Old Retail New Retail WTF?: What is the future of retailing

Today, retailing is an industry in crisis, undergoing massive disruption from online marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba. Asia is emerging as a retail powerhouse, yet most retailers are focused on the US, UK and Europe.7 billion shoppers don't see things that way, but retailers are full of doom and gloom?What is going to happen to their industry?Roy Tavenor asks the same question - with a bit of twist.WTF - What's The Future of retail.This is a book written by a realist, rather than a futurist, and draws on nearly 50 years of experience, learning from the past, to better understand the future.For retailers and shoppers alike, there is good news.Retail is not dying - just changing.

Roy Tavenor is co-founder, and Chairman of RED DESIGN GROUP, a leading retail design agency. He started his career in FMCG sales and brand management at Unilever, South Africa in 1972. He has been in and around the retailing industry since 1979 when he joined the marketing team of the Edgars department store group. He ran his own retail strategy practice, and in a fit of craziness, started a fashion retail business called T-Mania. When Roy and his family migrated to Australia in 1994, he joined Myer Department Stores as CMO, before becoming a partner in The Retail Partnership, a retail consultancy practice. After a lifetime in marketing, Roy branched out into retail design, co-founding the RED DESIGN GROUP in 2002, founded a digital start-up in 2012 ( not his biggest success but he learnt a few lessons), and founded RED Vietnam in 2017 where the agency has an office in Ho Chi Minh City. With an economics honours degree, and a masters in the University of Hard Knocks, Roy has worked with multiple retailers in Africa, Australia and South East Asia, helping them with their strategies, developing their brands and inspiring RED's team of designers. This is Roy's first attempt at writing, and not surprisingly it's all about his passion for retailing. As he would readily admit, Roy talks a lot and has an opinion on most topics, especially the future of retailing. The best way to capture nearly 50 years of marketing and retailing experience is spend 12 months writing it down. And he's finally done it.