Ian Shepherd
@ianashepherd.bsky.social
Retail & consumer NED and advisor. Views my own. I write regularly at https://movingtribes.substack.com
Following on from their brilliant strategic decision to attack the RNLI, I'm looking forward to Reform picking fights with David Attenborough, Rich Tea biscuits and Paddington Bear next. #idiots
September 9, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Following on from their brilliant strategic decision to attack the RNLI, I'm looking forward to Reform picking fights with David Attenborough, Rich Tea biscuits and Paddington Bear next. #idiots
Close friend of Andy Burnham? Looking for something to chat to him about this weekend? How about an idea that makes a huge dent in youth unemployment and supports 2 of our largest employing sectors at the same time?
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Dear Andy
How you can help business, and business can help you
open.substack.com
July 24, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Close friend of Andy Burnham? Looking for something to chat to him about this weekend? How about an idea that makes a huge dent in youth unemployment and supports 2 of our largest employing sectors at the same time?
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Amidst a long hot summer, a perhaps surprisingly bullish analysis of the prospects for WH Smith and TG Jones in this Moving Tribes post. Also includes my first, and probably last, sporting analogy!
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Alas Smith and Jones
What can we learn from the TG Jones story?
open.substack.com
July 16, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Amidst a long hot summer, a perhaps surprisingly bullish analysis of the prospects for WH Smith and TG Jones in this Moving Tribes post. Also includes my first, and probably last, sporting analogy!
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The most depressing thing about governments in Scotland and England flirting with price controls is realising that you are old enough to be surrounded by people who have forgotten both the 1970s and the USSR. (And apparently have studied no economics at all)
May 20, 2026 at 8:27 AM
The most depressing thing about governments in Scotland and England flirting with price controls is realising that you are old enough to be surrounded by people who have forgotten both the 1970s and the USSR. (And apparently have studied no economics at all)
A frequent topic for retail and hospitality businesses is whether they should own the freeholds of the buildings they use. Indeed, the ‘sale and leaseback’ process where a business goes from owner to tenant is often cited as investor profiteering. But is it?
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
"Free"hold
Should you own the building you trade from?
open.substack.com
April 1, 2026 at 9:39 AM
A frequent topic for retail and hospitality businesses is whether they should own the freeholds of the buildings they use. Indeed, the ‘sale and leaseback’ process where a business goes from owner to tenant is often cited as investor profiteering. But is it?
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
So how do you go bust running a car park? NCP’s filing for administration this week has prompted a lot of head-scratching, so in this week’s MT I dig a little into the numbers. And it turns out, there are important lessons in there for any of us in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Parking fine
How did NCP go bust, and what does that mean for your business?
open.substack.com
March 25, 2026 at 9:56 AM
So how do you go bust running a car park? NCP’s filing for administration this week has prompted a lot of head-scratching, so in this week’s MT I dig a little into the numbers. And it turns out, there are important lessons in there for any of us in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
My biggest investment mistake might tell you something about how to deploy AI in your business (and how not to!). Exploring how businesses invest in new technology in this week’s Moving Tribes.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Running in fog
Getting your AI strategy right
open.substack.com
March 19, 2026 at 10:17 AM
My biggest investment mistake might tell you something about how to deploy AI in your business (and how not to!). Exploring how businesses invest in new technology in this week’s Moving Tribes.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Big change programmes struggling to get off the ground? Or old projects that are no longer necessary but which no-one can kill? Or both? Changing a business is hard, as this week’s MT explores.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
All change?
How businesses get innovation wrong
open.substack.com
March 5, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Big change programmes struggling to get off the ground? Or old projects that are no longer necessary but which no-one can kill? Or both? Changing a business is hard, as this week’s MT explores.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
This week's Moving Tribes dives a bit more deeply into the Youth Unemployment story which has been so widely discussed this week, to look at some of the facts and figures. There is much that business can do to help, but the Government also has a role to play open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The price of youth
The facts behind a growing employment crisis
open.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:06 AM
This week's Moving Tribes dives a bit more deeply into the Youth Unemployment story which has been so widely discussed this week, to look at some of the facts and figures. There is much that business can do to help, but the Government also has a role to play open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
For some context on why, this morning's Moving Tribes. movingtribes.substack.com/p/the-price-...
February 18, 2026 at 8:55 AM
For some context on why, this morning's Moving Tribes. movingtribes.substack.com/p/the-price-...
At least one explanation for this sad news in this post from 2024 which uses Quiz as an example of a business stuck at the wrong size. A retailer can be profitable with 5 stores, profitable at 200 stores but loss making at 40 stores. movingtribes.substack.com/p/scaling-up...
February 6, 2026 at 8:17 AM
At least one explanation for this sad news in this post from 2024 which uses Quiz as an example of a business stuck at the wrong size. A retailer can be profitable with 5 stores, profitable at 200 stores but loss making at 40 stores. movingtribes.substack.com/p/scaling-up...
The formula for success in a retail or hospitality business almost always contains one key ingredient. Winning businesses work hard to make themselves great places to work. It surprises me how many leadership teams fail to understand that.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
People power
What really separates retail winners from the herd
open.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:24 AM
The formula for success in a retail or hospitality business almost always contains one key ingredient. Winning businesses work hard to make themselves great places to work. It surprises me how many leadership teams fail to understand that.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
There is an old Mitchell and Webb sketch with 2 charity executives bitching about how the Guide Dogs get all the cash because they have cute dogs to show. I can't help thinking that the thousands of independent retailers and restaurants getting hit by business rates feel the same about this story.
