Strategists

Bernard Arnault
Chair and chief executive, LVMH 

Bernard Arnault, who oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, is the world’s richest man – ahead of Tesla founder Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – suggesting his business strategy is paying dividends. 

According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, the Frenchman’s fortune stood at $219.7bn (£172.6bn) in April 2024, which is up from the $213bn (£167bn) Arnault had to his name when last year’s Retail 100 was published. 

The global economic challenges of the post-pandemic period have not prevented Arnault from adding to his personal wealth and steering the luxury behemoth through another year of growth, supported by the successful decision to bring back French beauty brand Sephora's stores to the UK in 2023 after a 18-year absence. 

The luxury goods group recorded a 13% year-on-year revenue increase to €86.2bn (£73.4bn) in 2023, and profit from recurring operations of €22.8bn (£19.4bn) – up 8% on 2022. 

LVMH reported a strong start to the current financial year, citing its “good geographical balance” as a reason for its ability to grow despite ongoing geopolitical tension. Its global presence will be underlined further in 2024, with Louis Vuitton producing the trunks that will house the medals and torches for the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris in the summer.  

Mike Ashley
Founder, Frasers Group 

While Michael Murray continues to drive the elevation strategy at Frasers Group on a day-to-day basis, founder Mike Ashley retains a major influence on the business and the wider retail landscape.

There is never a dull moment where Ashley is concerned. He secured a deal to bring the struggling Matchesfashion into the Frasers empire for £52m in December 2023, before putting the business into administration less than three months after buying it following continued losses. He also continues to buy shares in a multitude of retailers.

In addition to dealmaking, Ashley became a consultant to Hornby in March 2024 following Frasers' acquisition of 9% of shares in the model railways specialist, which has seen him become the third largest stakeholder in the company.

He is the potential kingmaker in the event of a variety of potential high-profile industry M&A deals – not least at Currys, which rejected a couple of takeover bids in the first quarter of 2024. Frasers' 11% stake in the electricals retailer means he will have significant influence if further bids arrive on the table in the months ahead.

James Bailey
Executive director, Waitrose 

Consumers shopping down in grocery has been a theme of the cost-of-living crisis. As Aldi and Lidl have continued growing market share, Waitrose’s efforts to maintain its sector position have intensified.

Like much of the industry, price cuts have been a key part of the Waitrose plan, which has been overseen by executive director James Bailey.

Bailey’s strategy is rolling out against the backdrop of significant productivity measures implemented by the John Lewis Partnership, which have put store and warehouse jobs in the firing line at the supermarket arm of the business.

Despite the upheaval, sales at Waitrose grew 5% to £7.7bn and trading operating profit improved by £170m to £1.06bn in 2023. Eight consecutive quarters of growth in customer numbers, announced in March, also validate Bailey’s current strategy.

Expanding the export business is a focus for Bailey in 2024 as demand for Waitrose internationally continues to grow, while ex-Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry’s arrival as JLP chair in September 2024 is sure to shake up how Bailey and Waitrose run their stores and online operations going forward.

Rami Baitiéh
Chief executive, Morrisons 

When he assumed the role of Morrisons chief executive in November, Rami Baitiéh promised to shake things up by driving renewed growth through commercial excellence, operations optimisation and new value creation.

Prior to arriving in the UK, Baitiéh held roles at French grocery titan Carrefour, starting as a purchase and organisation manager in 1995, and progressing through to chief roles in Taiwan, Argentina and Spain, before presiding over Carrefour France.

Since arriving at Morrisons Baitiéh has invited customers to management meetings, and there are reports he holds digital summits with the top 150 people from the company at 7pm each evening to share what he has learned about the business and what needs addressing.

There is a big turnaround job required at Morrisons, which was acquired for £7bn by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2021, before a steep hike in interest rates left it owing £400m of annual interest payments on £6.6bn of debt. In the year to October 29, 2023, Morrisons losses stood at £1bn on sales of £18bn.

Early signs regarding Baitiéh’s impact are good. Morrisons reported its best like-for-like sales growth in three years. For the 13 weeks to late January the grocer posted a 4.6% increase in group like-for-like sales excluding fuel and total sales of more than £3.9bn, up 3.9%.

Alex Baldock
Chief executive, Currys 

Currys boss Alex Baldock has steered the retailer through a year of difficulties for the wider consumer electronics market.

The electricals retailer boss has been turning things around and expects Currys to beat profit guidance after reporting a “strong finish to the year.” In a full-year trading update to April 27, Currys reported that group like-for-like sales returned to growth and were ahead 2% in the 16 weeks since the peak trading period. It anticipates full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of between £115m and £120m, compared to the previous guidance of “at least” £105m. 

Currys was the subject of takeover speculation in the first quarter of 2024, with US investment firm and Waterstones owner Elliott Advisors an interested party, valuing the retailer at £700m. Baldock and his team rejected that bid – and Chinese retail giant JD.com decided not to pursue a deal – as they looked for the best deal for shareholders.

Baldock’s transformation plan – instigated when he joined the business as chief executive in 2018 – is defined by ongoing investments in technology and ecommerce, and a drive towards encouraging take-up of additional customer services such as consumer credit, insurance and product repair.

Like-for-like sales in Currys’ troubled Nordics division are now positive, according to the latest reports, while the sale earlier this year of Greek division Kotsovolos boosted the balance sheet.

John Boumphrey
UK country manager, Amazon 

Now in his fourth year leading the Amazon UK business, John Boumphrey has helped the retail and tech giant recover from its lowest sales growth ever in 2022 (up 5.2% on 2021), to a 10.7% jump in revenue year on year in 2023 to reach £27bn.

Amazon continues to be a go-to option for a large percentage of the UK population thanks to speedy delivery and the multi-faceted Prime membership service. It was also the most popular choice over Christmas 2023 with the most visits for any website in the country in December, according to Similarweb data.

Amazon and Boumphrey see the need for speed in online retail and in 2023 it made its fastest delivery in the UK within 75 minutes of the order. Amazon says 70% of Prime member orders over the 2023 festive season arrived on the same or next day.

Boumphrey remains busy. Growing strike action in the UK is a continued challenge, with workers walking out of the Amazon Coventry and Birmingham depots in March to campaign for better rights. Elsewhere, deployment of the much-discussed first Amazon delivery-by-drone service in the UK has been promised at an as-yet-unspecified location, with Boumphrey and his team seeking to continue innovating in delivery, fuelled by growing investments in automation technology and AI.

Daniel Butters
Chief executive, financial advisory, Teneo 

A new entry for this year’s Retail 100 is Daniel Butters, chief executive of restructuring and financial advisory at Teneo. His inclusion on the list represents restructuring firms and administrators more widely, which are set for another busy year in 2024 as retail insolvencies continue to rise.

