2015

Martins Family fruit farm is located in Ontario, Canada. A number of the family have been on my workshops and attended my conference sessions. These guys are real innovators. Once you have watched this video I think you will understand why. Congratulations to the Martin family and team.

Switzerland is famous for its chocolate and chocolate shops and therefore a visit to Zurich was an opportunity to look at the chocolate shops and what can be la earned from these retailers. Chocolate is either a commodity purchase or an experience and this is as true in Switzerland as it is anywhere else. The

Field Visual Merchandising Strategy: Developing a national in-store strategy using a merchandising service organisation, by Paul J Russell, is a brand new book focused on merchandising strategies for the field visual merchandisers to the apparel industry. I enjoyed this book for two reasons. Firstly it is focused on the clothing retail sector, but the ideas can be

A few years ago retailers discovered the value of wooden boxes as a merchandising tool. Now it is pallets that are becoming more familiar as a merchandising prop. Last month my village of Nannup held a brilliant music festival. This is put together by a group of dedicated volunteers. Apart from the excellent artists, the

Article by John Denton on preparing businesses ‘ready for sale’ because a business that’s ready for sale, is well worth keeping! As much as we would like to sometimes, we just cannot change history. Although, some business owners still try to turn the clock back! What do I mean by that? Well, every day in business

Jim Bradley contacted me and suggested I should read a book on coffee shops written by two authors from Northern Ireland. “Wake up and Smell the Profit…to Make More Money in your Coffee Business” by John Richardson and Hugh Gilmartin is a one of the most practical books I have read in a long time.

I am a great believer that retail clustering offers so many opportunities in the future. Last month I visited Torvehallerne in Copenhagen. It is called Copenhagen’s new designer pantry. It is a covered market with a farmers market on the outside. It has live jazz sessions, food and coffee outlets and independent retailers selling fresh

Start doing research on what the customer is looking for in 2015 and most research reports state that the market is being split into two. Consumers are either going for price and leaning towards online shopping or they are visiting a store for an experience. Bricks retailers need to provide an experience if they are

I checked into a hotel last month and there was a little orange book on the bedside table entitled “Get me out of here”. A strange title for a hotel room book, but I ventured further. I was in a Nordic Choice Hotel in Copenhagen and the owner is an advocate for healthy eating, saving

And finally, a must read book… Many of you will know the name Ernest Wertheim, a fellow consultant and good friend from California. Ernest is now in his 90’s and still consulting around the world, we met in Germany in January. He gave me a copy of his book “Chasing Spring” which is the story of