Retail businesses need to transform their companies and reward local managers for innovation

With Marks and Spencer announcing 950 job losses both at head office and in stores under a plan called ‘Never the same again’, they are joining a growing list of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Boots, Harrods, Ted Baker, Burberry, WHSmith, Arcadia Group, TM Lewin, Mulberry, The Very Group, Debenhams, and Monsoon Accessorize, that have announced redundancies – whether part of a restructure or a wider insolvency process – as they try to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic.

Retailers need to react quickly to these challenges. Some of this is acknowledged by M&S which has stated that more autonomy has to be delegated to store managers to react to local needs.

These managers need to feel like owners of their businesses and be rewarded so that they can drive innovation for their stores, if these big institutions want to survive.

Would you like to know more?

If you would like to discuss any of the above guidance or have other queries about how you can make the right decisions for the future of your business and your income, please contact Mark Hart or your usual Blick Rothenberg contact.

For any press queries, please contact David Barzilay whose details are to the right.