12/11 Is the decline of a high street always a bad thing? Was Mary Portas given the right brief? Read Tony Stockil’s response.
Mary Portas has presented many sensible recommendations in response to her brief. But it is her brief that I question, since it implies that the decline of retail across our town centres is, in all cases, a bad thing. Is this necessarily so?
Given the rate at which customers are electing to shop elsewhere, it would seem that many are discovering rather better ways to shop: be they online, in retail parks or elsewhere. It is therefore worth asking whether a rearguard action in defence of many weaker high streets is necessarily the best use of public resources (and whether the actions recommended by Mary Portas can seriously turn the tide, which I doubt).
We should perhaps be rather selective about those high streets we choose to protect on the understanding that not all can be saved (such is the rate of customer migration, as illustrated in our White Paper entitled “How Many Stores Will We Really Need?”) and not all should be saved. It may not be a bad thing if, in the future, we have fewer but better shopping places, as long as we can ensure that this does not marginalise poorer members of our society.
In that case, a better brief may have been how to ensure (a) that we adopt a “portfolio” approach to the planning of Britain’s “estate” of shopping places (much like a retailer plans its estate of stores) and (b) that the poor can still reach our shops (through improved transport links, etc.) in tomorrow’s retail world. Request White Paper. Contact Tony Stockil.
12/11 Javelin Group completes Commercial & Operational Due Diligence on Wiggle for acquirers Bridgepoint.
Wiggle, the leading online cycling and tri-sports retailer, has been acquired by European private equity firm Bridgepoint in a transaction totalling £180 million. Javelin Group was engaged by Bridgepoint to complete Commercial & Operational Due Diligence on Wiggle. Read Bridgepoint press release. Javelin Group's Due Diligence practice.
12/11 CEO speaks at Turkish Council of Shopping Centres & Retailers Retail Summit.
Tony Stockil, CEO of Javelin Group, will discuss multi-channel retail success at the Turkish Council of Shopping Centres & Retailers (AMPD) Retail Summit in Istanbul on Wednesday 7th December 2011. Retail Summit.
12/11 Javelin Group appoints Richard F Wolff as Director of International Retail in newly created role.
Javelin Group has appointed Richard F Wolff to the new role of Director of International Retail. He will lead a new practice, which will help retailers plan and implement their international expansion into new territories through the best combination of stores (owned or franchised), ecommerce and multi-channel. Read press release. Contact Richard F Wolff.
11/11 Meet Javelin Group at Mapic 2011, the international retail real estate conference.
Come and meet us at Mapic. If you are attending MAPIC 2011 in Cannes, 16-18 November, and you would like to arrange an appointment to meet us, please email Andrew Leung. Mapic 2011: Building the shape of retail.
10/11 Javelin Group's latest VENUESCORE retail ranking report released.
Javelin Group’s annual VENUESCORE report assesses the current ranking of the UK’s leading 2000+ shopping destinations. This year's report has confirmed London Westfield as the UK’s leading shopping centre, with the new Westfield Stratford City in sixth place. Read press release. VENUESCORE.
10/11 Javelin Group launches White Paper: How many stores will we really need? UK non-food retailing to 2020.
Spurred by the spate of announcements from major retailers that they are downsizing their store estates, we have spent some months assessing the long term future of retailing in our four largest non-food sectors (Clothing & Footwear, Electricals, Furniture & Floor Coverings, and Health & Beauty), to understand how much and what kinds of store space will be required by 2020 and what retailers must do to ensure they are well-positioned. Read Press Release. Request White Paper.
09/11 CEO speaks at World Retail Congress on latest trends in ecommerce
Javelin Group CEO, Tony Stockil, presented his paper: Creating a borderless world: how ecommerce is redefining the norms of retailing across the world, which was extremely well received by a packed auditorium at the World Retail Congress in Berlin. Along with co-presenter, Simon Forster, director of ecommerce at Debenhams, he discussed the latest trends in ecommerce which are fundamentally changing the world's leading retail markets. World Retail Congress.
08/11 Javelin Group appoints Leighanne Miles as Associate Director in the Strategy practice
Javelin Group has appointed Leighanne Miles as an associate director in the eCommerce & Multi-Channel Retail Strategy practice. With 14 years of experience in retail and ecommerce, Leighanne is one of the UK's most skilled ecommerce professionals. Prior to Javelin Group Leighanne was head of group ecommerce for Mothercare plc, where she developed the company's ecommerce stratetgy and managed its online trading, website development, and customer experience, and most recently she was head of ecommerce/marketplace for leading online retailer, ASOS. Leighanne has also held roles at Dixons Retail and Tesco Direct.
08/11 Javelin Group director Fraser Davidson to speak at Mobile Summit
Fraser Davidson, director of Javelin Group's technology services practice, is presenting at Retail Bulletin's Mobile Summit on 27th September 2011. He will discuss the The Mobile Technology Landscape: How To Choose The Right Approach. Mobile Summit. Mobile commerce with Javelin Group. Contact Fraser Davidson.
