Cost cutting Morrisons looks at AI differently: last week's most read RTIH retail technology articles
Check out our most clicked articles from last week, including Ocado Group, Sainsbury's, Quadrant, Sheffield United, Fanatics, Asda, Lush, Bluesky, New Look, Fermat, Footasylum, and THG Fulfil.
Here's why Ocado Group should think big and hire Auger CEO Dave Clark as its new Chief Executive
RTIH recently reported that British technology and online grocery retail specialist Ocado Group was looking to appoint a successor to Chief Executive Tim Steiner.
According to The Financial Times, several of Ocado’s largest shareholders have intervened to support Steiner, arguing that removing the founder risks disrupting the business just as years of investment are beginning to translate into better operational performance.
But if it does see off the rebellion and push ahead with a replacement, the company should think big and hire Dave Clark, formerly of Amazon, and current CEO at Auger. So says Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Clark is arguably the single best qualified person for what Ocado actually needs. He didn't just understand Amazon's fulfilment empire, he built it. He designed multiple generations of fulfilment centres, created Amazon's last mile delivery network from scratch, and scaled warehouse automation to a level no one else has matched."
"Some people are already screaming, “Clark founded Auger in October 2024, raised $100 million, and is deep in building his next chapter. You can't expect him to walk away.” That’s true. I don’t expect Clark to walk away. I expect him to pivot."
This, he explained, would see Ocado acquiring a 15-25% strategic stake in Auger. Clark would become Ocado CEO, retaining his Auger equity and stepping into an Auger board chairman role. Alex Ceballos, Auger's President and CFO and former VP of Worldwide Corporate Development at Amazon, would become CEO. Steiner would be contracted to provide support to Clark for three to six months. And Auger's supply chain OS would be piloted inside Ocado's partner network as a live reference customer
Ladd added: "Ocado’s board wants to hire a CEO. I want Ocado to make a strategic move. Big difference. Auger is building a unified operating system for fragmented supply chains, normalising data across disparate systems and applying AI to deliver real-time decision intelligence."
"Ocado's retail partners (Asda, Cole’s, Kroger, Morrisons, and future Asian clients) are exactly the enterprise customers Auger needs. Ocado gets Clark's operational brain. Auger gets the world's most sophisticated grocery fulfilment network as a proving ground. Ocado's problem isn't its technology, insiders acknowledge the robotics work exceedingly well. The problem is commercial execution, partner trust, and unit economics. Clark fixes all three."
Ladd concluded: "If Clark become the CEO at Ocado, I’m confident Walmart, Target, and other retailers will pilot its store-based fulfillment technology and other automation. Note to Kroger: If you acquire Ocado, name Dave Clark CEO. Clark should become CEO at Kroger when Greg Foran departs in one to two years."
Lando Norris' brand Quadrant teams with Shopify on London pop-up store ahead of British Grand Prix
Quadrant, the entertainment and lifestyle brand founded by Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris, has announced its first ever London pop-up activation at Outernet London. Shopify will handle the entire commerce layer behind the activation, allowing Quadrant to bring its online community into a physical space for the weekend.
"Lando is one of the best drivers in the world, and what he and the Quadrant team have built off the track is just as impressive. They understood something every great entrepreneur understands: build the community first, and commerce follows," says Harley Finkelstein, President at Shopify. “They're using the Silverstone race week to convert screens to a storefront in London. That's the kind of ambition Shopify is built for."
“Quadrant has always been about building something with our fans. Racing, apparel and content are all a big part of it, but it’s the fans who’ve made it what it is today. We’ve built so much online over the years, so it’s really exciting to bring that into the real-world with this pop-up. Shopify has helped us make that possible, and I can’t wait for everyone to come and check it out during race week,” says Norris.
The London activation opened at Outernet London from 10:00 am BST on Tuesday, 30th June. A second Shopify x Quadrant activation in a US city will follow later this year. RTIH’s money is on Las Vegas, given that a Formula 1 race will take place there in November.
UK fashion retailer New Look announces partnership with AI powered visualisation platform Fermat
New Look has announced a partnership with AI design platform Fermat as part of its digital transformation push. The tie up will equip its buying and design teams with AI powered tools that accelerate product development and help bring new ideas to market faster.
Using Fermat, teams will be able to create virtual product renders, test multiple design iterations and explore different styling options. The aim here is to unlock greater creativity and help teams respond more quickly to customer demand. The technology will also allow designers to reduce reliance on traditional sampling processes.
Anica Wislawski, Creative Director at New Look, says: "Creativity has always been at the heart of New Look. It's what helps us create distinctive products that resonate with our customers and keeps them coming back season after season. Fermat gives our designers the freedom to bring ideas to life faster, explore more creative possibilities and refine products through multiple iterations before they reach the customer.”
