Introduction to new article

If you make a branded product and sell it into retail the current economic climate might make you feel a little bit like a polar bear hunting on thin ice: Just as you’re about to pounce on a juicy order from a retailer they break up, sink and disappear without trace. In the same way that household brands are facing pressure from cheaper unbranded imports, established retailers are facing lost sales to the more efficient, more convenient on-line channel.

With retail in apparent meltdown, how do brandowners survive the: New Retail Ecology 

 In 2012 total UK retail sales were over £311 billion but the number of retail outlets fell by 573, “a record drop” according to the British Retail Consortium’s Director General, Helen Dickinson. In the first quarter of 2013 well publicised retailers hitting the wall included HMV, Jessops and Blockbusters, joining the famous casualties of 2012 (Comet, Clintons, JJB Sports). The good news story of 2012 was on-line retail with a record 17.8% increase to £29 billion. Shoppers are using smartphones and tablets to buy from ever improving websites and ‘click-and-collect’ services. Peter Fitzgerald, Retail Director for Google announced that “online retail really came of age this Christmas. It’s playing an increasingly significant role at every stage of the customer journey.”

 Full article available here: http://www.innovaanalysis.com/

Tetley Cake in Tesco

Tetley Cake

Look out for this delicious Tetley cake launching in Tesco from Monday. Tealicious!