A new self‐scanning system designed by Nixdorf was described at a recent Nixdorf conference held in Madrid, and is to be exhibited at Euroshop in Dusseldorf in February. Known as the Scan Tower, it is a checkout‐based system rather than a self‐scan trolley which forms the principle of the...

Fourteen Consumer Advisory Centres are at present operating and many more are planned for the New Year. Encouraged by the Government and financed by local authorities, the Centres are primarily located in working‐class areas, thus providing a welcome change from a situation in which the...

Like catering or teaching, retailing is traditionally regarded as “women's work”. As such it suffers from the familiar downgrading of “feminised” industries with low pay, poor status, and few prospects. But, even in retailing, as one moves up the company hierarchy the numbers of women...

Managers with insight, flexibility and drive are essential if the future of retailing is going to be anything more than a grim treading water in the years of slow economic recovery ahead. This was the solemn message contained in the keynote speech at the first Retail Europe conference, held in...

When George Davies started his Next chain of fashion shops over two years ago he may not have realised what a revolution he was putting in train. Based on the realisation that purchasing power had moved from the young to the older 25–45 woman, — “women,” he says, “who care about...

The achievement of Next in changing the shape of UK high streets, in revolutionising both women's and men's fashion has been remarkable. In August came the launch of Next's latest development — Next Interior, with home decor and furnishings getting the same treatment. Next's chief executive,...

Zone at Harvey Nichols and the new Way In at Harrods both opened last autumn, aiming at high fashion shoppers who have traditionally spurned the conventional department store. Both opened to a blaze of publicity in magazines such as The Face (a favourite with the most avant of the avant garde ),...

The development of market segmentation over the past few years means that most retail companies now have a much shrewder idea of the customers they want to reach than they used to have. Unfortunately the media in which the retailers advertise are rarely so clearly targeted. So how effective is...

Private brands currently account for 25% of all retail sales and Management Horizons predicts that by 1990 that figure will have risen to 30%. Private branding is no longer the ‘poor relation’ but a positive aid to increased profits as speakers at a recent conference, argued.