The number of insolvencies of retailers jumped by 19% in the year to the end of January 2024 to 2,195 – up from 1,843 in 2022/23 – according to Mazars, an international audit, tax and advisory firm.

High-profile retail insolvencies of late include The Body Shop in February 2024, which is being handled by FRP. That was the highest-profile retail collapse since Wilko in 2023, which was managed by PwC.

Ted Baker and Matchesfashion fell into administration in April 2024 – with Butters and his team at Teneo handling these insolvencies, while also helping Superdry explore its options as it seeks crucial cost-saving measures. This means Butters will wield significant industry influence in the year ahead.

Tracey Clements
SVP CEO Europe - mobility and convenience, BP 

Former One Stop boss and Boots executive Tracey Clements is using all her experience in convenience retailing to lead BP’s European operations during a period of significant change for the business. 

Clements has a central role in BP’s five-pillar growth engine strategy comprising convenience, electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewables and power, with around half of its cumulative $55bn-$65bn (£43bn-£51bn) investment for these areas going into convenience, bioenergy and EV charging between 2023 and 2030. 

By 2030, BP is looking to double convenience gross margin from a 2022 base of around $1.5bn (£1.2bn) and double strategic convenience sites – the retail sites where it believes its offer is differentiated from our competitors – to more than 3,400.  Clements is going to be very busy. 

She appears on the Retail 100 this year as the forecourt retailing space in the UK becomes increasingly competitive. Asda’s acquisition of EG Group’s UK and Ireland operations and Morrisons’ sale of 337 petrol forecourts to MFG highlight the interest in this space.

Her experience as leader of the biggest convenience business in the UK in One Stop is now being used to refresh BP’s retail offering.  

Helen Connolly
Chief executive, New Look 

Turning around New Look, which launched a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in 2020, is no small task. Yet chief executive Helen Connolly, who took the top job at the fashion retailer in 2021, is moving the business in the right direction.

The fashion retailer recorded a 67% increase in adjusted EBITDA, from £25.2m to £42.2m, in the full year to March 25, 2023. A statutory loss before tax of £87.8m – significantly more than the £25.5m loss in 2022 – was attributed to a one-off impairment charge of £47.4m, but revenue is on the rise again (£844.7m versus £839.6m in 2022).

Connolly and her team secured the refinancing of a £100m loan with Wells Fargo in October, representing a huge milestone for the business, which expects to end its CVA in 2024.

Looking forward, Connolly has said her focus on New Look’s retail strategy is on targeting customers who shop in both channels by keeping stock tight and buying back products where there is notable customer demand. Her strategy is also focused on increasing customer convenience. Last August, New Look rolled out drop-off kiosks across its store to make returns easier while being able to improve the data it collects from customers.

Last October, Retail Week analysts ranked New Look as the fourth fastest growing UK fashion retailer in the UK – Connolly will be looking to uphold that position in the year ahead.

Carl Cowling
Group chief executive, WHSmith 

It is no secret that WHSmith group chief executive Carl Cowling sees core growth coming from the travel arm of the business. When commenting on trading for the six months to February 29, 2024, he said the group “is in its strongest ever position as a global travel retailer”.

WHSmith posted an 8% increase in total group revenue to £926m in the six months to February 29, 2024, with total travel sales up 13% for the period. Total travel trading profit improved to £50m, up from £47m in 2023, while high street trading profit fell to £22m from £24m.

The huge potential of this division is also illustrated by Cowling’s opening, in November 2023, of its biggest UK store (6,000 sq ft) at Birmingham airport, which offers an extended food offering alongside the traditional books, stationery and travel ranges.

Cowling wants to “transition” WHSmith to be “a one-stop shop for travel essentials”. This involves integrating tech accessories brand InMotion into its estate and broadening its categories.

Of the 110 new stores planned for the current financial year, 50 are mooted in North America, primarily in travel hubs across the continent. Thirteen stores have already opened in North America and are trading well – a UK expansion success story that Cowling can take credit for.

Chris Dawson
Founder, owner, executive chairman, The Range 

Returning to the Retail 100 after a two-year hiatus is Chris Dawson – founder, owner and executive chairman of The Range – whose acquisitive strategy has put him in the spotlight.

A former market trader turned billionaire, Dawson founded The Range in Plymouth in 1989 and the business has steadily grown to reach a portfolio of over 210 stores stocking 65,000 products. Yet his appearance this year has been cemented by his acquisitive streak.

Dawson and The Range acquired the intellectual property and ecommerce operations of Wilko, when its general merchandise rival entered administration in 2023. Dawson and his team plan to open 20 to 25 new stores in 2024, including several under the Wilko fascia – aware it was a much-loved brand prior to its collapse.

However, it is in the digital space that the Wilko acquisition looks set to power new and innovative routes to growth for The Range. Wilko.com relaunched last autumn, with 100,000-plus items from the Wilko own brand and several other well-known names.

And in March, new online tool rental service ‘Wilkohire’ went live under Dawson’s lead, allowing consumers to rent tools or equipment they need and the dates they require them – with goods directly delivered to and collected from people’s homes.

Deborah Dolce
SVP marketing and corporate responsibility director, TJX Europe 

Senior vice-president for TJX Europe, Deborah Dolce has been part of the TK Maxx journey from the start.

Dolce joined TJX Europe in 1994, just before the first TK Maxx store opened in Bristol. In the 30 years since she has held several senior roles in brand and marketing, but also in business development, buying and ecommerce.

She operates under the title of senior vice-president for marketing and corporate responsibility director, but Dolce’s influence at TJX Europe extends further as a member of the executive committee overseeing more than 700 stores and omnichannel operations across six European territories.

The strategy of off-price and value for money has been popular for decades in the UK, but proved welcome in the cost-of-living crisis.

With Dolce at the helm, TJX UK, a subsidiary of TJX companies in the UK that owns TK Maxx and HomeSense, reported a rise in revenue and profit in the 52 weeks to January 28, 2023. These latest financials revealed a 17.5% increase in annual turnover to £3.88bn and a profit of £147.6m.

Daniel Ervér 
President and chief executive, H&M 

Daniel Ervér took the hot seat at fashion retailer H&M, becoming president and chief executive, in January 2024 after the surprise resignation of his predecessor Helena Helmersson.

Ervér has been with the group for 18 years, most recently as head of its eponymous H&M brand. The group opted not to hire a replacement for Ervér, meaning he will balance new responsibilities – overseeing strategy for brands Kos, Monki, Arket, Afound, & Other Stories, H&M Home and Weekday – alongside running the flagship business.

On taking the role, he said the focus would be on “offering our customers the best combination of fashion, quality, price and sustainability in an inspiring and attractive shopping environment”.

Ervér takes on a group in a healthy financial position – net sales growth of 6% to £17.3bn and a gross profit increase of 7% to £8.9bn in 2023. Yet he faces increased competition from rising star Shein, as well as growing regulatory pressure on matters such as fashion supply chain transparency.

