90-91 Richard Hollis.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 22/09/2018 11:52 Page 90
THE CHANGING FACE OF RETAIL
Inset: Primark offers consumers an unquenchable flow of new and stylish product that makes every visit different from the last. Centre: The Entertainer successfully combines local stores with a strong online presence.
Aisle be there? The tumultuous condition of UK retail has been well documented this year. However, among the closures, the CVAs and the acquisitions, there are still retailers getting it very right and reaping the benefits. We asked licensing consultant Richard Hollis for what the current situation on the high street actually means for our industry and why, more than ever, we should be trumpeting licensing’s credentials to retail.
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ast month my printer broke down. So I visited my local high street cartridge shop where the friendly owner cheerfully declared it unrepairable. As he was a nice man and it was a sunny day, I agreed to buy a new one on the spot, despite knowing it would be cheaper online. Clearly amazed at my naivety, he retrospectively knocked a fiver off, which should have warned me I’d later find the same model on Amazon at half the price. Effectively my high street purchase decision had become a rather over-generous charitable donation. And unless you are Oxfam, that is not a viable retail proposition. It is no surprise that UK retail is in such a tumultuous condition. The shift to online buying is old news, but the process still has a very long way to go. One in five retail transactions is now online.
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2018
Why wouldn’t it be? It’s simple, quick and offers unrivalled choice. We are spoilt consumers. A bit of searching online finds exactly what we want, however precise the specification. Someone, somewhere can meet our every need, making us hedonistic and demanding. Our online servants deliver piles of clothes, and we throw back the ones we don’t want. We won’t buy misshapen vegetables in supermarkets, and yet we have become misshapen vegetables ourselves; couch potatoes drooling over page after page of temptations. We want choice, and no bricks-andmortar retailer can carry a range that big. The list of retailers in trouble or collapse is welldocumented, and it isn’t necessarily online retailing which has hit them. To generalise, the common factor is that they haven’t adapted to remain relevant. They lacked foresight or found that their USPs became millstones. Grainger Games’ specialism in second hand cult gaming couldn’t adapt to combat digital downloads. Maplins’ wide range of electrical components couldn’t match the staggering breadth available online. Saddled with debt, Toys R Us couldn’t rethink the cavernous out of town stores to give it