Pubs given support package after business rates backlash
Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson says the three-year aid was worth £1,650 for the average pub.
Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson says the three-year aid was worth £1,650 for the average pub.
January 28, 2026 at 12:50 PM
There is an old Mitchell and Webb sketch with 2 charity executives bitching about how the Guide Dogs get all the cash because they have cute dogs to show. I can't help thinking that the thousands of independent retailers and restaurants getting hit by business rates feel the same about this story.
The opening Moving Tribes post of 2026 explores the world consumer businesses now operate in, and the two macro forces which will shape how the year plays out for them - a long term stagnant economy and the role of technology in how consumers choose brands.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Welcome to the New New Normal
What will 2026 bring?
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:37 AM
The opening Moving Tribes post of 2026 explores the world consumer businesses now operate in, and the two macro forces which will shape how the year plays out for them - a long term stagnant economy and the role of technology in how consumers choose brands.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Reposted by Ian Shepherd
It's Davos this week, so please find attached a list of phrases that you may hear and what they actually mean.
Full phrasebook here 😉 www.ft.com/content/ab4f...
Full phrasebook here 😉 www.ft.com/content/ab4f...
January 19, 2026 at 4:12 PM
It's Davos this week, so please find attached a list of phrases that you may hear and what they actually mean.
Full phrasebook here 😉 www.ft.com/content/ab4f...
Full phrasebook here 😉 www.ft.com/content/ab4f...
On the other hand, at least we get to stop talking about the Nobel Peace Prize now.
January 3, 2026 at 9:13 AM
On the other hand, at least we get to stop talking about the Nobel Peace Prize now.
Someone on the tube just asked me for help with an Excel question and I actually knew the answer. I think I've peaked.
December 2, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Someone on the tube just asked me for help with an Excel question and I actually knew the answer. I think I've peaked.
On the eve of the Budget, it is time to stop trying to influence what’s in it, and start considering how we should run our businesses in the economy it will create. Some thoughts in this week’s Moving Tribes.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The day after tomorrow
Running a business in the post-Budget future
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM
On the eve of the Budget, it is time to stop trying to influence what’s in it, and start considering how we should run our businesses in the economy it will create. Some thoughts in this week’s Moving Tribes.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
With retail footfall stagnant and consumers reeling from a dozen terrifying headlines a day about tax rises, what really needs to happen in the budget to bring growth to the UK?
The answer, surprisingly, is as much about emotional factors as rational ones
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The answer, surprisingly, is as much about emotional factors as rational ones
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Animal spirits
Taking the temperature of the economy
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:01 PM
With retail footfall stagnant and consumers reeling from a dozen terrifying headlines a day about tax rises, what really needs to happen in the budget to bring growth to the UK?
The answer, surprisingly, is as much about emotional factors as rational ones
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The answer, surprisingly, is as much about emotional factors as rational ones
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Just spoke to a journalist about the potential impact of the forthcoming budget on retailers and then immediately sent him a funny picture of my cat intended for my kids. #consumateprofessional
November 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Just spoke to a journalist about the potential impact of the forthcoming budget on retailers and then immediately sent him a funny picture of my cat intended for my kids. #consumateprofessional
Reposted by Ian Shepherd
Following a heated debate on the Today programme yesterday about the Government's Employment Rights bill, I'm using this week's Moving Tribes to add some much needed facts to the discussion.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The cost of work
Revisiting Employment Rights
open.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Following a heated debate on the Today programme yesterday about the Government's Employment Rights bill, I'm using this week's Moving Tribes to add some much needed facts to the discussion.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Would you rather be operated on by the surgeon with a high success rate or a low one?
That’s a trick question, of course, because you can’t possibly decide without more information. And it turns out the same thing is often true in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
That’s a trick question, of course, because you can’t possibly decide without more information. And it turns out the same thing is often true in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The Falling Knife
Understanding business turnaround
open.substack.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Would you rather be operated on by the surgeon with a high success rate or a low one?
That’s a trick question, of course, because you can’t possibly decide without more information. And it turns out the same thing is often true in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
That’s a trick question, of course, because you can’t possibly decide without more information. And it turns out the same thing is often true in business.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Exploring AI technologies and how they might help your business? Meet the LLM Parrot, who has some important advice to give about the strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT and other language models as business tools.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
The Well-read Parrot
Why AI can't run your shop (yet)
open.substack.com
July 3, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Exploring AI technologies and how they might help your business? Meet the LLM Parrot, who has some important advice to give about the strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT and other language models as business tools.
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
open.substack.com/pub/movingtr...
Just how bad do your finances have to be before a CFO who knew they were joining a distressed situation leaves after 8 days?
Dundee University chief finance officer quits after eight days | BBC News
New Dundee University chief finance officer Chris Reilly quits after eight days
The cash-strapped institution is "moving quickly" to find a replacement for Chris Reilly
www.bbc.co.uk
July 2, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Just how bad do your finances have to be before a CFO who knew they were joining a distressed situation leaves after 8 days?