Liz Evans
Managing director, George at Asda 

Now more than two years into the role of managing director for George at Asda, Liz Evans is making great strides despite difficulties in the wider Asda business.

In the past year, George at Asda has cemented its place as the biggest of the grocery fashion brands and the third-largest UK apparel brand overall by sales volume. Asda’s Mohsin Issa has credited George with bolstering sales for the overall group. For the first quarter ending March 32, 2024, George grew total revenues by 3% to £293m and like-for-likes by 3% as customers “responded to its investment in price, style and quality credentials”

Evans says the mission of the business is “to deliver great quality and style at a brilliant price across our George clothing and homeware ranges”. With recent growth in revenue – supported by a new celebrity partnership with Stacey Solomon – the overall experience is resonating with consumers.

Evans is also navigating the business’ sustainability focus. George found itself in the firing line, alongside Asos and Boohoo, in May last year with the retailer’s ‘green’ claims being scrutinised by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority). In March 2024, all three retailers signed a formal agreement to commit to better practice in this area, so expect the coming months to see Evans doubling down on how George talks about sustainability.

Robbie Feather
Chief executive, The Very Group

Several years after his last Retail 100 appearance when he was chief executive of luxury department store Fenwick, Robbie Feather has returned to our leadership list having been promoted from managing director to chief executive of pureplay retailer The Very Group in April.

Feather replaced Lionel Desclée, who is said to have stepped down to “pursue new opportunities” and is tasked with “delighting customers” and to “continue delivering growth” for Very’s board, which Feather has also joined as well as leading the executive team.

He brings his deep knowledge of Very to the role. Feather joined The Very Group in 2021 and oversaw the retail team, which manages category sourcing, buying, marketing, merchandising and group trading. He was also recently involved in the development of the group’s new brand platform.

Feather’s appointment comes at a crucial time. Very has been making significant investments in tech, AI and, under Desclée, adapted its pricing across toys, gifts and beauty, which saw a 13% rise year on year in 2022/23, as well as 7% growth in the first half of 2023/24. However, its most recent results for the 26 weeks to December 30, 2023, showed a £2m loss before tax, as well as the announcement of a fresh £125m funding package from global investment firm Carlyle and international investment house IMI to “support its growth strategy”.

With Feather’s new leadership and this latest cash injection, the coming months will be critical to get The Very Group – valued at £4m by current owners the Barclay family – back in the black.

Thierry Garnier
Chief executive, Kingfisher 

Kingfisher’s sales and profitability soared in the pandemic as the DIY sector experienced a boom from more people focusing on their homes and the rise in remote working.

However, chief executive Thierry Garnier has spent the past 12 months reining in profit forecasts for the B&Q and Screwfix owner as the post-Covid inflationary market brings its own challenges for growth.

In its first-quarter results for 2024, total sales for the group were £3.3bn, down 0.3% on a reported basis and 0.9% on a like-for-like basis. Yet its UK and Ireland business has reported positive sales with like-for-likes up 1.2%. B&Q has been boosted by “strong performance in ecommerce” with an increase of 0.4%. And Garnier remains confident in the long-term strategy of streamlining stores and online.

We can also expect to see growth in the number of compact stores currently being trialled across Europe. Kingfisher has 27 in the form of Casto and Brico Dépôt in France, Castorama Smart in Poland, and B&Q Local in the UK and Ireland.

Testing this format outside large cities is set to be a feature of the year ahead as the business looks to get closer to where people live and provide a more convenient retail experience.

Hannah Gibson
Chief executive, Ocado Retail 

Ocado made its fifth round of major price cuts in six months in January, highlighting the core part of chief executive Hannah Gibson’s strategy in her second year in the top job.

Gibson spent a decade at the online grocer before her promotion in September 2022 and her experience has been crucial in helping establish the new Ocado Retail joint venture with Marks & Spencer.

Despite clear teething issues with the partnership – with M&S chair Sir Archie Norman among those calling for improvements – sales at the beginning of the 2024/25 financial year were encouraging. Retail revenue was up 10.6% year on year to £645.3m in the quarter to March 3, when volumes rose 8.1% to 242.1 million items.

Ocado is now generating an average of 414,000 orders per week – an increase of 8.4% on the comparable period one year before – and has boosted active customers by 6.4% to 1.02 million. This indicates Gibson’s pricing and ranging strategy is paying off.

A new digital aisle – dubbed Best of British and featuring more than 800 products from UK farmers – went live in March, illustrating Gibson’s willingness to continue innovating.

Paul Hayes
Chief executive, Seasalt 

Paul Hayes is gaining a reputation as a modern retail strategist of the highest order, methodically mapping growth in both physical and digital retail sales.

Showing his retail nous during the pandemic, Hayes scaled back previous grand ambitions for store growth because of the depressed market at the time, but is now making moves to speed up the retailer’s real estate roll-out again.

Four new UK and Ireland stores were introduced in 2023, including in Aberdeen and Kenmare, while the Cornish brand’s first London shops are set to open by the end of 2024.

Seasalt expects revenue for the full year to late January 2024 to be up 12.5% to more than £135m, while EBITDA is anticipated to reach more than £10m.

Hayes describes 2024 as “a milestone year” with the first of several North American stores opening this month (June), as the quintessentially British brand continues to spread its wings.

Andy Higginson
Chair, JD Sports 

Andy Higginson’s far-reaching influence on UK retail strategy continues to grow, following his appointment as chair of the British Retail Consortium in September 2023.

Higginson is a voice for the industry, telling Retail Week Live in March 2024 that retail is often “taken for granted” and that he wants the government to “play their part and create an economic framework that is positive and progressive and provides a level playing field”.

Higginson, who spent 14 years on the board at Tesco, six years as Morrisons chair, and five years as chair of N Brown, can now use his lobbying role to support the wider sector.

JD Sports, specifically, is also tapping into his 40 years of retailing experience as it maps out its future as an increasingly global player. Higginson is chair of the sports retail group, working alongside chief executive and former Al-Futtaim retail president Régis Schultz.

The international growth ambitions of JD Sports were highlighted by its acquisition of the remaining 40% stake in Marketing Investment Group (MIG) in January 2024, which gave the UK business full ownership of the Polish retailer. America is also in its sights; in April 2024 JD Sports entered into a binding agreement to acquire US Sportswear brand Hibbett for £899m.

Maria Hollins
Chief executive, Ann Summers 

In her first year leading the business as chief executive, Maria Hollins has steered the ship with aplomb. It follows the sad passing in 2023 of former shareholder David Gold and executive chair Jacqueline Gold, who Hollins described as “key members of our family-owned business”.

Sales and profit are on the up for the lingerie and sex toy retailer, which posted a 4.5% increase in turnover to £104.6m for the 53 weeks to July 1, 2023 and gross profit of £61.8m representing a 3% hike on 2022.

