RTS 2026 review: Matalan CRO and COO talk Toshiba technology powered stores transformation push

“We inherited a dated retail estate,” said Katherine Davis, Matalan Chief Retail Officer (CRO), during the opening morning of Retail Technology Show 2026 at London’s ExCel on 22nd April. She discussed the transformation of the stores’ EPoS, signage and CX feel with her ops colleague Phil Hackney (COO) and Toshiba, who won the RFP.      

Matalan was previously “capital deprived with ancient tech”, admitted Davis. But it had recently received an injection of private equity money after the founding family sold up. This  drove forward a pilot and now the transformation project for the entire large clothing and homeware retail estate in the UK.

“We’re refreshing 40 stores this year, having done 30 last year,” she explained during an RTS 2026 conference session, as she detailed the ongoing project.

The Milton Keynes store is the gold standard template for how the new Toshiba EPoS systems, “designed to deliver improved speed and simplicity” in the drive for an overall improved customer experience was cited as a key reference point.   

Improving in-store CX is crucial in Matalan’s turnaround plan as Davis admitted less than 20% of the retailer’s shoppers are presently digital. “More than 70% choose to self-scan in-store as well,” she added, making speed absolutely vital for the new EPoS and revamped till systems. Improving the layout and feel with better in-store signage was also important.

Talking to shopworkers delivers better CX

According to Hackney, making sure that the speed and desired CX improvement was actually delivered meant talking to some of Matalan’s 11,000 colleagues.

Selecting a tech partner in Toshiba that was invested and collaborative was important. But before that Matalan took some managers and customer facing shopworkers to Italy with the project team to test out Toshiba’s systems.

They provided feedback on what would actually work for them in a real-world situation and helped the vendor selection process. This procedure also gained their latter full buy-in, helping adoption. If the staff are onboard with a project designed to deliver improved CX them involving them is a no brainer.

“People who do the job, know what works,” said Hackney. “Our challenge was to capture their experience - let them feel it and touch the solutions - and ensure that the focus was therefore tightly on solving problems.”

In his opinion, too often tech projects don’t work, and the failure rate is high, because the focus isn’t on solving the problem - it’s too tech focused rather than lasered in on CX as projects should be.

Co-opting the workers bypasses this issue. Getting real-world input from those actually in-store has helped Matalan transform. 

A good project partner is vital

“Implementations will also inevitably go wrong at some point, so you need a good project partner too,” said Hackney, looking at fellow RTS 2026 conference panellist, Martin Ward, Head of Software UK&I, Toshiba, who helped with the overhaul.

“If you have to get out the contract and start looking at page six, section one, then you’ve already gone wrong.” That didn’t happen here, with Hackney extolling the virtues of his project partner and how happy he is with the ongoing project.     

“Ten percent of Matalan’s retail estate has been transformed so far,” concluded Davis, with the roll-out of the overhaul now accelerating quickly. It is to be hoped the good relationship continues if any more of those ‘inevitable’ complications arise.  

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.