The Retailer Group

What The Retailer Group does

The Retailer Group, trading legally as Positive Management Solutions, is a privately held UK-based B2B retail consultancy founded in 1998 and headquartered in Crudwell, Wiltshire. The firm provides end-to-end retail advisory services across four core pillars: Strategic Planning, People Services, Systems & Processes, and In-Store Services, with sector specialisations spanning Visitor Attractions, University Retail (delivered under a strategic partnership with NUS Services), Sports Retail & Memorabilia, Town Centre Recovery, Retail Startups, and Interim Management. Its client base is enterprise-grade and diverse, including repeat engagements at the London 2012 Olympics, Rio 2016 Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Wimbledon, the Ryder Cup, and The Open Championship, alongside brand work for Prada, Disney, Nespresso, Saks Fifth Avenue, Zara, and Aston Villa FC, and university work for UCL, Northumbria, Greenwich, and Heriot-Watt Students' Unions. Notable operational capabilities include in-house 3D space capture via Matterport for retail/hospitality design documentation.

Name

The Retailer Group

Legal name

Positive Management Solutions (Trading as The Retailer Group)

Website

https://theretailer.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: B2B retail consultancy providing strategic planning, operational support, and implementation services across retail sectors including visitor attractions, university retail, sports retail, town centres, and startups. Revenue is generated through professional service engagements with clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Retailer Group is a B2B retail consultancy providing strategic planning, operational support, and implementation services to retailers across multiple sectors including visitor attractions, university retail, sports retail, town centres, and startups. Services span end-to-end from retail strategy through to final execution, encompassing shop fitting, EPOS systems, e-commerce platform development, visual merchandising, and interim management placements. The firm operates through direct client engagement and a strategic partnership with NUS Services for the university sector.

Product overview

The Retailer Group is a B2B retail consultancy offering a portfolio of interconnected services across multiple retail sectors. The core offering consists of four main service pillars: Strategic Planning, People Services, Systems & Processes, and In-Store Services. These are complemented by sector specializations including Visitor Attractions, University Retail (as a strategic partner with NUS Services), Sports Retail & Memorabilia, Town Centre Recovery, Startup Support, and Interim Management. Sub-services include Customer Experience, Sales Training, Shop Fitting, Visual Merchandising, EPOS Systems, and E-commerce Solutions. The company also offers specialized technology services such as 3D Space Capture using Matterport technology for retail design and build projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Planning Comprehensive retail strategy development including retail channels, pricing, product display, and project timeline planning. Covers both complex multi-business strategies and simpler approaches for smaller operations, for retailers across multiple sectors.
• People Services Human resources and staffing solutions including interim management, customer experience analysis, sales training programs, and staff scheduling. Serves retailers needing to improve customer touch points, staff morale and retention.
• Systems & Processes Operational support covering operations management, product sourcing, supply chain optimization, EPOS systems configuration, and e-commerce platform development for UK and international markets.
• In-Store Services Physical retail implementation including shop fitting, hospitality and catering design, visual merchandising, and operational excellence consulting to create effective customer experiences.
• Visitor Attractions Consulting Specialist support for zoos, theme parks, museums, galleries, castles, gardens, wildlife centres, safari parks, and other visitor destinations covering retail, hospitality, and admissions operations.
• University Retail Strategic partnership with NUS Services providing retail and hospitality consulting for university campuses, students' unions, and related sites across the UK.
• Sports Retail & Memorabilia Retail and hospitality solutions for sporting events, stadia, and memorabilia operations including work with major brands, athletes, and international sporting events such as Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Rugby World Cup.
• Town Centre Recovery Recovery action plans for high streets, businesses, and public buildings including overarching plans, business communications, digital marketing, branding, signage, and PR services.
• Retail Startup Support Comprehensive support for new retail businesses including system setup, process structures, staff management, sales reporting, inventory systems, budget setting, and financial management tools.
• Interim Management and Non-Executive Resource Temporary executive and non-executive resource supply with tailored management talent, mentoring programs, bespoke training plans, and one-to-one coaching for skills gap filling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful refit of UCL Students' Union resulting in significantly ahead of expectations sales results
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers46 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NUS Services (National Union of Students)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Retailer Group is a strategic partner with NUS Services. They have extensive experience in university retail and hospitality, operating in many sites across the UK. The partnership involves strategic collaboration on university retail transformation projects, including a three-site pilot programme to improve operational processes and procedures. The Retailer Group also supports NUS Trading at events including virtual tradeshows.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Mintel: Global market research firm publishing retail and consumer goods intelligence. Adjacent to TRG's strategic-planning offering and often used by retail clients as a complement to consultancy engagements.
• WGSN: Retail and consumer trends forecasting platform used by retailers and brands for trend intelligence and product planning. Not a direct competitor but adjacent to TRG's retail-strategy work and often purchased by the same retail buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company (Retail Practice): Global management consultancy serving retail and consumer products clients on strategy, operations and transformation. Overlaps with TRG in the strategic retail planning and turnaround work that TRG also delivers.
• Accenture (Retail Practice): Global management consultancy with a large retail consumer-goods practice covering strategy, technology and operations. Competes for enterprise retail transformation mandates but at vastly greater scale and breadth than TRG.
• Capgemini Invent (Retail): Digital and consulting arm of Capgemini serving retail clients on omnichannel, supply chain and store transformation. Competes for enterprise retail transformation mandates with a technology-led proposition that TRG does not offer.
• McKinsey & Company (Consumer & Retail Practice): Global top-tier strategy consultancy with dedicated retail and consumer practice serving the largest retailers worldwide. Represents the upper-end incumbent benchmark for enterprise retail consulting engagements.
• Deloitte (Retail, Wholesale & Distribution): Big Four professional services firm with substantial retail consulting practice covering strategy, operations, tax and technology. Competes with TRG for enterprise retail-strategy and transformation mandates.

Direct peers

• Boxbuild: UK-based retail design and fit-out consultancy serving retailers and brands with store design, shopfitting and visual merchandising. Highly comparable boutique operating model to TRG, focused on the same retail channel-execution work.
• MINT Retail Group: UK retail design and consultancy specialising in retail planning, store design and customer experience. Directly comparable boutique competing for similar retail consultancy mandates in the UK and internationally.
• Fitch (Landor & Fitch): Global retail and brand experience consultancy designing store environments, visual identity and customer journeys. Comparable in offering retail strategy, in-store design and brand-led retail transformation services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheRetailerLtd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 Retailer Group