Leading the Retail Industry into the Future

The future of retail is here, with digital investments now essential to meet consumers' evolving needs and fend off new competitors. BCG's retail consultants help clients develop and deliver the right retail strategy to thrive in this dynamic environment.

Our Retail Industry Services

Fashion Industry
Fashion retailers need to reduce costs, invest in digital capabilities, and act on the power of sustainability. We help transform operations so you can respond to this consumer-driven environment.

Luxury Goods
We help luxury brands rethink what, when, and how they sell. Our two-pronged approach addresses the challenges of the new reality in luxury goods.

Many companies in the retail industry are rich in data but have yet to harness it as a real driver of the business. Now, nothing less will do. BCG helps retailers prioritize digital efforts as part of an adaptable retail strategy that is more responsive to customer needs than ever before, and guides those looking to create and fund new sources of growth.

How We Help Clients Create a Retail Strategy for the New Reality

BCG’s retail consulting teams are composed of retail industry experts with skill sets that span the entire digital space, supported by proprietary platforms and solutions from our specialty business BCG GAMMA. Our work focuses on improving the commercial proposition, formats, and omnichannel and operations capabilities needed to deliver on retail strategy.

Retail Analytics and Artificial Intelligence

Omnichannel Retail Strategy

Retail Operations

Cost Optimization

Digital Retail Marketing and Personalization

Social Impact

Our Client Work in the Retail Industry

Our Client Work in the Fashion Industry

BCG’s fashion consulting teams have conducted more than 850 projects globally in the past five years in the fashion industry and luxury market. Some examples of our client work with fashion retailers include the following.

Turning Around a Global Jewelry Giant

BCG worked shoulder-to-shoulder with leading jewelry company Pandora to launch a transformation program that reignited passion for the brand and helped Pandora get closer than ever to its customers.

An Analytics and Demand Prediction Journey for a Global Fashion Retailer. Together with our client, we created a custom data and digital platform to align purchasing and allocation with demand, optimize stock, and equip store associates with customer analytics and tools. Delivering double-digit profit uplift, the hub optimized inventory across more than 3,000 stores; forecast sales patterns and prices for over 10,000 products; and sent more than 500,000 automated personalized emails. The project scaled from less than 5% of the global business to more than 70% in nine months.

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Overhauled the Sustainability Strategy for a High-profile Luxury Brand. We used BCG’s proprietary benchmark methodology to reveal key environmental and social impact levers and areas for differentiation. Employing those insights, we crafted a strategy and end-to-end roadmap for execution within the organization and supply chain, including target setting, cost estimates, and corporate governance.

Transforming Product Creation E2E for a Major Global Fashion Brand. We began by defining a target digital operating model and implementing agile to reduce the complexity of collaboration. To enable 3D creation from design to factory to sell in, we leveraged our digital partners and Asian supplier network to create a state-of-the-art ecosystem that achieved massive operational acceleration: a reduction of up to 40% in time to market, a reduction of up to 70% in sampling cost, and the potential for a reduction of up to 20% in workload.

Working with a leading EU retailer, BCG created a new pricing and promotions strategy and applied new range-performance-analysis tools on approximately 25,000 SKUs, optimizing all food categories. Our joint work delivered promotional results that were 33% above target in the first year. It also reduced the range by around 20% while making it more relevant for customers. In addition, there was a 6% increase in like-for-like volume—driven by the investment of liberated funds into pricing for top lines—along with a significant improvement in value perception.

BCG delivered an AI transformation at a global fashion retailer, in close partnership with the client’s internal team. Using our technology partners, including BCG GAMMA and Platinion, the team leveraged AI to improve forecasting and pricing for more than 10,000 products, optimize inventory across more than 3,000 stores, and generate over 500,000 automated personalized emails. Completing a small pilot in four weeks, the team quickly scaled it, achieving a double-digit profit uplift. The project scaled to more than 70% of the global business in less than one year, and the industrialized model was complete in 18 months.

A declining North American multiformat grocery retailer engaged BCG to create a transformation management office to ensure a successful turnaround. This hub drove a major reorganization, launched cost-out programs, and expanded e-commerce to drive growth. Early success showed gross margin increases and adjusted EBITDA up around 1%, with a rebound in share price to pre-decline levels. Now on track to exceed $500 million in savings, leadership is looking to advanced analytics and AI to further growth.

A retailer in Asia-Pacific with ambitious environmental targets partnered with BCG to create a business incubator to develop and commercialize projects. Together, we defined the incubator’s role, operating model, and governance, then prioritized and designed four scalable initiatives in upstream food waste, plastics action, sustainable agriculture, and waste-as-a-resource. Deliverables included a detailed roadmap and, with the resource budget needed to meet targets of 30% growth, 4X reduction in net GHG emissions and 2X diverted food waste.

Meet Our Retail Consulting Leaders

By blending the capabilities and experience of each retail consultant assigned to your project, we create the optimal team to identify and meet your challenges.

Meet more of our retail consultants

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Explore Our Retail Industry Insights

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