Retail

Retail is one of OC&C’s longest-standing strengths –as recognised by our team achieving the highest possible score in the Financial Times' UK Leading Management Consultants 2018. We collaborate globally to serve clients of all varieties and sizes, from multinational grocery giants through to nascent online category specialists:

  • Our grocery team partners with market leaders in the UK and around the world to deliver strategic, transformational, and operational projects. Our clients tell us they see us as their 'go to' thought partner for the key strategic and commercial issues they face.
  • In apparel, we bring experience from across the value chain to help retailers successfully address consumers' rapidly evolving expectations. By taking a holistic view of proposition and supply chain, we deliver recommendations tailored to both client and customer.
  • Multi-category: We work together with 'big box' retailers and department stores to tackle the key questions facing senior management.  Our experience covers a broad spectrum of questions including Category Strategy, Operating Model Re-Design, and International Expansion.
  • Speciality & Luxury: We have deep expertise across the broad spectrum of categories within retail, ranging from Discount to Luxury, and from Juvenile to Pets.
  • Digital Commerce & Marketplaces: Routes to market are changing fast: platforms, social shopping, and direct to consumer are core concepts today that were rarely mentioned ten years ago. We work with retailers to better understand customer needs and missions, and use this to design routes to market and operating models, which deliver real competitive advantage.

The retail landscape has changed immeasurably in recent years driven by a rapidly evolving channel landscape, rapid swings in global and local economies, and increasing globalisation of the consumer.  Against this rapidly evolving backdrop our customer-centric approach, robust analytical mindset, and dedication to working in partnership with senior management have never been more relevant.

We bring an unparalleled understanding of the customer, and a determined, analytical mindset to deliver results together with retailers globally

Our Thinking

Tuesday 30 January 2024

Facing the Fashion Future

Our Brazilian and British offices have joined forces to understand the pace of the fashion industry's transformation across Latam, the US, and Europe. Our report identifies five long-term trends for apparel businesses to align to when considering scale and growth for their future.

Tuesday 30 May 2023

Next Generation Operating Models

Brands continue to find themselves under pressure from all directions. Cost inflation, staff shortages, and ever-changing customer needs are all contributing to margin compression, which is quickly rising to unsustainable levels. While increasing consumption has offered some relief to the sector, as ESG increasingly influences consumer decisions volumes are expected to slow or stagnate.

Thursday 09 February 2023

Doing more with less

Overproduction is a long-lasting, deep-rooted problem for brands. 15-45 billion items of clothing produced every year are wasted, mostly ending up in landfill or incinerated. This is both a huge sustainability problem and a costly commercial one. Yet improving buying processes to better align with future demand can enable brands to reduce wastage, improve operating efficiency, and ultimately drive value.

Monday 06 February 2023

7 key reflections for the retail sector

Despite a period of undeniable economic and political turbulence, the retail sector has performed resiliently, with spend holding up stronger in Q4 than many had feared. However, consumer confidence remains at an all-time low, and with continued inflation, labour shortages and supply chain challenges, retailers now face a period of belt-tightening. The next 6-9 months will be harder than the last.

Wednesday 16 November 2022

Lifelong Loyalty

Loyalty programmes have long been used as a mechanism to secure customer loyalty and many have become significantly more sophisticated in recent years. Our latest insight unpicks what it takes to generate value from a loyalty programme across the Retail, Travel and Hospitality sectors.

Tuesday 08 November 2022

The forecourt of the future

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption across Europe is unstoppable. For fuel station forecourts this presents great change and opportunity in equal measure. In our latest report, we look at how the race to net zero is impacting the evolution of EV ownership, the future of charging and what consumers care about most, alongside its impact on forecourts. We also consider how forecourts can approach their strategy to futureproof business models and embrace the opportunities that lay ahead.

Friday 21 October 2022

All about value

In this, our 12th annual Retail Proposition Index, published at a time when consumers are grappling with cost-of-living pressures and confidence is at a 50 year low, we reveal how consumer attitudes and behaviours are shifting.

Thursday 20 October 2022

Moving consumers to sustainable choices

The UK retail sector has set itself an ambitious target of being net zero by 2040. It’s become clear the sector cannot achieve this alone and moving consumers to more sustainable choices is a crucial component for success. In conjunction with the British Retail Consortium, we’ve spoken to thousands of UK consumers, uncovering how aware they are about where their behaviour drives emissions and the actions they’re already taking, alongside how ready and willing they are to adapt in the future.

Tuesday 12 July 2022

The Right Fit

The Apparel industry has been subject to major market forces: the pandemic accelerated online penetration by 5-10 years, new marketplace and resale models have intensified competition, Instagram, Tik Tok and now the metaverse have proliferated channels to market, and consumers and regulators are continually raising the sustainable fashion bar.

Thursday 17 February 2022

Private Equity & Transactions 2021

2021 was a record year for transactions globally – as activity remained exceptionally strong despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID pandemic, global supply chain issues and the challenges of rising inflation and energy prices during the year.

Wednesday 19 January 2022

Trading Places

Just fifteen years ago, the biggest threat to traditional commerce was the internet. Brands that were quick to launch transactional websites (and later apps) emerged as victors. Now those same brands face losing out to the emerging dominance of online marketplaces – the disruptor has become the disrupted.

Wednesday 13 October 2021

A breath of fresh care

In this, our 11th annual Retail Proposition Index, the results show that the pandemic has shaken up consumers’ values, fundamentally shifting expectations and behaviours.

Monday 28 June 2021

The luxury of choice: 5 keys to success on multi-brand online platforms

From plucky upstarts to fixtures of the mainstream shopping scene, online retail platforms have become a growing pillar of sales for premium and luxury markets

Thursday 08 April 2021

Opinion: Never again should we accept the notion of non-essential workers

It took a global pandemic to prompt society to reflect on the importance of work performed not only by healthcare and home care providers, but by delivery drivers, grocery store employees and other critical but modestly paid workers.

Friday 26 February 2021

Four sustainability myths: are they holding your business back?

The Covid-19 crisis has elevated the importance of sustainability, but we must banish old thinking to build back better, writes Deidre Sorensen

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