Nike’s rethinking of its entire distribution strategy has created some of the most interesting and thoughtful retail ideas of the moment. Nike by Melrose is the physical embodiment of the company’s 2017 edict to their wholesale channel that they would in future directly support only those retail partners that offer a differentiated experience. This will lead, they anticipate, to a reduction from 30,000 supported retail partners to just 40 worldwide.

Last week saw our 18^th Retail and Leisure Trends Summit, held at the beautiful BCLP LLP offices at London Bridge. We had some fantastic speakers who joined us to discuss the theme of ‘Driving Retail Intelligence with Big Data’. For those that missed the event, here is a short round-up of the day:

LDC's latest bi-annual report is out today and provides an update on the impact of market activity across the first six months of this year.

Whether you pronounce it Preemark, Primark or Primarni, there is no doubt that you’ll have come across Primark – the value fashion and homewares retailer that has become a staple of British high streets and shopping centres. Known for its quick fashion, basic styles and most prominently, small price tags, Primark has a distinctive offer within the fashion market, with many opting to love or hate the brand.

This bi-annual report looks at the entire retail and leisure sector over five years (2012 - 2017), with a focus on changes over 12 months of 2017.

A review of 3 young tech businesses which are working for, and not against, our high streets.

This week saw Moodys downgrade New Look and House of Fraser’s credit ratings. With this in mind and the fact that there is a new management team at New Look delivering a new strategy then a shallow dive on their physical store estate is of interest especially when benchmarked to others in the fashion and clothing sector.

It is something which many retailers would find it hard to face up to.

“We just have too many shops,” property consultant Graham Seaton told delegates at the 5th LDC Scottish Retail and Leisure Trends summit. And it seems he is right. The LDC report showed, for the first time in five years, a slight increase in vacancy rates on high streets in Scottish towns, while units previously occupied by Booze, Money and Gambling (BMG) firms, are being vacated at a rate of knots.

Last month we experienced a truly British summer with rain, grey clouds and the Great British people carrying on despite it all, with many reporting Retail sales were on the up. Once again, the hardworking LDC desk research team have collated their highlights from the past few weeks and below are the headlines we think you need to know about.

On a sunny day back in May, we held our second ‘Retail Leaders’ Forum’ event in conjunction with the Saïd Business School in Oxford. These events are held bi-annually and are designed to provide an environment for current and future leaders in retail to share challenges and best practice in how they use data to drive their businesses forward.