Ann Summers has been a beneficiary of more shoppers heading back to the high street after years of declines in retail footfall. Hollins has overseen a store sales jump of 12% year on year, supported by the opening of four new UK premises.

Omnichannel development is a key target for Hollins, who is investing in a redesign of the Ann Summers website and digital proposition. Securing £8m in fresh funding from asset-based lender Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance in January will further support work in modernising the retailer’s operations.

Matt Hood
Managing director, Co-op Food 

Making his Retail 100 debut is Co-op Food managing director Matt Hood who has led the grocery business as it increased in operating profit (up 11% year on year to £154m in the 12 months to March 2024) and added 1 million new members in 2023.

Cost efficiencies including improvements in availability, waste reduction, optimised stockholding and bringing down the overall cost to serve have been key achievements for Hood. He has also overseen a more than £90m price-cutting investment.

Hood has achieved that despite rising levels of crime in Co-op stores – an issue plaguing many retailers amid the cost-of-living crisis – and underlying sales growth well below the pace of grocery inflation at 4.3%

Hood has also played a central part in lobbying government to get more protection for shop staff. Similarly, his decision to pay colleagues the real living wage from March 2024 indicates further efforts to improve staff welfare in the months ahead.

Giles Hurley
Chief executive UK
and Ireland, Aldi 

The Aldi value strategy – overseen in the UK and Ireland by Giles Hurley – continues to bear fruit, with the German discount grocer firmly established as one of the ‘big four’ supermarkets and even closing in on Asda’s number three market share position.

Keeping prices low, opening more stores and rewarding staff are the pillars of the strategy undertaken by Hurley, who is now in his sixth year in the top job at the supermarket chain.

Aldi once again underlined its “commitment to never be beaten on price” with a fresh £125m round of investment in price cuts in April, while also working towards creating 5,000 new jobs in the UK and Ireland in 2024.

Hurley and his team have been quick to increase the base rate of frontline staff pay – doing so twice in the first four months of 2024 alone. They have committed to paying all store and warehouse staff at least £12 an hour from February 2024 (previously £11.90) and £13.55 within the M25 (up from £12.75). Store assistants’ pay will rise to £12.95 nationally, and £13.85 within the M25, based on the length of service, as part of a £67m investment.

Despite a brief dalliance offering home delivery alongside its established click-and-collect service and an ecommerce Special Buys tie-up with AO, physical retailing is the primary focus for Hurley and Aldi. The supermarket chain plans to open 35 new stores across the UK and Ireland in 2024, as part of Hurley’s ultimate target to reach 1,500 physical premises.

Mohsin Issa
Co-owner, Asda; co-founder and co-chief executive, EG Group 

Zuber Issa’s departure from EG Group in 2024 leaves his brother Mohsin at the helm of the business they founded together – one that has become a more prominent part of the UK retail scene following the siblings’ £6.8bn deal to buy Asda in 2020.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Issa brothers and Asda in the past year, with reports of a sibling fallout over personal matters and delays in reporting the company’s financial results following EY’s decision to quit as auditor due to governance concerns.

However, with Mohsin’s strategy focused on growth, Asda has seen performance improve. In the full year to December 31, 2023, underlying profit exceeded £1bn and like-for-like sales grew 5.4%. Sales excluding fuel increased by 7.1% year on year to reach £21.8bn, while adjusted EBITDA after rent surged 24% to £1.07bn. Increasing customer convenience and product availability is key for Mohsin.

In 2023, he oversaw Asda Group taking full control of 116 convenience stores from the Co-op and acquiring 356 predominantly freehold sites from EG Group’s UK business for circa £2.27bn. In April 2024, Asda credited this move with helping to make “significant strategic progress”.

For the first quarter ending March 31, Asda’s non-fuel sales increased by 6.6% to £5.3bn and like-for-like sales increased by 1.4%. The retailer also reported a 1.3% increase in like-for-like grocery sales during the quarter.

Seb James
Chief executive, Boots 

Boots UK boss Seb James is laser-focused on modernisation – and he continues to rejuvenate the retailer’s expansive store estate, while doubling down on digital strategy to improve the Boots website and app. 

Having made the decision to elevate its beauty offering in 2019 with the introduction of a raft of popular brands, James continued to push the boundaries in this space by opening the business’s first makeup-only store in December 2023, in London’s Battersea Power Station. The arrival of Sephora in the UK last year has increased the competition, but James has been bullish in response as he oversees enhancement of the retailer’s range and marketing.

James’ drive to improve the web experience in 2023 was vindicated during the peak period when Boots.com sales jumped by 17.5% year on year, contributing 19.2% of sales for the crucial quarter to the end of November. The retailer’s website achieved both its largest month of sales ever in November and its largest day of sales ever on Black Friday. 

Boots said in March that 1 million new members joined its Advantage Card in the preceding 12 months. This further strengthens Boots’ position under James to drive digital sales in the year ahead based on a strong understanding of customer spending habits. 

James’ work in driving change across Boots, which could be building up to a London IPO of the health and beauty business, will be accelerated in the coming year thanks to the arrival of former Asda strategy head Preyash Thakrar. He joined Boots in March as strategy and transformation director and will no doubt be working closely with James as the business evolves.  

Andy Jassy
President and chief executive, Amazon 

Succeeding Jeff Bezos as chief executive of Amazon is no small task and, more than three years after Andy Jassy did just that, he finds himself making some big decisions to ensure future success – albeit against the backdrop of rising sales and profitability.

Net sales increased by 12% to $574.8bn (£451.1bn) in 2023, while net income was $30.4bn (£24.4bn) – compared with a net loss of $2.7bn (£2.17bn) one year before. Amazon’s AWS cloud computing arm, which Jassy ran from 2003 to 2021, and advertising division continue to be areas of significant growth.

A few years since Bezos stepped down, Jassy’s strategic leadership is being tested as Amazon cuts costs to optimise its operations. “Several hundred” jobs in the AWS department are being cut in 2024 and, in April, it was announced that its much-vaunted Just Walk Out technology was being scrapped from all grocery stores in the US.

Looking ahead, innovation at Amazon is set to continue with Jassy promising in February the deployment of more generative artificial intelligence capability to power its operations and services. In April he followed this with the news that £600m will be invested in European robotics and AI over the next five years. “We have a lot in front of us to be excited about,” he said.

Nish Kankiwala
Chief executive, John Lewis Partnership 

Nish Kankiwala has completed his first year as John Lewis Partnership inaugural chief executive – and the partnership’s return to profit in that time vindicates his arrival.

When he took the job, departing chair Dame Sharon White said Kankiwala’s appointment allowed her to focus on “strategy for the partnership and big commercial choices”, while his transformation experience could help “drive performance and profitability day to day” – and so it played out in the opening 12 months of the new leadership structure.

