Published: 29th April 2026
Across multiple conversations with retail leaders at the Retail Technology Show, a clear message emerged: retail is being reshaped by forces that are both technological and deeply human. For BOXTEC’s audience – retailers, operators, and technology leaders, the takeaway is unmistakable. The winners will be those who combine data intelligence, operational excellence, and frontline empowerment to create stores that are not just functional, but magnetic.
Sustainability, Craft and the Store as a Stage
Stuart Trevor, founder of AllSaints and now the creative force behind his upcycled label, reminded us that physical retail still has a soul. His Shoreditch studio is part showroom, part workshop, part community hub, a place where customers come to feel something. Even though 99% of his sales are online, the store remains the emotional anchor of the brand.
For BOXTEC clients, this reinforces a truth we see every day: stores are no longer just points of sale, they’re points of connection. When retailers invest in experience, storytelling and operational smoothness, stores become brand engines.
Nobody’s Child: Culture, Agility and the Power of the Frontline
CEO Jody Plows described a culture of “high low thinking”, one minute shaping a three year strategy, the next steaming clothes before a store opening. This humility and agility have powered Nobody’s Child’s meteoric growth.
But the real insight is how Plows frames frontline involvement. Whether it’s a sample sale, a store launch or a sustainability initiative, the whole team shows up. That sense of shared ownership is what turns stores into high performing environments.
Technology can amplify this, but it cannot replace it.
New Look: Data Driven Retail Meets Operational Reality
Lynda Petherick, COO/CIO of New Look, delivered a clear message: data is no longer a department, it’s the operating system of modern retail.
Her team has built a customer model with 220,000 micro cohorts, enabling precision in everything from ranging to replenishment. But she also emphasised that transformation only works when leaders stay hands on. “Delegation will lead to oblivion”, she warned, a reminder that digital transformation is cultural before it is technical.
Harrods: Human Touch as a Luxury Product
Mark Blundell, Chief Retail Officer at Harrods, offered a masterclass in frontline excellence. In luxury retail, the colleague is the experience. Staff must know customers’ preferences, histories, and even family details. Continuity of people is a competitive advantage.
Harrods is exploring AI, but Blundell is clear: they will always be a “fast follower”, because their value lies in human connection.
For BOXTEC, this reinforces a critical point: Technology should elevate colleagues, not overshadow them. The goal is not automation for its own sake; it’s enabling staff to deliver the moments that matter.
Peter Cross: The Store Has Two Modes – Fast and Slow
Former John Lewis Customer Experience Director Peter Cross tied everything together. He argued that stores must now serve two missions:
- Fast and frictionless for transactional shoppers
- Slow and sensory for emotional, experiential missions
The best retailers, and more especially the best POS providers design for both. And the frontline is the switch that makes it work.
Cross also warned that too many retailers have underinvested in stores while overinvesting in digital. His message aligns perfectly with BOXTEC’s philosophy: the store is still the most powerful channel, but only when underpinned by purposeful, relevant, efficient, and above all, relevant customer engagement technology.
The BOXTEC Blueprint for the New Retail Reality
Across all five conversations, a new model of retail emerges, one that blends:
- Craft and creativity (Trevor)
- Purpose and culture (Plows)
- Data driven intelligence (Petherick)
- Human centred luxury (Blundell)
- Experience led store design (Cross)
And running through all of it is a single truth:
The frontline is where retail lives or dies.
For BOXTEC, this is the heart of our mission: To build elegant technology that makes stores work better, for customers, for colleagues, and for the bottom line.
Because when stores run smoothly, colleagues shine, and when colleagues shine, customers return, again and again.
