A couple weeks ago, in Part I of my reflections on department stores in the UK and USA, I looked at the starkly different political, cultural and technological context so many of these iconic stores around the world...

Four years ago, we started a partnership with the British Retail Consortium to hold a mirror up to the UK retail sector - asking how diverse, and how inclusive, retail businesses really are. With nearly four million...

The MBS Group has partnered with the BRC for the fourth year of research into D&I in the UK retail sector. The report draws on three sources. First, MBS research, which encompasses data captured from the...

One of the things I enjoy most about being a headhunter is sitting down with inspiring leaders and hearing what I like to call their “origin stories.” A CV and a professional track record can tell you a lot about an...

A subject I love talking about and debating is whether ‘retail theatre’ in supermarkets is still as relevant today as it was in days gone by. Since Covid, all of my repeat supermarket items have been bought on...

The food-to-go segment has had a rollercoaster few years. Hit hard by the pandemic, sandwich sellers and manufacturers have had to navigate unpredictable trading patterns since 2020, and adapt to new, and different,...

The MBS Group is delighted to present the 2024 edition of the Women to Watch in Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail Index, produced in partnership with WiHTL and Diversity in Retail. Now in its sixth year, the...

On the 1st July 2019, Dorp opened its doors to the public in Cape Town. Since then, my annual visit ‘home’ to South Africa has brought me to this hotel/home from home, on the highest hill underneath Signal Hill and...

Those who know me know that I’m passionate about the UK as a nation of shopkeepers. There’s nothing I love more than speaking to and learning from a true merchant – someone who deeply understands their customer...