Kankiwala talked of delivering “very good progress in three key areas” in 2023, including simplifying the business through initiatives such as the ’simpler shops’ programme in Waitrose that has aligned staff time with customer time and, in John Lewis, where there has been a rationalisation of range.

Reinvesting margin improvements in lower prices has helped keep prices down for consumers, which is crucial in a cost-of-living crisis.

It has been a positive start for Kankiwala, but with yet more senior management upheaval in the months ahead and JLP some way behind its 2010s heyday, he has much more work ahead of him.

John Lyttle
Chief executive, Boohoo 

It has been another mixed bag of a year for John Lyttle as boss of fashion etailer Boohoo, which like many of the online fashion pureplays is finding the market as competitive as it has ever been.

The fashion group, which now owns 13 brands including Pretty Little Thing, Karen Millen, Oasis, and Debenhams, reported a reported a 17% fall in revenue to £1.4bn for the full year to February 29, 2024, and a loss before tax of £159.9m, increasing from £90.7m year on year.

However, Boohoo under Lyttle remains one of the fastest-growing UK fashion retailers (Retail Week analysts recognised it among the top 30 for year-on-year growth last October).

To maintain its status, Lyttle has talked up Boohoo’s turnaround potential, and says improvements in sourcing lead times and investments in pricing to reinforce the group’s value credentials point the way to better performance in the current financial year.

Another landmark of note for Lyttle and the team was the launch of a 1.1 million sq ft US distribution centre in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, last summer, which the company believes sets it up to disrupt the North American market.

Stuart Machin
Chief executive,
Marks & Spencer 

Stuart Machin is the person at the heart of M&S’ strong performance of late, as the high street mainstay continues its transformation to become a modern-day retail leader. 

Opening bigger and better stores and a focus on value and quality are part of the ‘reshaping for growth’ plan that Machin is pursuing. He has focused on setting prices right the first time in non-food to avoid discounting and "tricksy pricing", and driving more efficiency across all parts of the business, particularly across its store network. In the six months to September 30, 2023, M&S opened three full-line stores and renewed six, while generating £100m in cost savings.

Machin has also increased transparency, launching a hotline to his office for staff to share ideas and voice concerns while also regularly publicising M&S’ plans. In May, he declared the retailer had made “significant investment in colleague pay” this year “funded by structural cost reductions and other efficiencies”.

His transformation strategy is paying dividends. In the 52 weeks to March 30, 2024, the retailer’s total sales grew 9.4% to £13bn, and profit before tax increased to £672.5m, up from £475.7m in April 2023. While M&S’ joint venture with Ocado Retail is still yet to find its legs (reporting an adjusted loss of £37.3m), food and clothing sales have increased 13% and 5% respectively during the period. 

Machin will now be carrying on the good work of the last two years without co-CEO Katie Bickerstaffe who is leaving to take on a portfolio career. She moves as part of what M&S describes as a planned evolution of the leadership structure.

Ryan McDonnell
Chief executive, Lidl GB

It has been business as usual for Ryan McDonnell as GB chief executive of the supermarket chain that continues to take market share from many of the established crowd.

For the four weeks to April 14, 2024, Kantar data shows the grocer achieved a record 8% market share with sales up by 9.1%. This followed a record Christmas trading period for Lidl and its revered accolade of Grocer of the Year at the Retail Week Awards in March 2024.

McDonnell views his staff as crucial to the retailer's success and has been rewarding them as such. In January 2024 he said that “customers are switching to Lidl from every other supermarket, and it’s our colleagues’ commitment and performance that is making this happen. It’s only right, therefore, that we thank them for their incredible work.”

In the 12 months to January 2024, Lidl has invested almost £60m in pay with its latest pay hike taking entry-level roles outside the M25 from £11.40 to £12.

It was reported in February that Lidl is seeking £91.1m from investors to build 12 new stores in the UK, which it will then rent back from them, suggesting McDonnell’s ambitions for rapid growth are not slowing down any time soon.

Damian McGloughlin
Chief executive, Homebase

Chief executive of Homebase Damian McGloughlin was listed in The Dealmakers section of the Retail 100 2023. With speculation Hilco is looking to sell Homebase in 2024, his skillset could be further put to the test this year.

It is a challenging time for the home and DIY sector, with growing market competition, squeezed finances impacting consumers' willingness to spend on big-ticket items and unseasonal weather. Homebase reported losses in its latest financial statement.

In the year to January 2023, Homebase reported an £84.2m loss compared with a profit of £30m the year before. Revenue dropped from £788m to £701m during the period.

Despite the tough market, the Homebase strategy led by McGloughlin is to continue introducing new products to improve the range for customers and develop the shopper experience across all sales channels. The boss said in February 2024 the company was “looking forward to returning to profitability in 2024”. 

Lyssa McGowan
Chief executive,
Pets at Home 

With almost two years under her belt as Pets at Home chief executive, Lyssa McGowan’s strategy is taking shape.

The retailer expects profit of £132m for the year to the end of March 2024. It comes after a year of investment, which included the launch of a new distribution centre in Stafford and peak trading sales coming in lower than expected.

Pets at Home said it has “successfully launched” a new digital platform, delivering a “much-improved user experience and functionality across our app and website”. This news vindicates McGowan’s early move as boss to expand chief customer officer Kathryn Imrie’s responsibilities to digital, marketing and customer proposition.

The year ahead will involve McGowan putting plans in place to protect Pets at Home’s leading market share amid increased competition from Jollyes, which is opening more stores in the UK. McGowan will be supported by former chief executive of Danish supermarket chain Føtex, Anja Madsen, who she recruited as her new chief operating officer for retail in April.

Clodagh Moriarty
Chief retail and technology officer, Sainsbury’s 

Clodagh Moriarty appears in this year’s Retail 100 with the elevated job title of Sainsbury’s chief retail and technology officer. The role represents the combining of the group’s leadership of technology with its group retail and digital teams, and therefore Moriarty’s growing influence on shaping wider strategy.

Moriarty joined Sainsbury’s in 2010 as head of strategy before leading the online business and taking the chief digital officer role in 2018 to secure a place on the operating board.

In 2020 she became retail and digital director, and during this rise has overseen the digitisation of the Nectar loyalty scheme and the move to a more tech-enabled supply chain and self-serve store environment to improve availability and help speed up customer transactions.

Judging by Moriarty’s appearance on the stage at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in January 2024, more use of AI – for example, on smart scales in store and staff internal communication tools – looks set to be a technological focus for the grocer under her steer over the year ahead.

Tom Morris
Founder, Home Bargains 

Home Bargains owner and reclusive billionaire Tom Morris is once again recognised among the Retail 100 after the value business he founded almost 50 years ago, in 1976, continues to be a big player in UK retail.

Named in March by Retail Week analysts as one of the top 30 most productive retailers in the UK, Home Bargains has proved essential to consumers battling the cost-of-living crisis over the past two years.

