The Retail Practice

What The Retail Practice does

The Retail Practice is a UK-based boutique consultancy, trading as TRP Europe Ltd (UK company number 16839995), specializing in brand strategy, digital commerce, and communication services for retail brands. Founded and led by Sean Murray, a brand and growth strategist with 30+ years of international experience, the firm operates from London with a 1-10 person senior team supplemented by a network of specialist delivery consultants. It serves startups, scale-ups, and PLCs (public limited companies) across fashion, home, and lifestyle categories, with active client engagements spanning the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. The company has no proprietary technology platform; its offering is professional services delivered through senior advisory roles and project-based engagements.

The core offering is organized around five consulting disciplines — Brand Strategy & Repositioning, Customer Experience & Digital Commerce, Communication Strategy, Commercial Growth & Turnaround, and Investor & PE (private equity) Advisory — supported by an in-house creative studio handling branding, campaigns, digital design, UX (user experience), and print. Ancillary revenue streams include Retail Safaris (expert-led retail observation tours in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, and Berlin), Mentoring programmes (in partnership with Creative Mentor Network and Soho House), and AI Visuals, a generative AI service for product imagery and campaign content. The business model is professional services on a custom, quote-based engagement structure, with no standardized public pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging referrals, PE partnerships (Carlyle, PAI Partners, Mutares), and a public portfolio of case studies.

The client roster spans lingerie (Bluebella, Dorina), childrenswear (Sweet Petit), premium fashion (Twinset Milano, Needle & Thread), basics and footwear (TeeShoppen, Neous, Seabass), homeware (Rivièra Maison), baby/parent (Prénatal), B2B SaaS (Keephub, Sizolution), interior design (Golden Design), and tourism (Cotswolds Tourism). Notable engagements include a three-year growth plan for Needle & Thread targeting £36M+ sales and £3.8M EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by 2026 and a 12-month Prénatal rebrand retained by PE owner Mutares. Recent strategic moves have expanded the firm's service surface (AI Visuals, Mentoring, Retail Safaris) and broadened its vertical mix into B2B SaaS and tourism.

Name

The Retail Practice

Legal name

TRP Europe Ltd trading as The Retail Practice

Website

https://theretailpractice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Retail Practice is a UK-based boutique consultancy providing brand strategy, digital commerce, communication, and PE advisory services to fashion, home, and lifestyle brands across Europe, supported by an in-house creative studio, Retail Safaris, mentoring programmes, and an AI Visuals service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Brand Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Retail brand consulting
• Brand strategy services
• Digital commerce advisory
• Retail communication strategy
• Creative studio services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Professional services revenue generated through brand strategy, customer experience, communication strategy, commercial growth, and investor advisory engagements with retail brands and private equity partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Retail Practice is a boutique retail consultancy that provides brand strategy and repositioning, customer experience and digital commerce design, communication strategy, commercial growth and turnaround, and investor/PE advisory services to fashion, home, and lifestyle brands. It delivers these through hands-on consulting engagements and an integrated in-house creative studio producing branding, campaigns, and digital design.

