UK Retail Shake-Up: Ocado, Lidl, M&S Safety & Brand Collabs and a big thank you to COACH UK

This week on Five Things Friday UK, Alex and Simone unpack the biggest retail stories shaping the UK and European market.The episode covers Ocado’s major tech partnership, Lidl overtaking Morrisons, and why the UK grocery market continues to be watched globally as a model for digital and physical retail. Alex also shares reflections from recent retail visits across Europe, including the Coach pop-up at Selfridges and the House of Rituals in Amsterdam.Simone brings two key stories: M&S’s staff safety initiative with WalkSafe, and the unexpected but strategic collaboration between Little Greene and Hunter. The conversation also explores retail theft, frontline worker protection, experiential retail, lifestyle-led collaborations, and the rise of IP licensing in fashion and retail.Featuring discussion around Coach, Selfridges, Ocado, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S, WalkSafe, JD Sports, Waitrose, Tesco, Rituals, Little Greene, Hunter, Marc Jacobs and LVMH.In this episode:Ocado’s role as a grocery technology platformLidl overtaking Morrisons in UK groceryM&S, WalkSafe and staff safetyRetail theft and frontline worker protectionRituals and the future of experiential retailLittle Greene x Hunter and lifestyle-led brand collaborationsMarc Jacobs, LVMH and IP licensingSubscribe to The Retail Podcast for weekly retail analysis, market shifts, store visits and brand strategy conversations.