Retail Week

🔦 This week's Solutions Spotlight Q&A has arrived, and here's what we found: Returns are a hot topic, more so than ever, now that many retailers are charging a fee for customers to take back items More recently, ASOS.com introduced an additional £3.95 charge for customers with a returns rate of over 80%, with charges varying for those with 79% or less As the post-purchase journey continues to be a sticky point for retailers and shoppers, we spoke to ZigZag Global founder and chief executive Al Gerrie to discuss: ☑️ How paid returns are transforming the industry ☑️ How customers are dealing with this ☑️ The role technology plays in creating a better selling and shopping experience 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eaZizAWw

New: Marks and Spencer menswear boss Mitch Hughes talks to Retail Week about the "huge opportunity" for the brand presented by its tie-up with Atlassian Williams F1 Team and how the partnership feeds into his wider strategy for growing Autograph. Full story at the link: https://lnkd.in/ekT7bxdf #News #Fashion #Menswear #F1 #Retail

Next Tuesday I’ll be at LIVE 2026: Retail Week x The Grocer with Courtney Jaehme - this time in the room rather than on stage. Tillo is proud to be a networking sponsor, and I’m really looking forward to conversations focused on the future of retail. For us, gift cards aren’t just a product category. They’re a growth engine. In today’s retail environment, the questions I’m most interested in are: - How do we drive incremental revenue without increasing acquisition costs? - How do we reach new audiences beyond our owned channels? - How do we turn partnerships into meaningful distribution? - How do we build loyalty in ways that are commercially sustainable? We work with retailers who are using digital gift cards and partnership distribution to: • Unlock new revenue streams • Access corporate and incentive budgets • Acquire customers at scale • Extend their brand into new ecosystems Retail is evolving fast - and partnerships are becoming a far more strategic lever than many realise. If you’re attending and want to talk about retail growth, distribution, and how gift cards can play a bigger role in your commercial strategy, I’d love to connect. See you there. #RetailWeekLive #RetailGrowth #RetailPartnerships #CustomerAcquisition #RetailInnovation #Tillo #GiftCards

💡Exclusive whitepaper launch at Retail Week x The Grocer LIVE 2026: Traceability, Trust, Transformation: Supply Chain Solutions for 2026. The whitepaper explores: • How UK retailers can build supply chain transparency and trust • The capabilities needed to support agility and resilience • The investments required to meet ESG demands and customer expectations Practical insight. Clear priorities. Real impact. Available first on 3rd March at LIVE 2026: https://lnkd.in/eUdN8Xgs #RWGLIVE26

Exclusives roundup for Retail Week (Feb 23-27): 👩💼 As JD Sports Fashion invited a record 10,000 young people to a two-day summit in Manchester, Nicola Kowalczuk says rise in UK youth unemployment means more young people are turning to retail for careers: https://lnkd.in/eHKfZuwh 🏬 HMV MD says it is ‘looking at further territories’ in both the UK and Europe for new stores: https://lnkd.in/e6wum3wX 🛒 Tesco shakes up head office functions to increase focus on q-commerce and personalisation, putting 180 jobs at risk: https://lnkd.in/eA-amhuu 🚨 TGJones boss Sean Toal departs business, owner Modella Capital taps Hobbycraft CEO to take over: https://lnkd.in/eJziqaUs 🛏️ Bensons for Beds enjoys best results since Alteri Investors acquisition: https://lnkd.in/evVEyA2c #News #Exclusive #Fashion #Grocery #Homewares #HMV #Tesco #TGJones #Retail

🏢 Stores and property More people shake-ups, the realities of working in retail, and more... 👥 TGJones chief executive Sean Toal is leaving less than a year after the sale of the renamed WHSmith high street division to Modella Capital, after being a director for six years. Toal is being succeeded next month by Alex Willson, chief executive of Modella stablemate Hobbycraft 🫥 66% of UK retail workers don’t see retail as a good long‑term career – up from 48% last year. That’s the wake‑up call from Retail Week’s Talking Shop report, published yesterday in partnership with Rotageek, and based on the views of 500 frontline colleagues, revealing the unfiltered reality of life on the shop floor 💿 HMV has invested in its 100-plus existing UK sites with the “HMV Shop” concept and has expanded the offer to three European countries. On March 13, it will open its second store in the Netherlands on Kalverstraat, Amsterdam, as it turns its attention to Europe. Managing director Phil Halliday spoke to us about the new venture, along with his reasoning for exploring new markets, and what is planned for the UK this year 💷 Aldi UK has increased store staff pay for the second time in 2026. Entry-level pay is rising to £13.50 nationally and £14.88 within the M25. These rates rise to £14.47 and £15.20 respectively based on length of service. The company said it was strengthening its position as the UK’s highest-paying supermarket with a new benchmark for the sector 🛋️ IKEA is set to open a new Decathlon inside its Croydon store this spring, and said the pilot would help its Croydon location to “become a one-stop shopping destination for lifestyle needs” as it optimises space within its stores. The retailers said that plans to celebrate the launch and opening offers would be revealed soon Subscribe to our weekly stores, design, and property newsletter via the link below for more updates ⬇️

AI isn’t hype – it’s driving real margin growth in retail Recent research shows that retailers moving AI out of pilots and into core operations are seeing significant margin gains – almost 2.9x more than peers that haven’t yet scaled the technology. A new Workday and Aberdeen report highlights an “invisible speed limit” on UK retail growth. Retailers that under‑invest in practical AI are starting to lose momentum as cost and productivity pressures intensify. Whether in personalisation, inventory optimisation or dynamic pricing, AI has moved from an experimental concept to a core driver of operational and financial performance. Key takeaways: • AI is improving decision‑making across the business – not just automating tasks • Embedding AI into everyday workflows delivers measurable financial returns • Retailers who delay investment risk slower growth as competitive advantage increasingly depends on AI‑driven agility and insight For retail leaders, the question is no longer whether AI matters – it’s how to scale it in ways that deliver sustainable value. You can find out more about Practical AI, and how it can unlock measurable impact for retail, in the full article: https://bit.ly/46uXWZ7 #Retail #AI #PracticalAI #RetailTransformation #Productivity #MarginGrowth #RetailLeaders

How does a retailer become an award‑winning digital powerhouse? At LIVE 2026: Retail Week x The Grocer, Screwfix is stepping onto the stage to reveal exactly that. Join: ▪️ Nick Burton, IT Director, Screwfix ▪️ Sue Harries (FCCA), Digital Director, Screwfix Screwfix has long been a stand‑out performer in digital capability, and winner of the 2025 Retail Week Awards Digital Excellence Award. Now, they’re breaking down the strategies that fuel their ongoing success and revealing the secrets behind Screwfix’s digital transformation journey. This is one not to miss. LIVE 2026 is just days away so make sure to book your ticket to be in the room: https://bit.ly/4afdX6w #RWGLIVE2026 #Screwfix #DigitalTransformation #RetailTech #DigitalExcellence #RetailInnovation #FutureOfRetail

Exclusive: Bensons for Beds reports best results since Alteri Investors acquisition seven years ago, with profits and sales soaring, CEO Nick C. tells Retail Week. Full story by Ellis Hawthorne in the link: https://lnkd.in/evVEyA2c #News #Homewares #Bensons #City #Finance

Retail Week's February round-up is now live!