Five retail technology questions for Martin Schofield of Retail247
RTIH asks major players in the retail technology space for their thoughts on the sector, and throws in a random question to keep them on their toes. This time around, our five questions go to Martin Schofield, CEO at Retail247.
RTIH: Looking at the hottest retail technologies right now, check-out free stores, rapid delivery services, the metaverse and NFTs, automation and robotics, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, which ones stand out to you, and for what reason?
MS: I think I've reached the stage in my career where it feels like I'm seeing a lot of repetition.
There are undoubtably many exciting new technologies and approaches but many of them are tackling the same issues and ideas that have been around for decades.
I've lost track of the number of times I've seen a 'magic mirror' demo and my first 'metaverse' demo was a virtual shopping mall presented (much smoke and many mirrors) to me by NCR in the mid-nineties.
To me the most sustainable innovation has come from the ‘joining together’ of services to give an improved proposition.
By this I mean things like supply chain visibility, the fact that the Amazon or DPD app now tells me my delivery is seven stops away, the fact that I can re-route it and see when it’s been delivered; expectation management if you like.
I'm yet to buy in to the latest metaverse push as an alternative interface to current online shopping, though difficult to see how it could be more efficient, but as a replacement for real world experiential shopping.
The world would be a sad place. Obviously, adoption will be driven by the next generation and I'm probably in danger of sounding technology sceptical like my father; we shall see.
RTIH: Which retail technology trend is overrated in your opinion?
MS: Tricky one, I'm bound to get into trouble whichever angle I take.
However, I've always been a little sceptical of 'middleware'. I know the theory, but it often seems to me like a very expensive overhead solving a problem that shouldn't really exist.
This will inevitably sound like a sales pitch but the foundation of our solution development at Retail247 is based on the premise of centralising fundamental retail data and tackling the historic fragmentation of this data due to legacy drift.
We're creating 'engines' that deliver a single source of critical data from one controlled environment; I just prefer this approach to the joining together of fragmented sources.
I've seen a lot of companies spend a lot of money and time on middleware without reaping the predicted benefit. That said, I'm sure there are many successful deployments out there and as I said at the start of this answer, I was bound to offend someone.
RTIH: What are the top five retail tech Twitter/LinkedIn accounts you can’t do without, and why?
MS: RTIH aside, I’m not a regular follower of specific accounts, much like my approach to football; I’m not a regular fan of a specific team but I quite like to know what’s going on.
I use the BBC news app on a daily basis, short articles that hold my diminishing attention span, and I browse LinkedIn; my follows and preferences presenting me with updates from my customers, competitors and purveyors of general retail update.
I probably still get most of my close to home news from my ‘real people’ network, and this is also where I source most of my ideas and inspiration. I think understanding and empathising with the problems my career peers face helps us build better solutions.
RTIH: If you could have a dinner party with any five retail pioneers, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
MS: My first guest would be Martin Chatwin, you’d need to be ex-Debenhams or Iceland Foods to know Martin.
He was the IT Director for the central IT division of The Burton Group (ISD then RSD). When The Burton Group split he went on to be the IT Director for Debenhams. He was my technology mentor as I began my tech career.
He truly set the tone of IT having a business focus and often led the business through substantial change initiatives. Pretty much all the principles I learnt under his guidance hold true today. I think many of the Debenhams team of that era owe a lot to Martin.
It would be rude of me not to get Brian Perry round the table, another Burton Group technology leader that also had a massive influence on my approach to retail technology and to just getting the job done.
Haven't seen Brian for years but when I was a Trainee Analyst/Programmer at 19 or so he leant me his company Escort RS Turbo for two weeks while he was on holiday, fun times.
I grew up in an era of senior management by fear rather than inspirational leadership, there were obviously many exceptions to this but ‘shouty’ and angry managers often rose to the top; best leave out the names.
So, let's go a little more global, I'd like to see what sort of a man and leader Jeff Bezos is.
I have to admire someone that in my career lifespan has built something from nothing into something that I now use every day through multiple touch points, personally and as the foundation of our development at Retail247 (AWS). Surely, he can't be a nice guy too.
Back to the UK, but sadly no longer with us, I think the strength and entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by Anita Roddick would make her a perfect guest. Building a global business on principle is admirable and her ethical drive was ahead of its time.
And finally, Alan Morris, my non-Exec Director and one of the original founders of Retail Assist; he’d keep the conversation going and I’d need someone to pay the bill.
RTIH: If you could have one piece of music play when you enter a room, what would it be?
MS: Entrance music! Firstly, it's the last thing I'd do, but if pushed I'd like the overall mood of the room to change and I have two potentials:
Three Little Birds (Don't Worry About a Thing) - Bob Marley.
To me this song is not about complacency or abdication of responsibility but about optimism and the belief that with a calm and assured approach, solutions can be found. The world has big problems, but I have to believe it’s ‘gonna be all right.’
I'm also thinking Happy - Pharrell Williams, the world would be a better place with more spontaneous happiness.
I'd like to think we strive for this at Retail247, there's nothing wrong with the old work hard, play hard approach and I’m confident our customers not only get the benefit but also enjoy coming along for the ride.
About Martin Schofield
Schofield began his career with The Burton Group and progressed through the IT ranks before joining Debenhams as Retail Systems Manager.
He then spent four years at Burberry, managing IT for the UK and European retail operations where he implemented systems and process change across Europe.
He joined Harvey Nichols in 2003 as Head of IT, before being promoted to the main Board as IT & Logistics Director.
He was then promoted to Group Retail Operations Director and took direct responsibility for the Harvey Nichols stores outside London as well as the online channel and a watching brief over the international license stores.
Schofield joined Itim Software in 2011 as Operations Director working on Omnichannel and Future Store projects before joining NCR in 2014, as Managing Director for Department Store and Specialty Retail, EMEA.