07/11 Javelin Group appoints Fraser Davidson as new Director of Technology
Javelin Group, Europe’s leading ecommerce and multi-channel retail consultancy, has announced the appointment of Fraser Davidson to the new role of director of technology, to reflect the firm’s rapid growth. He will work with retail, brand and B2B clients to deliver world-class ecommerce and multi-channel solutions to maximise their ROI. Read press release. Contact Fraser Davidson.
06/11 eConsultancy publishes eCommerce Platforms Buyer's Guide, featuring Javelin Group
eConsultancy have just launched the eCommerce Platforms Buyer's Guide, which is aimed at companies who are investigating the ecommerce technology market, and contains profiles of 38 firms including Javelin Group. The report also provides details on the various issues and trends affecting this sector. eConsultancy eCommerce Platform Buyer's Guide. Javelin Group profile.
06/11 Javelin Group to sponsor Endeca eBusiness Forum 2011
As Endeca's premiere implementation partner, Javelin Group is sponsoring Endeca's ecommerce forum, on 14th June in Central London. Guests will hear from industry leaders on topics such as multi-channel, mobile commerce, social media and customer experience. Endeca eBusiness Form 2011.
06/11 Javelin Group CEO to speak at 1st Global DIY Summit 2011
Tony Stockil, founder and CEO at Javelin Group, will discuss Global Perspectives for Online Retailing in DIY at the 1st Global DIY Summit in Brussels on the 8-9 June 2011. 1st Global DIY Summit.
05/11 Early Learning Centre launches mobile ecommerce website, built by Javelin Group
Early Learning Centre (ELC), has launched a new mobile commerce website with a complete product portfolio and full integration into its main ecommerce website and back office systems, built in record time by Javelin Group... Read press release. Mobile commerce with Javelin Group.
05/11 Javelin Group director Robin Bevan to speak at Polish Council of Shopping Centres conference
Robin Bevan, director of Javelin Group's Retail Locations & Shopping Centres practice, is presenting at the PRCH (Polish Council of Shopping Centres) Retail Horizons Conference on 2nd June 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. He will discuss Positioning the brand and shopping centres in Europe. PRCH Retail Horizons Conference.
05/11 Javelin Group CEO to speak at World Retail Congress
Tony Stockil, founder and CEO at Javelin Group, will discuss eCommerce winners: the growing impact of ecommerce on the economics of retail at his talk at the World Retail Congress on 25-28 September 2011 in Berlin. World Retail Congress.
05/11 Carl Bradbrook joins the Javelin Group Retail Locations practice, from Acxiom
Carl Bradbrook joins the Javelin Group Retail Locations practice as associate director. Carl was previously head of spatial analytics at our partner company, Acxiom, and will be responsible for Javelin Group geospatial analytical projects. Contact Carl Bradbrook. Retail customer analytics with Javelin Group.
05/11 Javelin Group completes vendor due diligence for Ideal Shopping Direct
Ideal Shopping Direct has been acquired by private equity firm Inflexion, along with senior managers, in a deal that values the home shopping group’s equity at £78m. Javelin Group, led by director Michael Fine and COO Richard Wolff, completed Vendor Commercial & Operational Due Diligence work on the deal for Ideal Shopping Direct. Contact Michael Fine or Richard Wolff. Javelin Group's Due Diligence pracrtice.
04/11 Javelin Group completes due diligence work for Lyceum Capital investment in EAT
Lyceum Capital, a mid-market growth investor, has acquired a controlling interest in EAT, the Real Food Company. Javelin Group, led by director Michael Fine, completed the Commercial & Operational Due Diligence work on this investment. Contact Michael Fine. Javelin Group's Due Diligence practice.
04/11 Lakeland launches new ecommerce website, built by Javelin Group
Lakeland, the creative kitchenware company, has launched a new ecommerce website to support the growth of its multi-channel retail business, with the help of its implementation partner Javelin Group... Read press release. Visit Lakeland website. Website development with Javelin Group.
04/11 Javelin Group CEO to speak at Deutscher Online-Handelskongress
Tony Stockil, founder and CEO at Javelin Group, will discuss 'How ecommerce and multi-channel retail are changing the business of retail' at the Deutscher Online-Handelskongress in Wiesbaden, Germany, on 11-12 April 2011. Online-Handelskongress.
04/11 Javelin Group CEO to speak at Retail London Conference
Tony Stockil, founder and CEO at Javelin Group, will discuss multi-channel strategies in his talk 'How many stores do we need?' at the Retail London Conference on 5-6 April 2011. Retail London Conference.
03/11 Javelin Group grows by 40%+ in 12 months
In the last 12 months Javelin Group has experienced phenomenal growth of 40%.