Page 48 - HW AUGUST 2019

global eyes
Who is this year’s most influential retailer?
International
bits & pieces
Recession, what recession? – Having bandied about the “R” word earlier this year, the pundits at NAB appear to have altered their view somewhat. Although driven largely by hospitality, the NAB has been picking retail in Australia to “bounce” rather than deflate, saying: “the Australian consumer is becoming a just a little more confident, albeit from a low base”, adding the caveat that NAB is still “very cautious about the state of the retail sector”.
Talking shop – The Home Depot has been running a podcast series called “Give me an H” for some time now. Designed to explore the big orange barn’s “unique culture through the eyes and experiences of associates who live it every day... It offers insider perspectives [from some key HD personnel] into
how bleeding orange shapes careers and instils an appreciation for what can happen when a company commits to doing good, while also doing well.”
That’s customer service! – Hyundai in the US is offering customers Lyft rides while their cars are in for servicing. The best part is that customers won’t have to install the Lyft app because the Hyundai dealers will organise their rides through the Hailer application...
SPOILER ALERT: IT’S not who you’d think...
The latest Retail Week Retail 100, highlighting the publisher’s view of the year’s most influential figures in global retail, doesn’t show much progress in terms of gender balance among the top flight retail operators.
The aim of the Retail Week Retail
100 being to celebrate “leaders who
are transforming retail, speaking out, innovating, making headlines and driving growth”, only 18 of the top 100 influential retailers are women, just three more than last year.
Highest ranked woman is Paula Nickolds, John Lewis MD, with former Kingfisher CE, Véronique Laury (incidentally the first woman to head up an FTSE 100 company), this year falling 18 places to #29 because the current turnaround strategy “has yet to yield results”.
Of the other 2019 hardware and home improvement place getters, we find B&Q CEO, Graham Bell, way down below Véronique Laury at #73.
From the same stable, Screwfix boss, John Mewett, at #86, may consider himself undervalued in the light of the
Véronique Laury.
Kingfisher trade facing business’s ongoing success.
Top gun overall this year is Tesco Chief Executive, Dave Lewis, who has relegated Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, no less, to the #2 position, after “another stellar year for Britain’s biggest grocer”.
Other influential retailers this year include new entry British hi-fi retailer Richer Sounds founder, Julian Richer, who recently gifted 60% of the business to his staff.
In contrast, Arcadia boss, Philip Green, is the biggest faller, dropping 22 places on 2018 following a year of personal controversies and Arcadia’s ongoing financial woes.
Here’s the top 10 from this year’s Retail Week Retail 100:
1 Dave Lewis – Chief Executive, Tesco.
2 Jeff Bezos – Chief Executive & founder, Amazon.
3 Mike Ashley – Chief Executive & founder, Sports Direct.
4 Paul Marchant – Chief Executive, Primark.
5 Lord Simon Wolfson – Chief Executive, Next.
6 Tim Steiner – Co-founder & Chief Executive, Ocado.
7 Peter Cowgill – Executive Chair, JD Sports.
8 Mike Coupe – Chief Executive, Sainsbury’s.
9 Nick Beighton – Chief Executive, Asos.
10 David Potts – Chief Executive, Morrisons.
www.retail-week.com
Paula Nickolds.
46 NZHJ | AUGUST 2019
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