“More importantly, it allows us to remove time from parts of the design process and reinvest it where human creativity matters most: understanding our customer, identifying what they'll want next and thinking about how they'll wear and style it. By combining creative instinct, customer insight, and AI powered tools, we're able to make more informed decisions and shape trends into wearable ideas that work in everyday life. It strengthens the golden thread from concept to customer, helping us create better products, better outfits and ultimately more confidence for our customer.”
UK grocery retailer Morrisons taps AI to rack up £940 million in savings over the last three years
Earlier this year, Morrisons announced plans to ramp up its use of data and AI as part of a cost cutting push. This included job cuts across all functions at is head office. It's a move that has contributed to the delivery of significant cost savings, Rami Baitiéh, CEO at Morrisons, revealed last week.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Many leaders talk about AI, and many companies invest heavily in it, but often without a clear, genuine outcome. Recently, I shared at VivaTech Paris, and The Good Consumer Forum in Vienna my vision for how we approach AI differently."
"At Morrisons, we’ve paired a bottom up investment strategy with a top down educational strategy. By empowering our teams with the right directions and knowledge while funding practical, grassroots ideas, we’ve unlocked massive value."
He added: "While I can't share every detail, this specific tech driven vision has materially contributed to the delivery of £940 million over the last three years, all without compromising our customer experience."
"We are reinvesting these savings exactly where they matter most: the future of our company. My goal is to make Morrisons stores as easy to navigate and clear to understand as our digital website. Personalised retail media, accurate stock tracking, and competitive pricing are the ultimate keys to success for bricks and mortar retailers wanting to stay ahead of the curve in the coming years."
Championship football team Sheffield United shakes hands on long-term retail partnership with Fanatics
Sheffield United and Fanatics have announced an exclusive long-term partnership under which Fanatics, a specialist in licensed sports merchandise, will manage the football club's official retail operations across e-commerce, mobile and in-store.
The news has been put out there shortly before the Blades Store at Bramall Lane reopens in July, following a refurbishment. The reopening will coincide with the early July launch of the club's new adidas home shirt and training wear range.
Fanatics will service the online Blades store from its 185,000 square foot distribution facility in Manchester, and brings expertise across sports retail, e-commerce and licensed merchandise. That experience will underpin the club's retail offering going forward, with the partnership also set to introduce more locally inspired products and merchandise designs, alongside new ranges and collaborations celebrating the identity of the club, Bramall Lane and the city of Sheffield.
Stephen Bettis, Chief Executive Officer at Sheffield United, says: "We are delighted to be partnering with Fanatics as we continue to invest in and enhance the retail experience for our supporters. This partnership is about much more than launching a new online store or refurbishing our retail space - it's about creating a modern, accessible and supporter focused operation which reflects the ambitions of the football club.”
"Fanatics brings a wealth of experience from successfully working with some of the world's leading sports organisations, and we're confident their expertise will bring significant improvements across our retail offering. We know how important official club merchandise is to our supporters, and together we are committed to providing a wider range of products, improved service and a retail environment that Blades fans can be proud of. This is an exciting step forward for the club, and we look forward to working closely with Fanatics in the years ahead.”
Christopher Jones moves on up at Asda as he bags retail technology promotion
Christopher Jones has taken on the permanent position of Senior Director - Retail Technology at Asda, a job he has been doing on an iterim basis for the past year. He has been at the UK grocery retailer for just over five years. Prior to that, Jones worked at Sainsbury’s for almost 18 years.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Excited to share that I’ve been promoted to Senior Director here at Asda. Five years ago, I joined with a passion for how technology can transform retail, and what a journey it’s been.”
He added: “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, most recently leading the Walmart/Asda separation, ensuring our technology estate stood up independently and that every colleague came with us every step of the way. This role is a huge privilege, and I don’t take it lightly. Thank you to the brilliant colleagues, leaders, and partners who’ve supported, challenged, and inspired me along the way - you know who you are. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and excited about what we can achieve next.”
Met Police and retailers including Tesco, M&S, Halfords and Boots agree plan to tackle retail crime in London
A roundtable, which took place last week at New Scotland Yard, included the Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, two Deputy Mayors, and around 20 retail organisations.
Those in attendance agreed the priorities for improved partnership working to reduce crime and deliver stronger outcomes for our high streets. The plan focuses on improving evidence sharing, supporting each other through the criminal justice process, and giving greater priority to retail crime.
Police agreed to: Prioritise attendance to violent retail incidents and those where the offender is detained; Improve updates to retailers on the progress and outcomes of reported crimes; Focus enforcement on prolific offenders and organised crime groups.
Retailers agreed to: Ensure high quality evidence, including CCTV and body worn camera footage, is preserved and shared; Provide police with a single point of contact, to reduce delays; Give colleagues the necessary time to support the criminal justice process.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, says: “We hope today’s action plan can boost collaboration between retailers and the Metropolitan Police: working together and sharing intelligence is essential to tackling the scourge of retail crime. Theft already costs shops hundreds of millions of pounds every year - money that would be better spent investing in lower prices and improving the customer experience.”
