The sector has had its fair share of wild and wacky stories over the year. As 2022 draws to a close, Retail Gazette takes a look at some of this year’s most outrageous stories.
Greggs does fashion
Baker Greggs has mastered the festive bake and the vegan sausage roll so it’s only natural that it would next turn it’s hand to…fashion.
The sausage roll specialist shocked retail in February when it revealed it would team up with Primark to launch a clothing collection.
The Greggs branded hoodies, trainers and even underpants were sold in 60 Primark stores and flew off the shelves.
The collection proved so popular that Greggs has launched two follow-up collections with the value fashion giant so far: a festival-themed collection over the summer and a Christmas collection late last month. Expect a sausage roll Christmas jumper in your stocking this year.
The eBay collab we didn’t see coming
London chicken shop Morley’s would not come top of the list of brands we expected online giant to collaborate with.
The unlikely pair teamed up in June when eBay transformed Morley’s Brick Lane branch into an exclusive sneaker pop-up.
The shop walls that are usually covered in images of chicken wings instead featured displays of rare trainers that visitors could get their hands on at their original prices.
Sneakers with a side of chips, anyone?
M&S and Currys go head to head for Christmas no 1
From Wham! v Band Aid to Mariah Carey v East 17, there have been some big battles to become the UK’s Christmas number one.
Little did we expect two retailers to be fighting it out this year.
Following the success of M&S’ Christmas single reaching number two in the charts last year, its Romford store team have entered the fray again.
The team raised the stakes with a cameo from East 17 band member Terry Coldwell as they all donned their East 17-style white puffer coats for this year’s entry.
However, unexpectedly, electricals retailer Currys also entered the chart battle with its homemade festive drill track.
The tech retailer employed business manager Raphael Barnett, who is also a part-time rapper named Raphael 3Style, to rap against a backing track made from microwave beeps, washing machines and other appliances.
What’s better than one CEO? Two…obviously
The final candidates to replace departing M&S boss Steve Rowe were so amazing, that the retailer decided to hire both of them.
In March, Stuart Machin was appointed chief executive and was joined by Katie Bickerstaffe as co-chief.
The pair may carry the same title but Machin seems to be more senior taking on the “day-to-day” leadership duties and executive committee while Bickerstaffe manages the omnichannel, digital and data operations.
The co-CEO move is nothing new but is certainly uncommon. All eyes are on M&S to see how the unusual leadership structure pans out.
Tesco Mobile ads banned for “offensive” puns
Tesco found itself in hot water back in May when its use of food puns in an ad campaign failed to impress a few members of the public.
The adverts for Tesco Mobile substituted expletives for food items such as ‘For Fettucine’s sake’ and ‘They’re taking the pistachio’.
The campaign was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after it stacked up 52 complaints over “offensive” language.
Tesco Mobile apologised “for any offence caused” of its creative play on words.
Mike Ashley’s whopping payment to son-in-law
Mike Ashley continued to make headlines this year with his rather controversial approach to building his dynasty.
Keen to keep his retail empire in the family, Ashley’s Frasers Group paid his son-in-law Michael Murray a whopping £20.9 million in consultancy fees before he took over as CEO from the sportswear tycoon back in May.
The retailer said that it was “necessary” to settle the bill between Frasers and Murray’s property consultancy MM Prop before he took the chief executive role and insisted that independent third-party experts had helped it come to the figure.
The generosity towards Murray doesn’t stop there as he could soon receive a hefty £100 million bonus if the group’s share price hits £15 for 30 consecutive days.
Balenciaga’s disturbing ad campaign
Balenciaga’s avant garde creative direction is known to push the boundaries but its most recent campaigns overstepped the mark by a country mile.
The luxury house shocked retail with images from its controversial holiday campaign, which featured children holding bondage-clad teddy bears.
It wasn’t the only ad campaign labelled disturbing as copies of court documents from a Supreme Court case on child pornography were found to have been used as props in Balenciaga’s Spring 23 campaign as well.
The brand has since apologised for both campaigns and filed a $25 million lawsuit against agency North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins for the inclusion of “unapproved items” in the spring 23 campaign photoshoot.
From Iceland boss to PM?
England has its very own Donald Trump in the making – albeit one much more philanthropic and far less orange – as businessman Richard Walker starts the campaign trail to become a politician.
Iceland managing director Walker, who has built a reputation as one of retail’s most vocal campaigners, made a bid for MP in October when he was added to the approved list of parliamentary candidates for the Conservative party.
He still has a long way to go but it’s only a matter of time before we see Walker’s name on the ballot paper.
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