11th January 2026.
Opening Reflection
Ask anybody in retail and they’ll tell you the same thing: January is a nightmare.
Customers go into batten-down-the-hatches mode. Christmas is over, wallets snap shut, and everyone suddenly decides they don’t need anything other than heating and the basics. The dreary weather doesn’t help. It’s as though the country collectively goes into survival mode.
But there is one small psychological win: we’ve passed the shortest day.
Every day the light stays with us just a little bit longer. It sounds trivial, but at this time of year those small wins matter. You take encouragement where you can find it.
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The January Mindset: Survival, Not Celebration
January isn’t a month for grand plans or champagne thinking. It’s a month for discipline. It’s when you take stock — not just of products, but of habits, processes, and waste.
This is the time of year when the business needs tightening.
Not tightening in the sense of cutting corners — tightening in the sense of becoming sharper, more efficient, and more deliberate.
Because if you can get through January in retail, you can get through anything.
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Systems, Efficiency and Doing More With Less
My focus now is simple: tighten the systems. Improve the processes. Adopt procedures that make us faster, cleaner, and more efficient — without losing what makes us special.
The challenge is one every independent retailer faces:
how do you keep costs down but still deliver great customer service?
Customers want value and experience.
And the reality is: you can’t just raise prices to cover inefficiency. Not now.
This is where technology is becoming a gift — if you use it properly.
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The “Ask Wilfred” Page — Millions of Wilfreds, On Call
One of the big ideas we’re building right now is an “Ask Wilfred” page on our website.
A place where customers can come and have a conversation with me — assisted by this great brain out there called ChatGPT.
Think about it:
It’s like having millions and millions of Wilfreds on hand, ready to help a customer instantly.
Whether it’s a product question… cooking advice… delivery issues… or help choosing the right food for a family gathering — we can offer faster, more human support without running the business into the ground.
The gap between AI assistance and human beings is closing fast. The businesses that learn to harness it will deliver better service, more consistently, at lower cost. That isn’t the future — it’s happening now.
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Staff Holidays, Reduced Workforce, and Retail Reality
January is also the time of year I encourage staff to take their breaks. Christmas takes everything out of people, and they deserve recovery.
But that creates another reality:
while you’re trying to keep costs down, you’re also running with a reduced workforce.
It’s never easy.
You’re balancing service standards, fatigue, morale, and finances — and January gives you no slack.
But if you can keep the ship steady during this month, you’re doing something right.
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The Question That Hit Me This Week
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Not because I’m trying to become a “guru”, but because inspiration is a fuel, and in retail you need fuel.
This week I heard a simple question that stayed with me:
“This time last year, what were you worried about… and did any of it come to pass?”
That question carries a lesson.
Because the truth is:
we spend huge amounts of energy worrying about things that never happen. We rehearse disasters in our minds that never arrive. We burn ourselves out mentally for no reason.
So I’m taking that into 2026.
Stop worrying.
Or at least, stop wasting worry on things you cannot control. Use the energy for action instead.
Closing Reflection
January is harsh. It strips away the hype and forces you to confront reality. But it also offers something valuable: clarity.
It’s the month where you sharpen the blade.
Where you cut the waste.
Where you set the tone for the year.
The light is slowly coming back.
So is the momentum.
And we’re getting ready for what comes next.
Onwards.
