Recorded live at the Retail Technology Show at ExCeL London in partnership with TNS. Host Graham Barrett speaks with leaders from across retail, hospitality and technology to explore the pressures shaping store operations, payments, fulfilment and customer experience in 2026. 1/ Jon Cole, Director of Product and Technical Solutions, TNS 2/ Shazmeen Malik, Partner Brands and Flexible Fulfilment Director, ASOS 3/ Martin Ward, Head of Software UK&I, Toshiba 4/ Gemma Edlin, Retail Director, Company Shop Group 5/ Richard Lewis, Group Chief Executive Officer, RedCat Hospitality 6/ Meriel Neighbour, Director of Technology Delivery and Transformation, River Island The episode opens with Jon Cole, Director of Product and Technical Solutions at TNS, who discusses the surge in retailer focus on resilience and cybersecurity and why hybrid cloud/on‑premise architectures are becoming essential. Next, Shazmeen Malik, Partner Brands & Flexible Fulfilment Director at ASOS, dives into the art of marketplace curation. She explains how ASOS balances global brands with emerging labels, why 20% of its branded portfolio is now newly onboarded, and how flexible fulfilment models, from partner fulfilment to ASOS Fulfilment Services, enable scale without compromising customer experience. Shazmeen also shares how ASOS is using AI for personalisation, outfitting and virtual try‑on, describing it as “super exciting” for discovery‑led shopping. We then hear from Martin Ward, Head of Software UK&I at Toshiba, who explores why retail transformations fail when they prioritise technology over people. He reflects on Toshiba’s work with Matalan, the importance of involving store colleagues early, and why retailers must “test and learn and fail fast” to drive meaningful change. Martin also offers a grounded view on Agentic AI, its potential, its risks, and why adoption must be purposeful rather than hype‑driven. Next, Gemma Edlin, newly appointed Retail Director at Company Shop Group, explains how the UK’s largest surplus supermarket prevents waste at scale, redistributing products from over 800 brands and stopping 47,000 tonnes of waste last year alone. She discusses dynamic pricing, robotics in the warehouse, and how AI could help set “the right price first time” to balance commercial viability with affordability and trust. Richard Lewis, Group CEO of RedCat Hospitality, shares a hospitality perspective on loyalty and digital micro‑donations. He emphasises that loyalty begins with consistently great experiences: “customers don’t give you praise for getting the basics right, but when you get it wrong, they tell you”. He explores how data, communication and digital engagement can drive frequency across pubs and hotels. Finally, Meriel Neighbour, Director of Technology Delivery and Transformation, River Island closes the episode with a fashion retail perspective, sharing how a major high‑street brand is thinking about modern store operations, digital enablement and the evolving role of the physical store in a technology‑rich, customer‑driven world. A rich, fast‑paced episode capturing the realities of modern retail and hospitality, from cybersecurity and payments infrastructure to marketplace strategy, store transformation, waste reduction and customer loyalty.
