MBS Intelligence

Retail

Exit through the gift shop: desperately seeking differentiation

On a cold and crisp day last Sunday, I experienced London at its best. My first port of call was the Royal Academy to see two world-renowned British artists: Antony Gormley followed by Lucian Freud. Both exhibitions...

Australia: leading the way

I have just returned from visiting our clients in Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealanders were still reeling from their loss against England in the Rugby semi-finals – so it was very easy to move the...

‘Protect the magic and modernise the rest’: walking Marks…

On a beautiful, sunny London day this week, I made my way down to Clapham to meet up with Stuart Machin, Managing Director, Food, M&S. The venue is the newly renovated M&S store and he is giving me a tour to...

A new retail

Over the last few months I have been spending a lot of time on high streets up and down the UK. Maybe others have noticed the transition over many years – but, for the first time, I observed a massive shift from...

Some reasons for stores

As of late, we’ve seen many articles chronicling the demise of brick-and-mortar stores, painting a dim picture of the future of traditional retail. We don’t believe that the only way forward for stores is a complete...

Strategy Consultants: Your Time Has Come!

What do newly appointed Reckitt Benckiser CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, Sheryl Sandberg (COO at Facebook), Vittorio Colao (former CEO of Vodafone), Indra Nooyi (former CEO of PepsiCo, now on the Board of Amazon), John Donahoe...

Jo Whitfield: The Northern Star of grocery retail

Every year, when the time comes for me to nominate candidates for the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Awards, I live in hope that someone doing something extraordinary will emerge. This year, though, I was...

Make me happy: wellbeing in the workplace

Over the past few years, a growing number of businesses have begun to focus on wellbeing. Continued research in this space has created an ever evolving understanding of what drives the productivity of staff. There...

The Fruit and Veg King

There are certain things that have become part of my London history. Like the first time I went into the Harrods Foodhall and experienced the visual feast of retail theatre at its best, or the first time, in 1979 on...

Latest Retail News

HMV owner acquires US music outlet Doug Putman, who bought HMV out of administration in early 2019, has acquired For Your Entertainment (FYE) for £7.6m. FYE has over 200 stores and 2,500 employees across the US. Read more.

M&S renews its kidswear range As part of the retailer's ongoing transformation of its clothing department, its kidswear lines are being redesigned to focus less on 'special occasion' and more on 'everyday style'. Read more.

Annual revenue up at Intersport The sportswear and equipment retailer Intersport International has posted a 3.2% revenue uplift for 2019, with sales reaching €12.3bn. According to the company, the results are thanks to a renewed focus on product improvement and brand partnerships. Read more.

Positive Christmas at Hotel Chocolat Sales at the chocolate chain rose by 11% in the 13 weeks to December 29. The company has reported that it opened nine new UK sites in the last six months, and plans to transform its supply chain to cope with demand. Read more.

Wolf & Badger online sales soar 59% According to reports, the fashion retailer is expected to announce an overall revenue growth of 80% in 2019, thanks to strong digital sales, a successful Kings Cross store opening and the refurbishment of its New York City location. Read more.

Boots to roll out more beauty halls into stores The health and beauty retailer has announced plans to launch beauty halls across 60 more of its stores this year. Last year Boots introduced the format to 29 of its sites - replacing traditional beauty counters with open furniture and trend-led zones. Read more.