond retail: 4 ways to unlock direct-to-consumer relationships
CPG and FMCG brands — that is, Consumer Packed Goods and Fast Moving Consumer Goods, respectively — are fortunate to have huge amounts of data at their disposal. However, sorting through what’s relevant and compliant and then unifying it into a single source of truth can be a mammoth task.…
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4 October
How can retail companies prepare for a more scrupulous festive season?
After two years of Covid-impacted festive periods, any hopes that the retail industry had for a return to normal in 2022 has been thwarted by the cost-of-living crisis. Springboard has recently forecast that footfall across all UK retail destinations will decline on a month to month basis by -4.9% in…
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Sep- 2022 -21 September
Do Royal Warrants still hold value for retailers?
British monarchs have been issuing Royal Warrants since the 15th Century. These warrants were issued over the centuries to craftspeople who supplied the Crown with everything from jewellery to tea. By the 1700s, warrant holders began displaying the royal arms on their businesses in an early example of consumer-facing marketing.…
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14 September
Is the rise in distressed M&As set to continue?
The number of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals targeting UK retailers has increased in the last year, up from 28 transactions to 34 in the last 12 months, as deals in the sector “buck the overall slowdown in M&A”, according to RPC, the international law firm. However, the UK has…
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13 September
Thinking critically about customer reviews
Unfortunately it’s no secret that consumers and retailers alike are staring down the barrel of an economic recession. With shoppers facing double-digit inflation they’re (understandably) tightening their belts to make the most of every penny and are seeking reassurance that when they do spend, they are doing so wisely. Cue…
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8 September
Why supply chain resilience is critical to retail survival
Between product and material shortages, soaring shipping costs and ongoing inflation, retailers are currently battling a number of supply chain challenges that may cripple their profitability, and overall business, if left unchecked. Indeed, recent research from Brightpearl suggests that more than a quarter of retailers (26%) may be just four weeks from going bust…
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