Tesco goes all in on ESLs and Disney gets physical: last week's most read retail technology articles
Check out our most clicked articles from last week, including TG Jones, Hanshow, Shoptalk Europe 2026, dunnhumby, M&S, Medallia, Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis, Waitrose, and the RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List.
Have your say and vote today! First ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List goes live, sponsored by 3D Cloud
In partnership with 3D Cloud, RTIH is pleased to announce the launch of its first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List.
We have scoured the global retail technology world to bring you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, has drawn up a list of 150 companies that have consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc).
Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, will now provide feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
And there will also be a public vote, with our community of retail tech enthusiasts invited to select their top five picks (one vote per person). The public vote closes on Friday, 26th June.
Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we will then draw up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100, aka the 100 hottest global retail technology companies during 2026, which will be published across our website, social channels, and the next edition of our printed magazine (to be published in August).
"RITH has long been at the forefront of recognising exceptional performance in retail technology. We’re proud to support this programme and to play a part in elevating the role of retail tech in shaping the future of the customer experience," says Leigh Davidson, Managing Director, UK and International at 3D Cloud.
Tesco preps major Hanshow electronic shelf labels roll-out across store estate following 2025 pilot
Tesco is set to roll-out electronic shelf labels across its stores over the next two years. It is teaming with Chinese firm Hanshow on this.
This builds on a proof of concept in 2025 with VusionGroup and Hanshow to evaluate ESLs in select stores, with the aim of reducing labour costs and enhancing pricing accuracy.
The project will kick off in four stores - one Express and three supermarket locations - and will ultimately cover approximately 3,000 stores.
"The roll-out of digital shelf labels marks an important step in the modernisation of our stores, delivering benefits for both customers and colleagues," says Tesco UK Operations Managing Director Kevin Tindall.
Former WHSmith high street stores business in trouble but can be turned around, says TG Jones CEO
This comes as Modella Capital, which bought the 450-store chain less than a year ago and rebranded it as TG Jones, seeks creditor approval for a restructuring plan after an underwhelming period of trading under its ownership.
Alex Willson said in a LinkedIn post that since taking over as CEO he has found a team that is “both talented and committed...at our support centre, in our stores and in our DC; but I've also found a business that, let's just say, has its challenges. While we are working hard to get our restructuring plan approved and secure the future of this business, we aren't short of ideas in how to turn around the business. But can TG Jones be turned around? It won't be easy...but it absolutely can!”
Plans include relaying the stores: “right sizing categories, lowering fixtures to open up sightlines, cutting the clutter, and doubling down on our best sellers. The early trials are working, and we're rolling this out to as many as possible before the peak trading period.”
Bringing stores back to life will include LED lighting to brighten dark spaces, working lifts, repaired ceilings, refreshed flooring, and a good old fashioned coat of paint. “We know our stores need more than a cosmetic fix - but we start here, and we keep going.”
TG Jones is also reintroducing store managers into top locations - “something that we currently have none of! We are increasing the number of area managers so that no one colleague is solely responsible for 75 stores (yes, 75). And we are putting more hours into stores to better serve both colleagues and our customers.”
Other plans include fairer pricing (“we are no longer tied to WHSmith airport and rail pricing. High street prices are coming down. Simple as that”) and new categories (“since stepping out from under the WHSmith fascia, the customer feedback on what they want to see in a TG Jones store has been genuinely exciting. Watch this space”).
Willson concluded: “The business has genuine talent, real potential, and is well worth saving! If we can get through this restructuring, and beyond, then the road to recovery is there for the taking...”
dunnhumby network alliance launches with Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis and Waitrose taking part in pilots
dunnhumby has announced the introduction of the dunnhumby network alliance, which is designed to address retail media fragmentation.
At a time when many retail media networks exist in siloed ecosystems, this is pitched as delivering a coherent, seamless, efficient, and user-friendly solution that can rapidly unlock and result in growth for all. It gives brands and agencies a single route to activate campaigns across multiple retailers without rebuilding plans and campaign workflows across the network, with the aim of improving consistency of execution and reducing operational complexity.
It also enables retailers to access broader demand and deliver inventory in a more scalable way, while opening retail media budgets to publishers through retailer data enabled audiences. This will be delivered through a single solution, built in partnership with Kevel.
Tesco, B&Q (owned by Kingfisher), John Lewis and Waitrose are exploring partnership opportunities through a series of pilots with more retailers set to join. These pilots, starting this summer, will take place across a variety of categories including household and DIY products, health and beauty, and grocery with the aim of enabling retailers, brands and agencies to plan, activate and measure marketing investment across multiple retailers and media owners.
Josh Bottomley, CEO, dunnhumby, says: “Brands are demanding scale, consistency and transparency, but fragmentation has held the market back. This groundbreaking alliance is made possible through dunnhumby’s unique position in the market, bringing the industry together under a shared framework, making it easier for brands to activate, measure and grow through retail media.”