That is evidenced in the company’s results. Parent group TJ Morris’ turnover for the full year to June 30 last year rose by 10.2% to just under £3.8bn. Pre-tax profits grew 12.4% to £332m.

Expanding the store portfolio is a priority for the Home Bargains owner, as the company intends to “increase the number” of retail outlets it operates. According to the latest financial report, Morris has 594 stores, but wants to grow that to between 800 and 1,000 outlets.

Morris is finding ways to grow with fewer resources too – one reason, perhaps, for Home Bargains’ appearance in the productivity top 30 – with staff numbers dropping from 28,401 in 2022 to 26,845 in 2023.

Matt Moulding
Founder and chief executive, THG 

Matt Moulding is showing his true colours as a retailer and influential ecommerce leader, following several years battling against some of his investors.

The founder and chief executive of THG – which owns brands such as Look Fantastic and Myprotein – posted adjusted EBITDA in 2023 of £114.1m, up from £64.1m in 2022. Moulding and his team achieved that despite group revenue declines of 8.7% to £2.05bn.

Revenue growth in the last quarter of 2023 continued at the start of 2024, according to Moulding, who is building a business with an increasingly optimised fulfilment network supported by some of the most cutting-edge automation in retail.

Investment in tech and infrastructure is key to developing THG’s capabilities as a platform for other retailers to use to fast-track their online capabilities, and a three-year supply chain partnership secured with Holland & Barrett in January under its Ingenuity Solutions arm further boosts this part of the business.

As Moulding looks to improve performance, the industry will continue to keep a keen eye on his progress.

Ken Murphy
Chief executive, Tesco 

Ken Murphy is in his fourth year leading the UK’s largest retailer and he continues to map the right course despite major pressure on consumer finances.

Tesco posted an 11% rise in adjusted retail operating profit to reach £2.76bn last year, up from £2.5bn the year before. With a 7.4% increase in group sales to reach £61.48bn, market share is growing.

Following tech and ecommerce infrastructure investments during the pandemic, stores have become a greater focus for Murphy and his team. There was an increase of 87 stores last year and investment was made into 389 store refurbishment projects.

The grocer also introduced its largest increase in colleague pay in its history, bringing its hourly rate up to £12.02 per hour, while cutting prices for customers on over 4,000 product lines via Clubcard Prices, Aldi Price Match and Low Everyday Prices has helped temper competition from the discounters.

Clubcard continues to be a jewel in Tesco’s crown and in April Murphy said the loyalty rewards scheme remains “hugely valued by customers”. Eighty-two per cent of sales in the retailer’s largest stores go through Clubcard, and about 70% of transactions across its entire estate and online involve a Clubcard.

In March 2024, Murphy oversaw a £600m deal to sell Tesco Bank to Barclays. This will strengthen the balance sheet this financial year and, through terms of the sale, creates a new strategic partnership enabling the retailer to offer Tesco-branded banking products and services to its customers and explore “other opportunities”.

Paula Nickolds
Chief executive, The White Company 

Celebrated once more among the Retail 100, but with a new company and job title, Paula Nickolds brings her experience as ex-John Lewis managing director and former general merchandise and clothing commercial director at Sainsbury’s to the top job at The White Company.

After nearly three years at Sainsbury’s, Nickolds moved into her first chief executive role in March with a ringing endorsement from her ex-employer. Highlighting her leadership and strategic skillset, the supermarket chain said: “Over the past three years, Paula has led much progress across our ‘Brands that Deliver’ strategy, making Argos, Habitat and Tu considerably stronger and more competitive than pre-pandemic.”

She also left a solid team in place and was replaced by Graham Biggart, who previously held the position of chief transformation officer at Sainsbury’s.

It is a different challenge entirely at The White Company, which for the 52 weeks to July 31, 2023, recorded a 4% year-on-year increase in underlying group operating profit to reach £33.5m.

One of the top 30 fastest-growing fashion retailers in the UK with fresh B Corp status to boot – as of March – The White Company is the perfect foundation for Nickolds to flex her expertise in fashion and leadership.

Archie Norman
Chair, Marks & Spencer 

Marks & Spencer chair Archie Norman is one of UK retail’s most influential and respected names, evidenced in M&S’ return to growth across all areas of its business.

Since taking the chair in 2017, the retailer has undergone a major transformation including an overhaul of its store estate, taking control of its food distribution by acquiring Gist in September 2022 and the reinvention of its fashion offering that for so long had been a drag on the organisation’s high-flying food division.

Indicative of M&S’ improvements in the past two years was investment bank Peel Hunt highlighting the retailer’s 2023/24 first-half profit outperformance – a 75% rise to £360m – as “a little embarrassing for the analytical community”, which had been much more reserved in its estimates.

Guiding a ship of M&S’ size will never allow a chairman to rest on their laurels, though and the Ocado Retail joint venture (JV) remains an area of contention for Norman this year. In 2023, Norman told investors he was “not happy” with Ocado Retail’s performance – and an ongoing dispute about JV performance-related payments owed to Ocado remains unresolved.

Outside of M&S, Norman remains a big voice on key issues impacting business. In March he dismissed the Bank of England’s latest tranche of interest rate hikes as “totally ineffective” while in April he spoke out against Labour’s plans to reform UK worker rights.

Richard Price
Managing director of clothing and home, Marks & Spencer 

The recent recovery of Marks & Spencer's fashion arm has been essential to the retailer’s overall growth in the past two years, and managing director of clothing and home Richard Price is the driving force behind that division.

Price, who had previous experience working for M&S, rejoined the retailer in July 2020 having been chief executive of Tesco’s fashion brand F&F for five years. Since then, he has set about reviving the category that had become a perennial drag on the M&S group’s progress.

He has revived its clothing arm, with clothing and home sales rising 5.3% with an adjusted operating profit of £402.8m for the 52 weeks to March 30, 2024, compared to £323.8m in 2023. Price’s turnaround strategy has involved improving the own-brand range, adding new names to its portfolio such as Reebok and Puma through the Sports Edit platform, investing in existing brands such as Nobody’s Child, alongside securing new celebrity ambassadors such as Sienna Miller.

Recognition of the impact Price has had on M&S clothing came in the form of its Fashion Retailer of the Year accolade at the Retail Week Awards 2024. Price was also Drapers' 2023 Leader of the Year, and now he sits in the Retail 100 for the first time off the back of those achievements.

José Antonio Ramos Calamonte
Chief executive, Asos 

Completing his second year as Asos chief executive, José Antonio Ramos Calamonte is on track to make the online pureplay what he describes as “a faster and more agile business”.

The focus of Ramos Calamonte’s plans since his arrival has been on clearing aged stock that built up during the pandemic, supported by a key partnership with marketplace Secret Sales and the launch of a pop-up site for discounted items. In March 2024 he said the team were “ahead of plan” to improve stock efficiency and cut inventory to £600m.

