Does Faire Marketplace spell the end of the Trade Fair

Does Faire Marketplace Spell the End of the Trade Fair? For generations, the trade fair has been one of retail’s great rituals: the early train, the sensible shoes, the coffee drunk too quickly in a cavernous hall, the chance encounter that turns into next season’s best seller. Now that wholesale marketplaces like Faire have made product discovery possible from a laptop, often in minutes, it is reasonable to ask whether the old format is beginning to look less essential. The answer is not quite yes, but it is no longer comfortably no...

Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester About the Future of Greeting Cards

Recently, I was invited onto BBC Radio Leicester to talk about something I care very deeply about: the future of greeting cards, changing customer behaviour, and the growing importance of trust in our postal system. As both a greeting card retailer and publisher, I see every day just how much

The Postal Crisis Is About More Than Just Mail

Why reliable post still matters to British business, high street shops and human connection There’s something uniquely human about a handwritten greetings card. Somebody made the effort to visit a real shop. They took the time to choose it carefully. They thoughtfully wrote a message by hand, bought a

The Rise of Experience led retail

Retail Shopping used to be about acquisition. You went out for a thing, found it, paid for it, and left. Now, in many of the most interesting corners of retail, the thing itself is no longer quite enough. Stores are being asked to entertain, reassure, instruct, flatter and provide a

From a Seed of an Idea to an Awards Finalist

I was genuinely shocked and incredibly honoured to discover that Smart Shopkeeper Club has been named a finalist in The Retas Awards 2026 for Best Retailer Initiative. What makes this especially meaningful to me is that Smart Shopkeeper Club didn’t begin as a polished plan or carefully mapped-out strategy.

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Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester About the Future of Greeting Cards

The Postal Crisis Is About More Than Just Mail

The Rise of Experience led retail

From a Seed of an Idea to an Awards Finalist