Medallia shakes hands on recapitalisation agreement with investor group led by Blackstone, Apollo and KKR
Medallia, a specialist in customer and employee experiences, has entered into a recapitalisation agreement with its lenders that, it claims, will strengthen its financial foundation for long-term growth. The transaction will reduce its outstanding debt and provide $150 million of new capital. Upon completion, Medallia will change ownership from Thoma Bravo to an investor group led by Blackstone, Apollo, and FS KKR Capital Corp (FSK).
Thoma Bravo will lose all of the $5 billion it invested in Medallia when it took the company private in 2021. Its loss is the second largest in the private equity industry’s history, exceeded only by the collapse of Texas utility TXU.
Medallia was founded in 2001 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019 before being taken private in 2021. Eighteen months ago, a new executive team joined and looked to reinvent the business for an AI first market, with a focus on modernising operations, and sharpening strategic focus while maintaining profitability.
“Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone towards the next generation of AI led enterprise experience management,” says Mark Bishof, CEO at Medallia. “The transformation of Medallia has been well underway - what changes today is the pace. With a strengthened balance sheet and $150 million in new capital, we are accelerating our commitment to invest over $500 million in products and services for our customers over the next few years.”
“Medallia is a profitable business with a strong track record serving many of the largest companies in the world,” says Brad Marshall, Global Head of Private Credit Strategies at Blackstone. “We’re confident in the business under this new capital structure and look forward to supporting its plans to invest in this next phase of innovation and growth.”
John Hunt swaps Woolworths Group for M&S and Chief Digital and Technology Officer role
M&S reports that John Hunt will be joining the retailer as its new Chief Digital and Technology Officer this summer. He was previously at Woolworths Group, where he spent almost ten years, most recently serving as Chief Information Officer & Managing Director of Group Enablement.
Hunt says: “I’m really looking forward to joining M&S and bringing my passion for both retail and technology to what is an incredibly exciting transformation. M&S is a brand that is admired the world over and I can’t wait to get started.”
Hunt will take over leadership of the Digital, Data and Technology function from Sacha Berendji, who will stay with M&S and remain on the executive committee until April 2027.
Stuart Machin, Chief Executive at M&S, says: “Sacha is a loyal, hardworking, trusted colleague and one of the most company minded people I’ve had the pleasure to work with. All of us at M&S turn to him for advice, support and that extra bit of wisdom. He will remain a part of the M&S family forever. Everyone at M&S offers a heartfelt thank you to Sacha, and a warm welcome to John.”
Berendji comments: "M&S runs through my blood and has done for more than 32 years. It’s the best brand in the country and in my view the best retailer in the world. I think the leadership and the clarity of our strategy is stronger now than it has ever been and I’m very confident about the future of M&S. I remain focused on delivering our priorities as we still have so much to do! I will be cheering on Stuart and the team in the years ahead."
PWC's James Lewis: agentic AI will reward those retailers who master the art of fusing logic and emotion
When it comes to agentic AI, the future belongs to those who can walk the knife edge between logic and emotion. So says James Lewis, Director at PwC.
Lewis was speaking in the aftermath of Shoptalk Europe 2026, which took place in Barcelona, Spain last week and included him presenting at a PwC UK session: Retail Experience in an Agentic Era.
Agentic commerce was everywhere at the event, he observed. Retailers need to consider the control of demand, loyalty and trust. For years, retailers have optimised around search, media, marketplaces, apps, stores and CRM. The next battleground is AI interpretation.
Lewis said: "When a customer asks an LLM for help with a mission, it will decide what matters, which brands to include, how to explain the trade-offs, and where to send the customer next. That makes LLM discoverability a board level growth question."
"58% of consumers start their shopping journey with AI. You need to know if your brand is: Visible? Are LLMs mentioning your brand?; Recommended? Are you ranked first vs competitors; Positively Positioned? Is the sentiment of the responses displaying your brand in a positive light?"
Lewis concluded by noting that the aforementoned PwC session was an exploration of what this means for the retail experience. AI will reward logic: evidence, relevance, price, availability, fulfilment, returns, reviews and operational proof. Customers still respond to emotion: confidence, identity, reassurance, service, delight and the feeling that a brand understands them.
Disney Store preps new UK locations inside Selfridges Birmingham and Manchester Trafford stores
Disney Store has announced the opening of two new retail destinations inside Selfridges Birmingham and Selfridges Manchester Trafford stores.
Planned to launch in mid-July, the new concession spaces build on a Disney Store presence within Selfridges London and the flagship Disney Store on Oxford Street. Both locations will feature a curated selection of apparel, accessories, stationery, limited plush, collectibles and roleplay inspired collections. They will also include fitting rooms.
Patrick Segar, Global General Manager of The Disney Store and VP, Retail Marketing of Disney Store, says: “We are excited to continue expanding our physical retail presence in the UK through our collaboration with Selfridges. These new locations allow us to bring Disney Store closer to even more fans and families across the country, creating new opportunities for guests to connect with some of the stories, characters and products they love.”
“Disney Store is more than just a place to shop - it is a destination where fans can celebrate their love for Disney and immerse themselves in the wonder of storytelling through curated products, immersive retail environments and memorable experiences.”
Further details surrounding official opening dates, launch activity and guest experiences will be announced in the near future.
