Latest news with #RetailTechnologyShow
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Major change to TV ban on junk food adverts before 9pm
The plans had been due to be implemented in October but a four-month pause will now take place to allow officials to work on clearer guidelines on the restrictions Plans to ban TV adverts for junk food before 9pm will be delayed until January next year. Ministers will also change the legislation so that brand-only advertising, which does not show specific products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), is not caught under the rules. The plans had been due to be implemented in October. It is understood that a four-month pause will now allow the Department of Health and the Advertising Standards Authority to work on a clearer interpretation of the restrictions. This is despite many retailers, including major grocers, previously committing to a voluntary October start. The restrictions will now legally take effect on January 5. Regardless, key industry stakeholders including ITV, Channel 4, the Advertising Association and the British Retail Consortium, have committed to complying with the restrictions from October 1. The decision comes amid concerns raised by retailers and broadcasters about the impact of the ban and confusion over the rules. In April, the Government was forced to reassure businesses that pure brand messages are not "in scope" of the upcoming ban. Speaking at the Retail Technology Show earlier this year, M&S chairman Archie Norman said the government's new HFSS advertising rules "probably mean we can't run a Christmas ad", due to many festive foods not adhering to HFSS guidelines. A Government spokesman said: "Obesity robs children of the best start in life and sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, which costs the NHS billions. "We have secured a unique and public commitment from advertisers and broadcasters so that from October 1 2025, adverts for identifiable less healthy products will not be shown on TV before 9pm or at any time online, and this will be a legal duty from January 2026. "The junk food advertising restrictions on TV and online are a crucial part of our plan for change to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. By reducing children's exposure to junk food advertising, we will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children's diets each year." An Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) spokesman said: "The Government has set out its intention to bring in amending legislation to push back the implementation date on LHF (less healthy food and drink) ad restrictions and to consult on changing the law on brand exemption. "We recognise the importance of this issue for a range of stakeholders, therefore, together with Ofcom, we will now carefully assess what this means for the process to develop and implement the rules and guidance and will provide a further update as soon as possible."
FF News
06-05-2025
- Business
- FF News
How Many Retail Technology Events Have You Been to?
In this video, we asked the attendees of the Retail Technology Show 2025 how many events they had been to. For many, it's their first time at this kind of event. One attendee has been going for about eight or nine years, while another is just starting out. Some have even exhibited in the past. A representative from Lloyds talks about how amazing the show is, with lots of customers and partners attending. There's a lot of buzz as people reconnect with old contacts and meet new ones. Several attendees mention their long history in retail, with one noting they've been to over 100 events. Overall, the conversation shows the excitement around the Retail Technology Show and its rising role as a key event for the retail tech and finance sectors. It's a great spot for networking, learning, and keeping up with industry trends.
The Guardian
03-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Percy Pig's US adventure may be short-lived as M&S respond to Trump tariffs
Percy Pig's US invasion could be called to a halt amid fears that Donald Trump's tariffs could affect sales of Marks & Spencer's popular confectionery brand which has just launched in Target stores across the Atlantic. Archie Norman, the chair of M&S, has described Percy as the retailer's 'gift to America' but he told the Retail Technology Show in London that 'we might have to change our minds' as Trump imposes additional taxes on imported goods. The pink confectionery which sells more than 18m bags a year in the UK and is apparently enjoyed by celebrities including Adele and Olivia Rodrigo, went on sale in the US on 30 March both in Target stores across the US and on its website in what was described as Percy's 'biggest journey to date'. The US president on Wednesday announced sweeping tariffs on imports, including a 10% tariff on those coming from the UK. Norman added that M&S was also rethinking plans for its Christmas TV campaign as new rules on advertising high fat, sugar and salt foods (HFSS) come in to force in the UK. The government announced last year that junk food adverts would be banned before 9pm on TV from October 2025, as part of efforts to tackle obesity in children. 'It probably means we can't run our Christmas ad,' Norman told a packed room at the conference in London 'You won't be able to run an ad that includes Christmas pudding, your mince pies or sausages.' The former Conservative MP said retailers faced a wave of new regulations this year including new rules on packaging and labour rights. 'M&S will manage with everything as we are a growing business with no debt,' Norman said, adding that 'for the little guy these things become really damaging' and it was 'going to tough or some people'. He said it was 'pretty clear that we can't run a traditional food ad during the day and we probably can't run a YouTube ad during the day'. Norman said M&S was probably going to run some kind of ad but the process would be 'more complicated'. Its clothing and homewares ranges are unaffected by the new regulations and it is common for M&S and others to tweak ads to show off different products over the Christmas period. 'There could be the equivalent of a traditional ad which can only run before the watershed or one that doesn't feature mince pies [that could run at any time].' Norman also hit out at special prices for loyalty card holders, saying M&S's Sparks scheme would instead focus on personalising its communications, and claimed that online food retail was 'a desert of profit'. He clarified that this was an exaggeration – saying M&S still believed in the long term profitability of its joint venture with online grocery specialist Ocado. However, he pointed to the vast private equity losses in fast-track grocery delivery firms such as Gorillas, adding 'there has been more wealth destroyed in people trying to develop food online businesses than any other industry I can think of'.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
