On the shop floor

On the Shop Floor with...Ben Sherman chief executive Miles Gray

It may come as a bit of a surprise to some people that Ben Sherman is to open a shop on London’s Savile Row in October selling high-quality suits as it represents a giant step away from its iconic ‘Mod-inspired’ shirts. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the Shop Floor with...BrightHouse chief executive Leo McKee

There is a widespread misunderstanding of rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse that its chief executive Leo McKee is keen to put right. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with…Halfords chief executive David Wild

The significant demand in Central Europe for car maintenance and enhancement products suggests Halfords is arguably well placed to benefit from its new stores in Poland and the Czech Republic. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with…Pets at Home chief executive Matt Davies

Back in 2004 in the pre-recession era Pets at Home was bought by private equity firm Bridgepoint for £230 million, which was widely regarded as being far too rich a price, but fast forward to 2009 and there is an increasingly strong argument to suggest it was anything but. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with…Aldi UK and Ireland managing director Paul Foley

Despite the humungous amount of column inches garnered by discounter Aldi over the past year it is company policy for its management to only talk about the products and not about the business so UK boss Paul Foley declined to do an ‘On the Shop Floor’ interview with Retail Bulletin. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with…Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire

In the two years since Ian Cheshire moved into the leader’s seat at Kingfisher he has experienced both good and bad. The positive has seen the group become a much more cohesive unit that is now well placed to battle through the recession, but on the negative there has been the collapse of its much-vaunted China business. By Glynn Davis, City editor     Read more..

On the shop floor with... Sara Weller, managing director, Argos

Lots of companies bang on about being truly multi-channel and many consultants are making a good living from flogging retailers various solutions that will supposedly enable them to seamlessly add channels to their stores businesses.     Read more..

On the shop floor with…N Brown chief executive Alan White

Don’t mention green shoots to Alan White of N Brown. He reckons talk of a recovery is a tad premature and that even if you have the best data in the world then it still has to be interpreted objectively. By Glynn Davis, City Editor     Read more..

On the shop floor with...TJ Morris operations director Joe Morris

TJ Morris is a good example of how the media industry is heavily biased to the south of the country as it is likely that many people in the retail industry will have very little knowledge, if any, of the company’s Home Bargains discounter chain.     Read more..

On the shop floor with……Hotel Chocolat co-founder Angus Thirlwell

It is difficult to think of another product category that is quite as flexible as chocolate, with the ability to sculpt it into any shape you wish and to flavour it with pretty much anything that takes your fancy. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with……Mothercare chief executive Ben Gordon

Take a peek in the latest Early Learning Centre catalogue and you will find Happyland, which contains a Happy High Street where a variety of outlets including Mr Bun & Son the Bakers, the Toy Shop and the Tea Rooms as well as the Post Office appear to be trading happily. By Glynn Davis     Read more..

On the shop floor with……ASOS chief executive Nick Robertson

On the second floor of an appealing Art Deco building in north London is the doorway to the office of online fashion retailer ASOS that is shared with part of the NHS. By Glynn Davis     Read more..