GD Retail News

As a child, one of my favorite activities was to go shopping. I was fascinated by how stores worked and I loved observing customers.   I did not fully understand it back then, but I think the interest came from the fact that retail is where the world becomes visible.   Economics theorizes about prices or income, but retail reveals what people want to spend their money on. Technology creates wonderful new possibilities, but retail tests how they can be applied. Culture and tastes shift, but retail is the place where these things have to be translated into products.   Retail remains as fascinating today as it ever was; probably more so. And I am beyond grateful to sate my curiosity by working with so many inspiring and interesting people across the industry.   Being named as a member of the 2027 class of Retail Voices by NRF is the icing on the cake. The NRF is the official voice of our industry, and it is delightful to be in the company of so many who also look on retail with a childlike sense of wonder.

Retail has two sides: the efficient and the dignified. One makes the business work. The other makes customers care. Too many retailers focus only on the first. Diptyque’s new Arizona boutique is a beautiful reminder that the best stores do both… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

Sometimes takes smaller players to really remind us of what’s possible in food retail. Take Vallarta Supermarkets. The store is built around the playful joy of buying food, rather than simply the efficiency of selling it… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

Well, the race for Harvey Nichols proved to be very short. So short, in fact, that it's now over. And the winner is Frasers Group. Out of the field, it's the most logical fit. That said, a logical fit is not necessarily the perfect fit… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

At one point, Harvey Nichols was one of the best-known department stores in the world. Admittedly, this had quite a lot to do with Patsy and Eddy. Sadly, it has gone from being Absolutely Fabulous to terribly ordinary… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

Some time ago, a promise was made by Target to upgrade stores that failed to make the cut for previous rounds of investment. You know the ones - they have bad lighting, red curved overhead signage, and still use the capitalized Target logo… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

Multiple cogs engaged this quarter, all of which have given the Wayfair engine some welcome momentum. The challenge is to keep the momentum going … the weaker operating margins rely on its to keep the firm in the black… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

It’s easy to say that Best Buy is a victim of circumstance because, in some ways, it is. The housing market, interest rates for financing, the disrupted purchase cycle, and a more considered consumer have all softened the electronics market. But has it done enough to respond? No! linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

People don’t want to shop in supermarkets anymore. No, people don’t want to shop in the supermarket that you haven’t bothered updating since the early 1990s and that’s so boring it’s like watching paint dry… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…

Many stores, especially older ones, have awkward little spaces. Those places where pillars get in the way, where level changes necessitate stairs and ramps, or where nooks and crannies break the flow… linkedin.com/posts/neilretai…