“The Crime and Policing Act offers police new powers to clamp down on criminals and it is essential that offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Better intelligence sharing, improving reporting, and robust enforcement are critical to turning the tide on retail crime once and for all.”
Sainsbury's expands AI powered facial recognition technology trial in partnership with Facewatch
Sainsburys is to roll-out facial recognition software in over 150 stores before Christmas after a trial showed the technology stopped nine in ten repeat offenders from coming back.
The UK grocery giant currently has the AI powered system live in 55 locations in a partnership with Facewatch. Retailers upload reports of bad behaviour, such as shoplifting or violence, with moderators then reviewing camera footage and tagging suspects. When a flagged person enters a participating store, Facewatch pushes out an instant alert.
Despite Sainsbury’s stating that the trial has been a success, it hasn’t been all plain sailing. Earlier this year, a man was instructed to leave a Sainsbury's store in South East London without explanation, after staff incorrectly identified him as an offender flagged by the aforementioned technology. Facewatch later told him there were "no incidents or alerts associated with [him]" on its database, and Sainsbury's apologised for the "human error".
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "We have been in contact with the man to sincerely apologise for his experience in our Elephant and Castle store. This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in-store."
They added nobody had been wrongly identified by Facewatch technology and this was the first instance of someone being wrongly approached by a store manager.
Lush ends social media silence as it joins Bluesky platform following stand against toxic digital spaces
British beauty retailer Lush has joined social media platform Bluesky, pitched as an alternative to X (formerly known as Twitter) due to its ‘greater transparency around how content is surfaced’. It famously departed all social media platforms in 2021, labelling the move "a firm stand against predatory algorithms, surveillance capitalism, and the systematic decay of online spaces."
In an online post, Taniya De Abrew, Global Head of Digital Marketing & Programmes at Lush, said: "When the global business stepped away from Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and Snapchat a few years ago, the internal conversation was not just a simple "we're anti-social media." It sparked a much bigger debate about what healthier digital spaces could look like, the responsibility brands carry within online ecosystems, and whether growth alone should always be the ultimate goal. Being close to those conversations over the last few years completely shifted how I think about digital marketing."
"It’s getting impossible to ignore the toll certain platforms can take on mental health, especially for younger audiences. When you look closely at how parts of the modern internet operate, it becomes really hard to separate "performance marketing" from the wider societal impact of systems driven by predatory algorithms, outrage baiting, and surveillance capitalism."
She added: "One of the things I’ve always respected about working at Lush is that the business rarely takes the easiest route. It could easily rely on constant discounts, endless promos, and marketing strategies designed around urgency and overconsumption. Plenty of brands do. Instead, there’s a genuine belief in product value, craftsmanship, and human connection over short-term wins."
"That mindset extends beyond the products themselves. It’s been incredibly inspiring to see how seriously topics like ethical sourcing, biodiversity, social justice, and digital wellbeing are taken alongside commercial priorities. If something feels fundamentally misaligned with the business's values, there’s a willingness to question it rather than simply accept "that’s just how the industry works."
“That thinking is what led Lush to step away from major social platforms in the first place, and why the business has continued to push for better standards through initiatives like the Big Tech Rebellion and the Safer Socials Summit, alongside creators and tech justice groups like People vs Big Tech and ctrl+alt+reclaim."
Footasylum teams with THG Fulfil to design, integrate and activate automated AutoStore system
THG Fulfil has announced a partnership with Footasylum, a UK retailer of fashion streetwear and sportswear. The tie up marks THG Fulfil’s first AutoStore implementation for an external retailer, following deployments within its own global fulfilment network.
The implementation will see 85 AutoStore R5 robots deployed across more than 96,000 bin locations, with 24 carousel ports and 100% of Footasylum’s live SKU range stored within the AutoStore grid. At the heart of the solution will be THG Fulfil’s proprietary SaaS infrastructure, including a purpose built warehouse control system (WCS), optimised by THG Fulfil’s in-house development team. The project is being delivered within a three-month build programme, with first order go live targeted for September.
Tom Killeen, COO, THG Ingenuity, says: “What will make this partnership different is not just the hardware, it is the software and operational knowledge behind it. THG Fulfil has spent two decades obsessing over the end consumer experience as a retailer, and that knowledge is embedded into everything we build. As a unique global distributor and integrator for AutoStore, we bring proprietary SaaS infrastructure including a purpose-built WCS, an AI backed data science function, and a depth of operational experience that compounds in value long after go live.
“For Footasylum, our robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) commercial model removes the traditional barriers to entry for a first major automation project, giving them access to enterprise grade infrastructure without the capital commitment. With their entire SKU range running through a system purposefully designed around their operation, we are confident the results will speak for themselves.”
