The Retail Leadership Lens

Stepping into a new leadership role often feels like being pushed on stage halfway through a play. The house lights are up, everyone’s watching, and they’re all expecting you to know your lines. The pressure is immense. There’s that constant pull between the urge to prove yourself with quick, decisive action and the critical need to avoid alienating the very people whose support you need to succeed.

Feeling like your retail leadership job search is stuck on repeat? You’re not alone. It’s a strange time. You send out applications that feel perfect, you have conversations that seem promising, and then… silence. Or worse, you get feedback that feels so generic it could apply to anyone. The market is crowded, decision-making seems to have slowed to a crawl, and the goalposts for what employers want appear to be shifting daily.

As we hit the halfway mark of 2025, the UK hiring landscape looks noticeably more cautious than it did this time last year.

I sometimes feel like I'm stuck in a retail conference groundhog day. The same panels, the same presentations, the same soundbites about AI, customer experience, and the need for experiential stores.  It's all becoming a bit… predictable, don't you think? Like that broken record stuck on repeat, but it just keeps going around. We all know the script by now, but are we actually doing anything differently? I hear a lot of talk, but I'm not seeing enough action.

Customer loyalty is increasingly fleeting, and revenue streams are often unpredictable, the subscription model offers a tantalising promise of stability and growth. I find it's so difficult to get right, but if you do, then it is an incredibly good revenue stream. Rapid Growth: The subscription economy is expanding rapidly-subscription-based businesses are reportedly growing at 200% annually and are outpacing traditional retail by a factor of nine. 

Remember late-night TV shopping? Back in the day, it felt revolutionary, a chance to snag a bargain from the comfort of your sofa, watching someone enthusiastically demonstrate a vegetable slicer or a "miracle" cleaning product. It was appointment viewing for a certain crowd, and it paved the way for what we're seeing now: live shopping. This time, things are on a much grander scale, and the audience is massive. Think of live shopping as QVC on steroids, fuelled by social med

Think about the last time you had a truly great shopping experience. What made it stand out? Chances are, it wasn't just one thing. It was the combination of factors, maybe a helpful salesperson in-store, a personalised email offer, and the ability to effortlessly return an item online. And that’s the aim here! I think it’s time to stop juggling and think about how to create a captivating show.

Think about it: what’s the first thing that springs to mind when you consider the success of your organisation? For me, it's people. And those people need to be healthy, happy and engaged. We need to think of employee well-being as an asset.

Let’s dive into how you can keep your momentum strong, understand what’s shaping the retail landscape, and position yourself as a winner.

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping retail, making operations smoother, customer experiences more personal, supply chains more efficient.