Category: Retail
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Nacho Concern
I had thought that the demise of Debenhams – entirely self-inflicted but precipitated by the COVID catalyst – would rest at the pinnacle of premier-league self-pity. And then I read about Cineworld who are temporarily battening down the hatches, ostensibly owing to further delays to the release of Bond 25, No Time to Die. Now,…
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Bitter Ex
I made a trip to the opticians recently, which considering the now mandatory COVID re-engineering of processes went essentially smoothly. Professional and organised staff, hassle-free, and frames that nestled peacefully on my asymmetric features. To top it off, I saved a hefty chunk on my last similar purchase. A fat, juicy tick in the customer…
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Suck Cess
It’s the $64,000-dollar question: how do you achieve success? I would say, precisely on your own terms. But that is not the way the world is turning. As COVID clowning forces more and more people into relative isolation, online technology has snagged a wider window of opportunity. And hot on the heels of any online…
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Debbie ‘Nam
A conference call and off you pop. It may be the end if an era, but the demise of Debenhams should not perturb the cognoscenti. Yet at one time, they were rocking. Great products with modern designers and all-round accessibility. So what went awry? Well, this is not a COVID horror story per se. Yes,…
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They Don’t Half Pick Them
Grim news from the Lebanon where Beirut has been left looking like, well, Beirut. Domestically, commentators on all sides were shaken by the proclamations of Sir Iain Duncan Smith who has concluded that the EU Withdrawal Agreement – that he voted for – is in fact a juicy steamer. Even a nine-month old baby would…
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Why? Because.
The current mask debate has come to epitomise the woeful society we now inhabit. Now, ever since the COVID question arose, there have been pro-maskers. After all, it is a natural response to don items of clothing for the purposes of protection against an environmental threat. A coat, a hat, a pair of gloves. Masking…
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24/7
On 23 June, the Government offered up a perspective on masks: ‘the evidence of the benefit of using a face covering to protect others is weak and the effect is likely to be small’. As we now know, the world can change very quickly. The new norm dictates that the same goes for science. Not…
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Fastest Finger First
A new mini-series about the Ingrams who finessed their way to the jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is being screened in the UK. With an accomplice, they blagged their way to the jackpot through a series of coughs (correct answers) and nose blows (incorrect answers). It all unfolded on 9th and 10th…
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Shop and Search
So, the lockdown is being reviewed as promised but will almost certainly be extended – no surprises there, then. As time drags on in splendid isolation, and domestic violence, obesity, and suicides spike, we will doubtless focus on the slide that we vicariously permitted when our elected representatives pushed it all through into law without…
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Venture Catalysts
Day God-knows-what in the Big Brother House and who’s going to retrieve the samurai sword from our intestines after our economic hari kari? Don’t hold your breath. If there’s light at the end of the tunnel, it’s probably some minister with a torch looking for another absurd policy. It’s the most joined-up we’ve been for…
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