But in April the fashion retailer reported an 18% decline in sales in the first half, with adjusted group revenue falling from £1.83bn to £1.5bn year on year. The £270m loss was, however, better than the £290m from the same period the previous year.

Expansion is also on the cards for Ramos Calamonte with his retailer announcing an exclusive long-term partnership with Reliance Retail in May to bring Asos to the Indian market.

John Roberts
Founder and chief executive, AO.com 

Proof of AO founder and chief exec John Roberts’ status as an industry strategist comes in the online electricals retailer's second year of profitability after it dipped into the red in 2021/22.

Now back in the black, Roberts’ AO expects adjusted profit before tax to be “at least at the top of the previously guided range” of between £28m and £33m for the full year to March 31, 2024 – off the back of an expected £1.04bn in revenue. The figures vindicate Roberts’ decision to focus on cash generation and profitability following the economic slowdown following the pandemic.

Roberts has been vocal in the past year about getting staff back to the office, reining in remote working at the company’s headquarters with the view that homeworking is not as productive as bringing staff together in one place. However, he acknowledged in an interview with The Times that changes to the policy resulted in some people leaving the business.

Roberts is confident that with a boosted balance sheet and a clear plan, AO is in line for 10% to 20% revenue growth in the 2024/25 year.

Simon Roberts
Chief executive, Sainsbury’s 

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts’ brave decision making early in his reign has helped the business take an almost 2% food market share lead over rival Asda. His success, and strategy mix combining tradition with innovation, led to Roberts being crowned Retail Leader of the Year at the Retail Week Awards 2024. 

Back in November 2020, Sainsbury’s and Asda were neck and neck, but Roberts’ ‘Food First’ strategy, which prioritised investment in Sainsbury’s over stablemates Argos, Tu Clothing and Habitat, has proved a wise move. 

Roberts’ plan, as Sainsbury’s embarks on its new ‘Next Level’ strategy, is to deliver retail underlying operating profit in the range of £1.01bn to £1.06bn in the year ahead. The Food First strategy has been defined by investments in pricing, including Aldi Price Match and Nectar Prices, and Roberts has promised “to make deliberate, balanced choices to support our customers, colleagues, communities and farmers” in the next phase of his growth plan.

Financial performance demonstrates the success of Food First. For the 52 weeks ending March 31, 2024, Sainsbury’s posted year-on-year growth of 3.4% to £36.3bn in group sales, while retail sales excluding fuel improved 6.8% to £30.6bn. Grocery sales were up 9.4% with Roberts declaring that Sainsbury’s is “the most competitive it has ever been”.

Clothing sales, however, were down 6.4% over this period so fashion must now be the next focus. 

Peter Ruis
Executive director, John Lewis

Peter Ruis is the new – and returning – face of John Lewis, having been appointed in January 2024. A lot rests on his shoulders in terms of turning around the department store chain’s fortunes.

Ruis initially joined John Lewis in 2005 and helped transform its fashion offering by introducing more modern, cutting-edge brands at the time, including Jaeger, Hobbs and Whistles. He was also part of the team that launched John Lewis online, which was a major driving force in the retailer’s success in the 2010s.

Despite a decade away from the business, the new executive director, who is a fresh face on the Retail 100 in 2024, understands the John Lewis shopper psyche. He also brings to the role a fresh perspective, having led Jigsaw and Anthropologie in recent years.

It will be intriguing to see Ruis' impact over the next 12 months and whether he can spearhead another renaissance in the John Lewis brand, which lost its way going into the pandemic. Ruis recently told Retail Week that his priority is the return of JLP’s “mojo”; this being “the confidence, the innovation, the inspiration of the John Lewis department store”.

The first task? According to Ruis: “What you’re going to see is continued investment in real estate across multiple stores. A typical example would be doubling the size of our beauty hall, which will happen in the autumn in Oxford Street.”

Alex Russo
Chief executive, B&M 

Clear signs have emerged over the past 12 months about how retail leader Alex Russo intends to take B&M forward, after assuming the top role from co-founder Simon Arora in 2022 following his 17 years at the helm.

B&M’s former chief financial officer, who has previously held senior roles at Wilko, Tesco and Walmart, acquired 51 Wilko stores following its rival’s collapse into administration in 2023. That move showed store expansion is a key part of his strategy.

Elevating B&M’s position as a food retailer alongside its core general merchandise offering is part of the wider plan and an April 2024 “big food event” marketing campaign seemingly took aim at the big grocers. Taglines such as “No gimmicks” and “No loyalty cards”, and messages promoting “everyday low prices 365 days a year” highlighted B&M’s value proposition and disruptive intentions.

Rumours of Homebase’s potential sale might provide a further test of Russo’s dealmaking skills this year, while new boardroom relationships will need to be forged under Russo as chair Peter Bamford retires this year.

Régis Schultz
Chief executive, JD Sports 

JD Sports chief executive Régis Schultz set out his five-year strategy in 2023, aiming to become “the leading global sports-fashion powerhouse”. 

Schultz became boss in August 2022, taking on the top job from Peter Cowgill with the mission of modernising one of the great British retail success stories. The strategy has four main pillars – JD brand first; complementary concepts; ‘beyond physical retail’; and focusing on people, partners and communities – with developing the customer experience a key thread throughout.  

Schultz’s aim is to enhance JD’s store footprint and digital capabilities, while driving internal operating efficiencies and improving CX. It involves opening between 250 and 350 JD brand stores a year around the world, supported by strategic acquisitions along the way that strengthen its global positioning. 

JD’s move to acquire US sports retailer Hibbett in April is evidence of its growth ambitions, with the deal heightening its presence in the key North American market. Much of the modernisation Schultz is driving comes behind the scenes, with JD having opened new automated distribution centres run on cloud-based tech in the UK in 2022 and the Netherlands in 2023.

However, market challenges mean, in March, JD reduced its profit expectations to between £915m and £935m, compared with the previously pledged £1.04bn target. 

Dame Sharon White
Chair, John Lewis Partnership 

Dame Sharon White will depart as chair of the John Lewis Partnership in 2025, having helped restore the group to profitability during a turbulent time for the Waitrose and John Lewis parent company.

For the 52 weeks to January 27, 2024, JLP reported profit before tax and exceptional items of £42m, which represented a £120m improvement on the year before, when the partnership made a loss of £78m.

JLP said the improved financial results were driven by “sales growth, gross margin rate improvement and sustainable productivity improvements”, against the backdrop of some radical efficiency strategies led by White to turn JLP’s fortunes around.

She announced plans in 2020 that JLP would make 40% of its profit from non-retail activities such as finance and rental property. However, although she believed diversification to be vital for the future of the retailer, these specific targets were scrapped in March 2024 due to a challenging economy. There was industry criticism that “John Lewis had lost its way”, with retail having been sidelined for other divisions.

