Retail Therapy: Why the Retail Industry is Broken – and What Can Be Done to Fix It

by Mark Pilkington

An insightful review of the collapse of the traditional retail sector in the West, and a roadmap for its potential recovery.

Almost weekly, the news is full of stories about disappearing retail chains--some of which have been around for decades. From Toys'R'Us, Aeropostale and A&P, recognized names are vanishing overnight--with the loss of hundreds of stores and thousands of jobs. As such large organizations disappear, so the malls, shopping centers, high streets and main streets become emptier and less appealing to visit.

Mark Pilkington argues that, while the decline in manufacturing receives more news attention, the retail sector is more important in terms of job in the US, it employs around 30 million people; in the UK, around 10 million (not just in selling, but in property, manufacturing, logistics and distribution as well). And as such, anything that jeopardises the retail sector will have a deep and lasting impact on millions of lives, as well as on public policy.

While many people will point a finger at the "Amazon effect," this is an oversimplification. Deeper forces are at work that are changing people's relationships with brands, the balance of power between producers and consumers, and the whole nature of the supply chain that has existed since the industrial revolution.

Retail Therapy offers a comprehensive analysis of these forces and their impact on the world of retailing. More importantly, it presents a cogent analysis of the longer term trends that are shaping retailing, and outlines a clear road map for sustainable success in the future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

336 pages, Hardcover

Published January 22, 2019

Reviews

[Jacek Bartczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about factors which case the retail sector is shrinking. It was published in January 2019. Those factors are probably right, but in Match 2020 covid19 had entered the scene and stole the show.

Parts about general trends in the sector were very interesting, they helped me get to a broader perspective. I didn't realize this sector is such relevant for the economy and employment of young people.

Parts with short examples of companies that are going to crush it were less interesting. I would prefer 10 precisely described examples instead of 100 (?) covered by 3-4 sentences each.

Some examples were exaggerated - they for sure exist but in my opinion, their impact yet is not such relevant.

The biggest disadvantage of this book is the lack of reverse opinion like "retail is shrinking but it may not be true because of X, Y and Z". Also sometimes I felt that data was chosen to fit the thesis.

[Faterider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book attracted me like investors to block chains. I taught English before at a junior college and in a vocational school. And it heartened how I related to it tremendously from both vantage points. For pre-university students, this is a succinctly written book on the major SPERM (Social, Science & Technology, Political, Economic, Environment, Race, Moral) forces impacting our lives. Time-strapped teenagers will find this a godsend as they acquire information and insights that will beef up their knowledge of current affairs. For vocational students, this book details the threats of automation and artificial intelligence and describes how they need to level up their skills and personal branding to have job security. Highly compelling and thought-provoking; I found myself taking snapshots of the book and sending them to various friends in varied professions: a data analyst, a theatre practitioner, and a banking executive. The future of retail is actually a microcosm of our myriad lives!

Received a review copy from @definitelybooks for an honest opinion

[Ugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Makes some interesting points but is pretty shallow, strays off- topic and needed better copy editing. It also feels dated, as it states with utter conviction that direct-to-consumer e-commerce is the way to go, citing Nike's pivot and many e-native businesses as examples, but since publication Nike has U-turned and many DTC companies have foundered. Maybe in the longer term it'll be proved right, but for now the jury remains out. It also points out various companies that collapsed due to the weight of debt, but doesn't at all analyse when debt might be beneficial vs harmful or how much is the right amount.

[Lisa Konet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and well researched book about how our once beloved big box stores have gone bankrupt or close to it. Anyone remember Caldors? KMart? Filenes? Toys R Us? Just to list a few. Thanks to the convenience of online shopping many of big box, and once sought after department stores have suffered. Is going to the mall even a thing anymore :-( It should be!

This was an eye opener too and it can help boost the economy and give jobs to be people who need them. Quite an insightful read actually and surprised I liked this much.

[Zoheb Tejani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into three sections.
The first two just feel like a data dump of what multiple big box retailers of are going through and what percentage their business has grown and lost etc. Basically it felt like reading all these guys' annual report
If you power through the first two parts the third part is where the actual book is. What retailers need to do to fix their declining sales and how malls, high streets etc should function and even a little glimpse into the future of retail (provided retailers do take the steps suggested in the book)

[Kar Hau · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book is quite boring as it captures too much details of world finances. These can be summed up into concise summary.

Some of the examples are mentioned in the book repetitively and cherry-picked for proving the author's points. The insight could be analyzed in unbiased way by taking 2 similar company and prove one of them fail due to the reasons mentioned in the book.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

房租庫存高成本來做分銷，高成本低效率
聘用人力上架清點無聊重複的工作浪費人力
科技解放一切

網路商家正在攻克觸摸不到需要退貨的最後一哩路⋯⋯它努力了解你，跟你發展長線關係

網路消費者資訊比較容易，破除品牌迷思，要環保、可重複使用、人道、實在、真的好、社群口碑而非名人代言

低成本生產與網路平台，使消費者要求客製化參與感

人與人之間體驗難以取代，實體店面要有新思路。最感動的單車店，賣自己的故事和產品，而不是遠方國際企業剝了三四層的標準品

[Book Chui · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sensible distillation of the new realities facing brick-and-mortar retailers and how technology has upended these former "walled cities." A good, quick read.