In just a few days, 2025 will come to an end and we will, collectively, close the chapter on another year. Defined predominantly by the three Ts (Trump, tariffs and tech), the year saw geopolitics take centre stage, tech and innovation grow leaps and bounds, and economic instability continue. Leaders in our consumer industries should be immensely proud of their agility, strength and resilience over the past 12 months.
As has become tradition for our final column before Christmas, we’re once again taking a moment to reflect on the year just gone through our A to Z of the year. From sector milestones to highlights of the MBS calendar, and moments that impacted culture, these are the trends that defined the year.
A is for acquisitions. In retail, WH Smith sold its UK high-street business to private equity firm Modella Capital to focus on its global travel retail division, whilst Ulta Beauty bought Space NK, and Dick’s Sporting Goods agreed to acquire Foot Locker. Healthcare saw Bridgepoint invest in mydentist and PHP acquire Assura in UK primary care, and in FMCG and beauty, Mars completed the acquisition of Kellanova whilst e.l.f. became the new owner of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Beauty.
Fashion and luxury also saw some noteworthy trades with Prada Group’s purchase of Capri-owned Versace in a deal which should be completed in the coming months.
B is for Boards of the Future. In the latest edition of our series, we spoke to Chairs and NEDs across the consumer-facing sectors to test how our five pillars to build the Board of the Future – which we set out in our original manifesto in 2021 – held up today, framed specifically around the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Set against the backdrop of a tariff war which saw the White House place tariffs of 125% on China and China set a tariff of 84% on American goods, the reversal of the TikTok ban which came into place in early January and a general disregard for the rules from the President, we found that although all five principles remained steadfast, digital, data, AI and technology now have a more prominent role to play.
C is for consumer confidence which is creeping higher. Online sales for Black Friday weekend hit nearly £4 billion and GfK insights showed consumers are adapting their general purchasing habits as they work around continued high inflation. Consumer healthcare has seen a particularly significant rise, with the global wellness economy reaching a record $6.8 trillion this year.
D is for day one rights which were a sticking point in the passing of the Employment Rights Bill. After bouncing backwards and forwards between the House of Lords and the House of Commons for months, a compromise has now been agreed which will see unfair dismissal rights apply after six months of continuous service at a business. This agreement means the Bill is now in its final stages.
F is for floating on the London Stock Exchange. Although there have been just 12 companies that have floated in London this year – compared with a peak of 125 in 2021 – there are a number of organisations that are set to go public in the coming months. Fintech organisations like Monzo and SumUp, and UK bookstore Waterstones are all actively preparing to IPO in London, and with the announcement in the Budget that there will be a three-year exemption from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax on shares of newly listed companies, the English capital looks set to become a more popular proposition going forward.
G is for Gucci, which launched a short film instead of presenting a catwalk this year at Milan Fashion Week. It starred Hollywood A-listers including Demi Moore and Edward Norton and introduced Demna’s “La Famiglia” collection – his first as the fashion house’s Creative Director – in a purpose-built theatre. The 33-minute film signalled how luxury brands can now break through in ways away from the catwalk.
H is for hacking. This year more than a quarter of businesses have suffered cyber-attacks. Retail took the first blow as over just ten days in April and early May, Harrods, M&S, Adidas and the Co-operative Group were all affected across e-commerce and payments processing. In June, H&M suffered an IT outage which also briefly took its in-store payments systems offline.
Fast forward to September, and Jaguar Land Rover was the next to be affected by a major cyber incident causing supply chain issues, while later that month, travellers suffered delays at Heathrow due to an attack on a supplier.
Although there have not been any more attacks this year, it is unlikely to be the end of the issue, with a survey finding that 73% of business leaders still expect disruption from cyber incidents over the next two years.
I is for international grocery which is a recognised training ground for leaders. Navigating the differences in physical stores, regulation divergences and culture have proven to be development tools for leaders in confident decision making and understanding differing perspectives. Drawing on expertise from abroad has also been seen to benefit the businesses as a whole, improving the likes of digital innovation and general ideation.
J is for Alan Carr winning the jackpot in Celebrity Traitors. Creating a plethora of clippable and ‘memeable’ moments, both Alan and the celebrity version of the popular TV show captured the public’s imagination over the month of October. We’re already looking forward to the return of the regular series which will begin on New Year’s Day.
K is for Kendrick Lamar who headlined the Super Bowl LIX halftime show this year. The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper brought Samuel L. Jackson on stage to open the show as ‘Uncle Sam’ and performed an unreleased track for the record-breaking 133.5 million people who watched. No wonder a 30-second advert during the event was worth $8 million…
L is for luxury travel which continues to grow in prominence. A study by McKinsey found that luxury tourism and hospitality is expected to grow faster than any other industry segment. The release of the third series of The White Lotus in February, threw aspirational luxury back into the spotlight, with some airlines adding extra flights to areas of Thailand, while Hotels.com reported a 40% spike in booking interest for the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui.
