About Richard

Richard Hyman has been involved in retailing for 35 years. Following several years as a researcher at the Financial Times, he joined Mintel and was Executive Director, first in charge of Marketing and then Editorial. He was the founder of Mintel’s retail coverage in the late 1970s.

In September 1984 he left to found his own company, Verdict. The business was established to focus on the retail market, aiming to provide the most authoritative industry analysis available. A programme of sector research was launched and over the years this was augmented with forecasts and coverage of international markets and of strategic issues. Consumer research programmes followed, along with a range of consulting services aimed at providing tailored advice to the marketplace.

Verdict’s market was the financial community, manufacturers, marketing services businesses and retailers themselves. The company established itself as the primary independent industry commentator in the print and broadcast media. Major clients included Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Next, Kingfisher, Home Retail Group, Shop Direct, Dixons Group, and most of the leading brokers and financial institutions.

In September 2005 Richard sold Verdict to Datamonitor, a quoted business publisher which itself was subsequently acquired by Informa Plc.

Following a successful earn-out, Richard joined Deloitte as Strategic Advisor to its retail practice. His role was to support client relationships in areas such as M&A, Restructuring Services and Corporate Finance, dealing with the firm’s retail, banking and private equity clients.

Richard has been analysing and advising on retailing for more than 30 years. During this period he has built an extensive fund of knowledge and experience and forged relationships with most of the companies and leading players in the industry.