Product overview

The Retail Practice is a boutique consultancy offering professional services for brands seeking transformation. The core offering consists of five integrated consulting disciplines: Brand Strategy & Repositioning, Customer Experience & Digital Commerce, Communication Strategy, Commercial Growth & Turnaround, and Investor & PE Advisory. These are supported by an In-House Creative Studio for fast-turn visual content and design. Service offerings include Retail Safaris (expert-led retail observation tours), Mentoring programmes for emerging creatives, and AI Visuals (AI-powered visual content creation). The company works with fashion, home, and lifestyle brands across start-ups, scale-ups, and established businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy & Repositioning Strategic brand development and repositioning services bringing clarity, direction, and meaning to brands, including vision alignment, brand frameworks, and purpose definition for retail clients.
• Customer Experience & Digital Commerce Creating connected customer journeys and digital commerce experiences that convert across channels for retail brands.
• Communication Strategy From messaging frameworks to multi-channel activation, including tone of voice guides, B2B storytelling, and investor communications for retail brands.
• Commercial Growth & Turnaround Marketing and brand team restructuring, commercial strategy, and operational excellence consulting for growth and turnaround situations.
• Investor & PE Advisory Complete 360 business strategy communication for investors and private equity partners, including carve-out preparation and sale readiness for retail brands.
• In-House Creative Studio Internal creative studio enabling fast-turn content, design, and activation, creating branding and identity, campaigns, digital design, front-end UX, brochure and magazine design.
• Retail Safaris Curated, expert-led retail observation tours in London and European retail capitals (Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Berlin) for senior retail professionals, including bespoke itineraries, expert guides, and post-safari presentations.
• Mentoring Mentoring programmes for young creatives and brand team development, including partnerships with Creative Mentor Network and Soho House.
• AI Visuals AI-powered visual storytelling services for retail and fashion brands, including product photography, brand visuals, and campaign creation using AI tools that generate hyper-realistic renders, styling variations, and moving image content.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20-30% conversion improvement with Sizolution clients using AI fit-tech
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Unmissable EnglandcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Formal collaboration on business support initiative for Cotswolds tourism. Combined Unmissable England's tourism product expertise with The Retail Practice's customer insight, branding, and digital communication capability to deliver marketing training workshops for local businesses.
• KegacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership on Keephub rebranding and repositioning project. Kega collaboration to bring the frontline employee-first communication platform to market as a standout SaaS product for B2B market.
• Creative Mentor NetworkminorOthers · 1 January 2023Mentoring partnership with Creative Mentor Network and Soho House to open creative industries to young talent from underrepresented backgrounds. Addressing underrepresentation where only 12% of UK creative industry workers come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
• Soho HouseminorOthers · 1 January 2023Partnership with Creative Mentor Network to support inclusive access to creative industries through mentoring program.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Elmwood: Brand design consultancy specializing in retail and consumer brands, with integrated strategy, design, and digital delivery. Closely comparable to TRP on boutique-scale retail brand work and integrated studio model, serving similar fashion, home, and lifestyle clients.
• Moving Brands: Boutique brand strategy and design consultancy serving fashion, retail, and lifestyle clients with brand identity and experience work. Comparable boutique positioning and integrated strategy-plus-creative model serving similar enterprise fashion and lifestyle brands.
• The Retail Factory: Boutique retail strategy and brand consultancy focused on European fashion, lifestyle, and consumer brands. Comparable boutique-scale positioning and direct overlap with TRP's fashion, home, and lifestyle client base and consulting offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Interbrand: Global brand strategy consultancy serving fashion, retail, and lifestyle clients with brand positioning, identity, and experience work. Directly comparable on brand-strategy and creative services, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• OC&C Strategy Consultants: Global strategy consultancy with a specialist retail and consumer goods practice serving PE-backed and PLC retail brands. Comparable to TRP's PE advisory and commercial growth work, but at much larger scale and broader functional breadth.
• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy with deep retail and fashion client work, including brand strategy, identity, and store experience. Overlaps with TRP's brand strategy and in-house studio capabilities but at much larger scale across global PLC clients.
• Lippincott: Brand strategy and design consultancy with deep retail and consumer expertise, including PE advisory and brand repositioning. Comparable on PE-adjacent brand work and retail sector focus, but operates as part of a larger consultancy platform.
• Prophet: Brand and growth strategy consultancy with a dedicated retail practice serving fashion, lifestyle, and consumer brands. Comparable on brand strategy, commercial growth, and digital transformation, but at larger scale and broader industry coverage.
• FutureBrand: Brand strategy and design consultancy serving retail, fashion, and lifestyle brands globally. Comparable in delivering brand repositioning and identity work for enterprise retail clients, though with broader geographic delivery and larger team.
• Siegel+Gale: Global strategic branding consultancy delivering brand strategy, naming, and customer experience for retail and consumer clients. Comparable on brand strategy and customer experience offerings, but at significantly larger global scale.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RetailPractice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-retail-practice
• Instagraminstagram.com/retailpractice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Retail Practice