M is for motels, which celebrated their 100th birthday this year. The ‘motor hotel’ is having a moment in the UK, with propositions like Mollie’s – which was conceived by Soho House founder, Nick Jones – bringing a touch of luxe to the humble roadside stay.
N is for new markets. The Middle East has become a growing player in both luxury fashion and healthcare. New York designer Willy Chavarria announced a minority investment from Middle Eastern retail giant Chalhoub Group, while Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney opened and closed Riyadh Fashion Week this year for the first time.
In healthcare there has also been movement with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi surpassing six million patient encounters, King’s College Hospital Dubai broadening its specialist services, and Mayo Clinic-affiliated centres in Saudi Arabia delivering increasingly complex care.
O is for OBR. In an unprecedented moment, the Autumn Budget was leaked early after being made prematurely accessible. This preceded the announcement of the full Budget which saw permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure funded by large online retailers as well as an increase of the National Living Wage which is set to rise by over 4% and will impact both the retail and HTL sectors as well as large clinical services and care business workforces.
These changes had a mixed response from industry bodies with Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC saying it “offered relief for many shops, but brought in new costs for others”, while Kate Nicholls, Chair of UKHospitality said the wage increases and holiday taxes will put “even further pressure on hospitality businesses”.
P is for pet care which is becoming even more consumer-centric. Veterinary services are making changes with the customer in mind, such as creating websites that are intuitive and informative, and introducing online booking. The focus is shifting away from traditional surgery models to create a warm, welcoming space for both pet and owner.
Q is for QSR. Projected to hit £40.5 billion, the UK market is booming with the likes of Greggs, McDonald’s and KFC still dominating the space. However, US fried chicken chain, Popeyes, was the standout in terms of growth, opening a restaurant a week and hitting 100 restaurants in the UK this year – quite the achievement having only launched into the market in 2021.
R is for rewriting celebrity beauty brands. Dua Lipa announced the launch of her skincare line – aptly named DUA – in November, but rather than doing it alone, her brand is ‘powered by’ luxury, science-first skincare brand, Augustinus Bader. In an oversaturated market, this first-of-its-kind partnership may be a glimpse into the future of the celebrity-owned beauty brand.
S is for succession. Following Giorgio Armani’s passing in September, the luxury fashion house has seen a period of transition, appointing a new eight-member Board of Directors which includes former Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri and three representatives of the Armani family.
Employee ownership has also come to the fore as a means of succession this year with more than 540 new transitions to the system. Today, around 6% of all UK business transfers happen via an Employee Ownership Trust.
T is for telecoms which has seen a number of businesses consolidate. Vodafone UK completed a £15 billion merger with Three in June while, in the US, Verizon merged with Starry to accelerate its fixed wireless broadband expansion. JP Morgan has predicted that 2026 will be a ‘year of consolidation’ in Europe with a number of mergers expected to close next year.
U is for U-turns. On Trump’s first full day of his second term, he signed an executive order that ended DEI funding from government agencies and repealed orders which aimed to combat racial and gender-based discrimination. Following this, a number of major organisations, such as McDonald’s, Meta and Ford in the US, and BT and Rolls-Royce in the UK, scaled back their own DEI initiatives.
However, many stood firm in their commitment, with our research speaking to leaders in our sectors highlighting that although many were quieter and more cautious with their communication externally, the initiatives remained the same.
V is for virtual reality. Estimated to be worth $800 billion, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have projected that the metaverse will be worth $1 trillion and $12 trillion respectively. There are now around 700 million users on virtual reality platforms like Roblox with brands across segments launching digital avatars and products on the sites.
W is for the largest ever UK care home deal with US-based Welltower’s acquisition of Barchester and HC-One. Worth £6.4 billion, the deal was six years in the making, and includes a 100% equity ownership in the UK portfolio operated by HC-One as well as a Barchester portfolio comprising of 11 communities, 152 triple-net leased communities and 21 ongoing developments.
X is for Pope Leo XIV who was elected following Pope Francis’ death after 12 years. Considered a ‘dark horse’ in the process, white smoke appeared from the Sistine Chapel following only four ballots and two days of the conclave indicating his election and marking him as the first Pope in history to be born in the United States.
Y is for youth culture. In the first half of the year, young people’s obsession with Labubus allowed Pop Mart to expand to 130 brick-and-mortar stores and 192 vending machine locations outside of mainland China. Its success highlighted how targeting Gen Z on platforms like TikTok can be transformative for a brand. Gap was also able to capitalise on this strategic move, collaborating with Gen Z-loved girl group, Katseye to tap into that market. Both successes exemplified one thing – pop culture, when harnessed properly can open up a whole new customer base. Will we see more brands doing this in 2026?
