Research in the United States undertaken by dentists in the year 2000 indicated that children smile on average more than 400 times a day whereas adults smile on average less than 15 times a day. And what’s staggering is that further research si...

In the 1980’s a business consulting mantra took hold around the world. ‘You become what you measure’ was the mantra, spawned and propagated by the ‘ultra dry’ rationalists of academia and a research and measurement indus...

Arthur Daly once said “Terry my son, never buy anything unless you know how you’re going to sell it”. Or he would have said something like that. Business strategy is pretty much the same. You shouldn’t invest in starting or bu...

On the surface, retail in this country is very healthy. Rolling Moving Annual Turnover (MAT) growth of more than +6% and all time record levels of expenditure at the till on a month on month basis. But beneath the surface there is some interesting mo...

Lets face facts. Selling is a fantastic game. And at the very top branches of the retail tree it is more of an art than a science. Sure there is a scientific side to it that is increasing our understanding. However, there is no escaping the fact that...

The trouble with holiday periods is that they give you time to reflect and think. Dangerous stuff! I had some time to look closer at some bills during the break. Like many of you I have reduced my energy consumption only to find that – despite ...

Australia used to have a plethora of signature designers. Many of them eccentric, but most with great flair and a voice that drove a unique take on the fashion of the times. Where the hell have they all gone? With a few notable exceptions, many of th...

Shopfronts or store windows are the most misunderstood and mistreated spaces in modern retail. Many retailers simply do not understand the concept of the ‘wrapping creating the expectation for the present inside’. There is a disease sprea...

I was one of many people who consulted to Qantas from the mid-1980’s until the mid-1990’s. It was wonderful to watch that airline grow and flourish with an international reputation as a long haul carrier of first choice and to be one of m...

Many people know there is a lot I admire about Woolworths and the way they run their businesses. But – like all successful businesses - they are far from perfect. An example of a misguided action – or more correctly lack of action - has e...

Whatever your lifestyle, no matter how much you earn or what your circumstances are, there is something you dream about. Something you want to improve, according to whatever definition you personally apply to improvement. You might yearn for a simple...

“If you’ve ever been shopping, you think you know what it takes to run a shop.” Peter Ritchie said this to me once when we were discussing the commonly held outsiders view of retail and how its apparent transparency and exposure see...

It’s just around the corner. Where did those twelve months go? Christmas. The most important trading period of the year. The highest profit contributing period. The biggest good-will generating period. But what will it be like this year? As Scr...

If there is one thing the world is not short of, it is people and businesses that love the sound of their own voice. Yes, I know – mea culpa – me too! Nine times out of ten however, the content is not original, interesting, funny, enterta...

In the demand driven era of the 21st century we have long progressed past needs to wants. After all, the vast majority of the mature western world’s families have access to everything they need to survive – if not prosper. In a world wher...