M&S Chairman: Online Grocery Is A 'Desert Of Profit'
Marks & Spencer Chairman Archie Norman has declared that grocery e-commerce is a 'desert of profit'. Speaking at the Retail Technology Show earlier today, Norman explained that although retailers around the world feel compelled to move into e-commerce, 'nobody is really making true profit from food online.' 'There's been more wealth destroyed in people trying to develop food online businesses than any other industry I can think of.' He highlighted the quick commerce bubble, with players like Getir, Gorillas, and GoPuff emerging during the pandemic and quickly disappearing when funding dried up. Norman described M&S' joint venture with Ocado, which launched in 2019, as a 'rollercoaster' but acknowledged the business is growing at 13% annually and around one-third of products sold on Ocado's platform today are M&S brands. 'What do my shareholders think? They don't think there's a lot of value in it. Like probably zip. What do I think? I think it's going to be worth a lot of money.' This month, M&S is due to make the final instalment as part of the payment for the £750 million joint venture. The relationship appears to have soured with performance targets not being met and Ocado stating last year that it could take legal action against M&S over the payment. Prior to Norman's arrival as Chairman, the UK retailer had literally spent decades plagued by the same problems – they lost touch with shoppers, their stores were wildly outdated, and they were late to invest in digital. Everywhere you looked, there were problems. But M&S is a national institution, and I think, in many ways, it was their brand affinity, the strong emotional connection that British shoppers have with M&S, that helped them survive – even when they weren't evolving. Not many retailers are afforded such leeway. Today, M&S isn't just surviving; they're thriving. They made bold bets, accepting that they can't be all things to all people, and it's paying off. So how did Archie Norman and CEO Stuart Machin even begin to turn around such a supertanker? 'When you've been drifting that long, you get a cultural drift. It's deeply entrenched. The way people think about their job and their company has become defensive. Failing companies create their own narrative for failure so, to change that, you've got to fracture the culture. I believe behind every business failure, there's an organizational leadership failure. So you've got to start with that. People changing means changing people.' Norman shared how in all the companies that he has led, they have ended up changing abut 80% of the top 200 people and half of the top 1,000. 'You've got to do the hard things first. When people step in to turn around the situation, all too often they want to declare victory within two or three years. They want to do the happy things, announce how they've got a new set of values and we're all going to perform differently. It doesn't happen like that.' He said that there was a 'sense of vanity' and a 'right to exist' within M&S. These days, CEO Stuart Machin describes a very different culture, one of being 'positively dissatisfied'. 'The nature of a turnaround is that most turnarounds don't turn around," Norman said. "So the day you step in that door, unless you change things, your business and your people are going to sink into oblivion.' A self-confessed loyalty card skeptic, Norman believes that shoppers tend to be rewarded for their disloyalty, rather than loyalty. In other words, shoppers will often be incentivized when they stop shopping with a particular brand, rather than being rewarded for being a regular customer. 'A lot of these loyalty cards are used to support pseudo promotions. And you can see that with [Tesco] Clubcard pricing. I don't believe in differential pricing. I want everybody to come to M&S with trusted value. It doesn't matter who you are, card or no card, you get the same price. That's hard trust.' The purpose of M&S' Sparks loyalty scheme, according to Norman, is to enable the retailer to collect more data on customers to then deliver more relevant messaging, as part of M&S' mission to be the 'most personalized retailer in Britain'. Will M&S follow in Morrisons' and Sainsbury's footsteps by closing in-store cafes? Norman hinted at potential rationalization here. 'I can't promise that we're going to be running restaurants with your fish and chips and all that in the future.' However, he said that M&S is committed to a 'modern café' . As I discussed recently in this BBC article, retailers are desperately trying to navigate significant cost headwinds, while simultaneously trying to compete with more value-driven competitors. Grocery is an especially low-margin industry, so supermarkets need to be utterly ruthless when it comes to cost-cutting. However, M&S is not a pure grocer. Given the premium positioning of its food offering, combined with its unique customer demographic and non-food focus, I'd imagine that cafes are strategically more important to M&S than most of their grocery rivals. Finally, Norman touched on Percy Pigs' US launch, having debuted in Target stores nationwide just last week. 'It's our gift to America, but we might have to change our minds after today when the tariffs come on,' he joked. 'America will have to pay for their pigs!'
