Retail vs Netflix: Why Stores Are Fighting for Attention

Retail is no longer just competing for customer spend. It is competing for attention.

In this episode of Podcast Sessions, Richard Fisher, Head of Store Design at Holland & Barrett, joins us live from the EuroShop floor to explore how physical retail is changing in the attention economy.

Richard explains why retailers now compete with Netflix, Disney, sport, and other entertainment platforms for people’s time. He shares how Holland & Barrett is evolving its store experience, from grocery concessions with Tesco and Morrisons to flagship learnings from Chelmsford, Bluewater, Cardiff, and Oxford Street.

The conversation also explores Holland & Barrett’s role as a health and wellness retailer, its mission to add quality years to life, and Richard’s distinctive “punk and showbiz” philosophy for store design: the balance between getting attention and creating a commercially successful retail environment.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in retail design, wellness retail, store strategy, customer attention, brand experience, and the future role of physical stores.

https://info.itab.com/video-social/euroshop-2026

In this episode, we cover:

How Holland & Barrett is evolving its store design strategy
Why retail is competing with Netflix, Disney and sport for attention
The importance of time and attention in modern retail
Holland & Barrett’s grocery concessions with Tesco and Morrisons
How store-within-store formats change the customer mindset
Why Richard Fisher uses the phrase “punk and showbiz”
What physical retail can learn from digital commerce
How stores may become part of the marketing journey
Why brand consistency matters across every retail touchpoint
What the next phase of retail design could look like

Guest: Richard Fisher
Role: Head of Store Design, Holland & Barrett
Recorded live from: EuroShop floor
Podcast: Podcast Sessions