Supply Chain
This coverage examines supply chain strategy and performance within the UK retail industry. Reporting highlights logistics innovation, inventory management, sourcing practices, supplier relations, technology adoption, and responses to disruption. Focused on efficiency, resilience, and commercial impact, it provides insights for retail executives and managers optimising operations and ensuring continuity.
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Dec- 2019 -10 DecemberBusiness Bites
Want to know who will win the election? Watch the pound
In recent years there has been a lot of talk about how badly wrong pollsters can get it. Nobody thought Trump would win, nobody thought Leave would win the referendum, indeed even elections have been too close to call. Though it now feels like a different historical epoch to look…
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6 DecemberComment
Why shoppable social media means retailers must embrace returns
Growing social commerce This year marks 25 years since the first secure online transaction was completed, signalling the birth of online shopping and changing the face of retail. Ecommerce has come a long way since 1994, with increasingly sophisticated advertising and sales tools making online shopping more targeted and convenient.…
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3 DecemberComment
A sustainable Christmas is coming to town
We are all reminded that the holiday season is approaching with a flurry of Christmas adverts encouraging us all to spend, yet retailers are anticipating a less than merry Christmas for their sales. According to Deloitte, only 62% of retailers expect to see higher sales this Christmas compared to a…
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Nov- 2019 -28 NovemberAdvice
How online retailers can reduce the impact of festive returns
Peak season is just around the corner and this year more than a quarter (28%) of UK shoppers expect to spend more online during the 2019 Christmas shopping season than in 2018. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now both staple fixtures in the calendar for shoppers and brands, millions…
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20 NovemberComment
How AI can help implement a quick and seamless shopping experience
Earlier this year, Sainsbury’s announced it was in talks with Uber Eats to launch a grocery delivery service. Whilst most major supermarkets offer their own online delivery service, it’s this kind of innovative thinking and the alignment of offerings with services relevant to your audience that will help gain an…
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20 NovemberDIY
Kingfisher sales take a tumble in Q3
Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, has announced a poor quarter of sales in its latest trading update. Total sales slumped by 3.2%, in what CEO Thierry Garnierd called a “disappointing” result. Like-for-like sales were also down 3.7% for the quarter. Kingfisher said that disruption from new product…
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13 NovemberAdvice
A festive general election: how will retailers survive Christmas 2019?
For retailers, the closer it gets to Christmas, the more political uncertainty there is leading to dwindling consumer confidence and irrefutable anticipation of poor festive sales. After a year of struggle for retailers across the country and more odds against them, how can this festive season be the most profitable…
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6 NovemberHigh Street
Profits plummet at M&S as clothing sales slide
Marks and Spencer has announced a 17% drop in profits to £176.5m for the first half of the financial year, with continued slumps in clothing sales affecting the high street giant. The first six months of the financial year saw a decline of -5.5% in like-for-like clothing sales, despite the…
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Oct- 2019 -21 OctoberAdvice
How to bring the department store CX to your digital channels
The past few years have been cataclysmic for the health and beauty industry; with new pressures, market forces and trends at play, from sustainability, issues surrounding representation and transparency of supply chain management and ingredients. These moving parts have not been made easier by changes in consumer behaviour and a…
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17 OctoberPeople Moves
M&S CFO Humphrey Singer to depart on 31 December
Marks and Spencer has announced that Humphrey Singer will step down from his role as CFO on 31 December. The departure was announced last month after Jill McDonald, managing director of clothing, home and beauty, also departed from the company after less than 2 years. Singer began his retail career…
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