Home improvement retailer Wickes raids bp to bring in Kirsty Bond for Change Portfolio Lead position
Kirsty Bond has joined Wickes as a Change Portfolio Lead. She was previously at bp, where she spent five and a half years, most recently serving as Business Change and Portfolio Lead. Her CV also includes a 14 year stint at Tesco, focusing on digital change management initiatives and process improvement.
In a LinkedIn post, she said: "I’m excited to be back in retail, an industry I genuinely enjoy, where every day brings new challenges, opportunities, and the chance to make a real impact."
"A huge thank you to everyone at bp who I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last few years. I’ve learned so much, built some fantastic relationships, and will take those experiences with me into this next role. I’m looking forward to getting to know the team at Wickes, learning the business, and helping deliver meaningful change. Here’s to new beginnings!"
Unified commerce
The first Wickes pilot store recently went live with the retailer’s new unified commerce platform. It has embarked on a transformation of its till systems with a view to offering a seamless online/in-store customer experience and improved store inventory management.
Plans are also afoot to implement an order management system to simplify its ordering and fulfilment capabilities and improve customer order accuracy. This will take place in two phases launching in 2026 and 2027.
A Wickes spokesperson said: “The future of retail at Wickes is officially here! If you read our last annual report, you may have noticed our CEO talk about the transformation of our till systems and other investment projects. Today (15th July) marked a historic milestone as our Woking branch became the first Wickes pilot store to go live with our new unified commerce platform. This wasn’t just a simple till upgrade, but rather the first phase of a major digital transformation.”
They added: “Watching the very first transaction process on the new system was an unforgettable moment, and the excitement in the store was palpable - the result of meticulous planning, rigorous testing, and constant development turning into reality. Achieving a transformation of this scale is a major undertaking. A special shoutout to the countless Architects, Developers, Store Operations, and Project Managers who have worked tirelessly to bring this to market. Sharing the shopfloor with several of those key figures today, watching the systems come to life and celebrating this milestone together, made the launch all the more special for me.”
“Being on the frontline of this massive change is a privilege. Over these first few weeks of live trading, each piece of feedback and insight we share from the shopfloor will be critical in shaping the roll-out and deployment across the business, which carries its own levels of responsibility. It’s a challenge the whole team is proud to take on, as we help set the rest of the network up for success. Here’s to setting a new standard for retail at Wickes!”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Unified commerce 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.