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Toshiba Highlights Dedication to Retail Innovation at the Retail Technology Show 2025
LONDON, February 24, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions proudly continues its role as the sponsor of the Retailers Lounge at the Retail Technology Show, to be held on 2-3 April 2025 at its new venue, ExCel London. The Retailers Lounge offers an exclusive space for retailers to network, catch up on work, or simply unwind with a coffee. Within this setting, Toshiba will present its Innovation Zone, showcasing cutting-edge technologies designed to adapt to diverse retail environments and be customised for specific in-store needs: TCx® 820 All-in-One Point-of-Sale: Combining sleek design with robust performance, this versatile POS system is available in six screen sizes and multiple formats. At the show, the TCx 820 will be integrated with Toshiba's VisualStore Suite, demonstrating its ability to deliver personalised shopping experiences while meeting the demands of dynamic retail environments. TCx® EDGEcam+: Powered by the award-winning ELERA® Commerce Platform, this advanced AI and sensor-driven technology enhances real-time monitoring of customer behavior at checkout. Demonstrated on the TCx SMART wing self-checkout, this technology equips retailers with powerful tools to strengthen profit protection while improving the overall shopping experience. Preview of New Mobile Solutions: Toshiba introduces its mobile TCx® M7 SoftPOS handheld, combining convenience and functionality for modern retail, alongside the versatile TCx® M11 convertible tablet, designed to optimise operational efficiency and enhance customer interactions across retail and hospitality spaces. "Our dedication to the retail industry drives the innovation we deliver," said David Beer, General Manager UK&I at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. "Through our comprehensive ecosystem of hardware, software, and services, Toshiba empowers retailers to 'Create Your Tomorrow' today. By integrating AI, computer vision, and other transformative technologies, we provide solutions that address the full spectrum of retail needs." Martin Ward, Head of Software at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, will present a session titled 'AI in Retail: Are We Doing It Right?' on the Spotlight Stage. Scheduled for Thursday, 3 April at 12:10, this presentation will offer valuable insights into the application of AI in the retail sector. Retailers can also book a meeting with Toshiba experts to discuss tailored solutions for their businesses. About Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions empowers retail to thrive and prosper through a dynamic ecosystem of smarter, more agile solutions and services that enable retailers to resiliently evolve with generations of consumers and adapt to market conditions. Supported by a global organisation of devoted employees and partners, retailers gain more visibility and control over operations while enjoying the flexibility to build, scale and transform retail experiences that anticipate and fulfill consumers' ever-changing needs. Visit and engage with us on X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, to learn more. Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Tec Corporation, which is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. About Retail Technology Show Launched in April 2021, the Retail Technology Show is brought to you by the experienced team who previously organised the UKs largest retail exhibition: RetailEXPO (formerly RBTE). For ten years we've been showing how to evolve ahead of the market, building a community of retailers, brands and hospitality providers with the courage to seize the opportunities ahead. View source version on Contacts MEDIA CONTACT: Toshiba Global Commerce SolutionsNicole PearsonMarketing Manager UK& Sign in to access your portfolio