White will hand over the reins to ex-Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry in September 2024 and will work alongside him prior to her departure. Tarry will be part of a new-look team, which crucially involves White’s recruit – new executive director Peter Ruis – to guide John Lewis’s renaissance.

Jo Whitfield
Chief executive, Matalan 

Since taking the hot seat at struggling fashion and homeware retailer Matalan in March 2023, experienced retail leader Jo Whitfield has wasted no time in reshaping her senior team. A strategy she hopes will set up the 2022 loss-making business for growth under new owner Invesco.

Most departments at Matalan have undergone a change of leadership, as Whitfield looks to put her stamp on the retailer. David Seeby is the new director of online, John O’Driscoll arrived as director of strategy, Toni Salters-Warner joined as head of womenswear buying, with Jo Murphy recruited as head of design and Charlotte Dewhurst in as director of marketing.

These follow ex-Co-op Food chief executive Whitfield’s recruitment of former colleague Ali Jones as chief customer and omnichannel officer, ex-M&S digital boss Jeremy Pee coming in as non-executive director, and interim buying and merchandising director Ben Smith being promoted to the new chief trading officer role. Former Poundland finance boss Dave Williams joins in 2024 as chief financial officer.

Matalan launched a new multi-million-pound brand campaign in March, and reported sales and profit growth in Q2 of its 2023/24 financial year, so early signs indicate that Whitfield’s strategy is moving in the right direction.

Looking ahead, AI and tech investments, alongside a focus on improving its fashion range, will be core to Whitfield’s strategy. In March, Matalan launched a Gen-AI tool to automate the creation of product descriptions for items listed on its website – with the aim of improving its productivity and the customer experience – and in April launched 17 new third-party brands and extended its sizing options.

Nick Wilkinson
Chief executive, Dunelm 

Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson has steered the furniture and homewares business impressively into a more prominent position in the UK market.

A focus on retail fundamentals – such as modernising and broadening range, and developing on-point pricing that has a clear good, better, best proposition – has helped Wilkinson keep sales growth at encouraging levels in the cost-of-living crisis.

The homewares retailer reported a 2.6% rise in total sales to £434.5m for the 13 weeks ending March 30, 2024, and the solid performance is coming from both stores and online. Digital sales now represent 37% of total sales for Dunelm, which has invested significantly in that side of the business in recent years.

Wilkinson is taking a cautious approach in 2024, with economic conditions still difficult to predict. He will be supported in driving digital development by the recent arrival of ex-Amazon vice-president and ex-Matchesfashion boss Ajay Kavan, and betting company Flutter International chief exec Dan Taylor as non-executive directors. From July, he will also have the support of newly appointed customer director and former board member Kelly Devine.

Nathan Williams
Chief executive, Mamas & Papas 

Dubbed One to Watch in 2023 and leader of Best Retailer Under £250m at the 2023 Retail Week Awards, Mamas & Papas chief executive Nathan Williams enters the Retail 100 for the first time as his business looks set for a record year.

Williams has led a comeback for the babycare retailer. He was chief operating officer in 2019 when, five years after a CVA, Mamas & Papas entered a pre-pack administration to streamline and reposition for a period of growth.

Williams has led the recovery – being promoted to chief executive in January 2023 – by investing in successful in-store concessions with strong performing partners Next and M&S, and mapping out international expansion in Australia, Western Europe and the US.

The Mamas & Papas’ leader has a background in senior merchandising roles, with a career including spells at Primark, Very and Asda, having started his career in retail in 1999 as part of the Next head office merchandising team.

Williams is using that experience to lead Mamas & Papas through its new era, shaped by his four-pillar plan focusing on customers, community, people and environment/product.

Darcy Willson-Rymer
Chief executive, Card Factory 

Darcy Willson-Rymer is overseeing an upwards trajectory at specialist retailer Card Factory. His strategy is centred on keeping the cost of products low, enhancing the customer experience online and in stores, and growing internationally.

In May 2023, the retailer completed the UK roll-out of click and collect, and Willson-Rymer has said this service is contributing to revenue growth. The extension of gifts and celebration ranges is helping basket sizes grow, while the long-term master franchise agreement signed with Middle East-based partner Liwa launched Card Factory in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in July 2023.

Willson-Rymer is also leading the business in its acquisition of South Africa-based SA Greetings as well as helping secure a long-term partnership with Matalan. This will put Card Factory products in an additional 223 UK stores via a shop-in-shop format, and further international and domestic growth is expected in the year ahead.

Christmas and peak period performance is the acid test for Card Factory’s strategy, and the 7.8% year-on-year uplift in like-for-like revenue through November and December 2023 shows Willson-Rymer’s current plan is bearing fruit

Emma Wisden
Managing director,
Urban Outfitters Europe

Capturing Gen Z is a challenging target for many retailers, but under managing director Emma Wisden Urban Outfitters Europe is making a success of it.

The fashion retailer is proving a hit with the new generation of consumers coming through, delivering record sales for the year ending January 31, 2024 – a 7.5% jump in revenue to $5,153.2m (£4,132.9m).

Led by Wisden, new to the Retail 100 in 2024, Urban Outfitters has developed a strategy that targets students, for example, by releasing lists of essential products for prospective students to take to university with them at the start of term and tapping into growing demand for vintage and circular consumption.

As Wisden approaches 10 years at the helm, the retailer is getting even more experimental. A successful denim Swap Shop pop-up in west London in September where consumers received new items in exchange for old ones – which Urban Outfitters then upcycled to sell in its stores – paints a purposeful picture ahead.

Five store openings in Europe in 2023, including a first in Madrid, will be followed by 12 more over the next five years, underlining Wisden’s ongoing confidence in the brand. 

Lord Simon Wolfson
Chief executive, Next 

The Retail 100 would not be the same without Lord Simon Wolfson; he is the oracle the sector looks to for strategic insight and his detailed results statements remain key reading material for retailers to benchmark and learn from.

The chief executive spoke earlier this year of moving into a “new era” at Next – an age when the company seeks to drive more revenue from its Total Platform business, which provides tech and supply chain infrastructure for third-party brands.

The evolution of Next under Wolfson also involves more international business, and it has partnered with Indian fashion ecommerce business Myntra on a franchise agreement in April that will involve opening between eight and 10 Next-branded stores across India in the next few years.

The retailer continues to perform strongly. Next reported a 5% rise in profit before tax to reach a record high of £918m last year, off the back of c despite the retailer holding firm with pricing to maintain a market leading position. Next also posted a 5.7% increase in total sales year on year for the 13 weeks to April 27, 2024, above the predicted guidance of 5% for the period.

Wolfson said it has been a long time since Next started a new financial year in a more positive frame of mind. This suggests another busy year ahead for a man who the industry has watched transform Next into what he himself describes as “a very different company” to the one it was pre-pandemic.