Owen Clements

This morning, Nobia Group, our parent company published its Q2 2025 results. In the UK, like-for-like retail sales at Magnet were up 9%, driven by the success of our spring range and increased design appointments and customer visits. While UK organic growth was -7%, reflecting a challenging projects market, sales were flat when adjusted for last year’s store closures, a strong sign of underlying resilience. Encouragingly, our B2B pipeline is stronger year-on-year, and we secured a major contract with Torsion Construction to supply kitchens for a 234-plot high-rise development. This positions us well for recovery as the market begins to improve. At the same time we invested in upgrading our showrooms and opened two new locations - our first Magnet showroom in Jersey and our seventh high-street format store in Farnham. We also launched ‘The Magnet Experience’, our end-to-end digital customer journey now live in every store, delivering a more seamless and consistent customer experience from design through to delivery. And thanks to improved supply chain efficiency, 99% of deliveries to stores and customers arrived on time, helping us meet demand and uphold that experience. We’re now preparing for further growth in the second half, with more store openings and a major investment in our retail leadership structure to strengthen support for our store teams and enhance our customer experience.   Read the full Q2 2025 Nobia Group report here: https://lnkd.in/e6vkYwdg

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We’re excited to share the news of another brilliant acquisition within our thriving Retail & Hospitality vertical: Davidson Richards.    Davidson Richards provides an EPOS and retail management solution to garden centres and other retailers under the OpSuite Retail Operations Software.    Based in Derby, OpSuite from Davidson Richards helps its customers manage their omni-channel operations from one central location. The software is perfect for single stores, multiple sites, destination centres or franchises and is packed with features built to help drive efficiency and create frictionless consumer experiences.   We’re very pleased to be working closely with the Davidson Richards team in this next phase of their business expansion and look forward to seeing this business go from strength to strength as part of our group.    Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/e83fRHXE

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Big news for UK retail tech - Logicbroker has acquired Virtualstock, the platform powering dropship and curated marketplaces for major brands including Aldi UK, Argos, Screwfix, Currys plc, and John Lewis & Partners. Together, they now form a global leader in multi-party commerce orchestration, connecting 15,000+ retail and brand partners and handling a GMV of $13 billion. This merger isn’t just about scale, it’s about next-generation agentic commerce technology (look it up - it's fascinating), enabling retailers to simplify supplier connections, expand online ranges, and deliver faster, smarter eCommerce. With the global dropshipping market projected to hit $1.2 trillion by 2030, this combination positions UK retail tech at the forefront of a rapidly evolving online commerce landscape. Exciting times ahead for retailers, suppliers, and customers alike. More here on Insight DIY - https://lnkd.in/eXyxMdZw #retail #ecommerce #marketplace #dropshipping

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Asda Rolling Out ESLs Across Express Stores Asda has announced that it is rolling out electronic shelf labels (ESLs) across its largest and busiest Express convenience stores as part of its efforts to simplify operations. Working with VusionGroup and its partners, Renovotec and HL Display, the rollout to 250 sites follows a three-month trial at Asda’s Oxford Road Store in Manchester. The trial found that the technology freed up staff time, allowing them to focus on customer service, managing deliveries, and replenishing shelves. Approximately 2,800 separate electronic shelf labels (over 700,000 across the entire rollout) will be added to each store, meaning Asda’s staff will no longer need to manually update pricing in-store. The technology can also display allergen information at shelf edge through QR codes, in addition to displaying the cost, weight and unit price of products. Asda recently announced that it was resuming its Express store opening programme after a pause to focus on converting the 469 sites it acquired from the Co-op and EG Group. Up to 20 of the convenience stores are due to open before the end of the year, starting with Castleford on Wednesday of next week. Each new Express site will feature the ESLs from day one. “We’re continuing to invest in enhancing our stores, and the launch of cutting-edge technology across our Express estate is proof of this,” said Joseph Sutton, VP Asda Express, foodservice and fuel. “By streamlining our in-store operations, we can free up our colleagues to focus on what they do best – serving our customers. With the first of 20 new Express sites set to open next, we’re excited to build on this momentum and to bring Asda’s trusted value to even more communities across the UK.” Roy Horgan, CEO UK & Ireland – VusionGroup, added: “We are proud to be extending our partnership with Asda as they accelerate their digital transformation. This next phase is a testament to both Asda’s digital ambition and the strength of VusionGroup’s market-leading technologies. By combining ESLs with IoT innovation and data-rich insight, we are helping to transform the in-store experience for Asda customers and colleagues.” NamNews Implications: * Key benefits in practice: - Free up existing staff to improve in-store service level (rather than cut staff numbers per store) - Add unit pricing (hopefully enabling true like-with-like price comparison) - Error reduction in on-shelf pricing (either via delays in adding updates or genuine errors) * Given those conditions, the ESL rollout should make a difference… #AsdaElectronicShelfLabels #ESLs

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