The evolution of retail media: Alex Germanis shares lessons from 25 years at Harrods
In today’s retail media gold rush, there is no shortage of opinions. What the industry lacks are operators who have spent decades building, testing and scaling customer facing media ecosystems inside world-class retail businesses. That’s what makes Alex Germanis different.
Having worked for 25 years with the Harrods luxury department store, Alex belongs to a rare group of retail leaders whose expertise has been forged through delivery rather than commentary.
Subscribe to TRBThroughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of retail transformation, customer experience, digital innovation, commercial partnerships and in-store media, developing a deep understanding of how technology, brands and retailers can work together to create long-term value.
While much of today’s retail media conversation is dominated by grocery and FMCG case studies, Alex offers a perspective shaped by luxury retail, premium customer expectations and a practical understanding of what successful retail media looks like in environments where customer experience is paramount.
In this interview with TRB, Alex shares his views on the evolution of retail media, the challenges retailers face, and why businesses should be wary of adopting models that may not align with their own customers and commercial realities.
You’ve spent 25 years at Harrods and witnessed enormous changes in the retail landscape. Looking back, what have been the most significant shifts in retail media and customer engagement?
If we’re talking about in-store retail media opportunities, the biggest shift has been down to advances in screen technology. When I was at Harrods, we evolved our estate from static backlit posters, through the various digital screen adaptations. The evolution happened organically, adopting new technologies as they came to market.
There was a time when a screen rotated in portrait was considered cutting edge and content was written to CDs, manually loaded into standalone PCs bolted to the rear of a screen. Today’s solutions are networked, remotely managed, delivering programmatic content. Data analytics and audience measurement are also playing a larger role.
Today, retailers are recognising that their audience, environment and customer relationships are assets in their own right, making retail media a strategic commercial capability. The most successful retailers understand that retail media is not simply about creating another revenue stream. It is about delivering relevance for customers while creating value for brand partners.
You have spoken about the differences between FMCG retail media and other retail sectors. Why is that distinction important?
Because they are fundamentally different operating environments.
The majority of conversations around retail media today are centred on FMCG retailers. That’s understandable given the potential within the grocery sector. However, FMCG retail is a very different beast.
Luxury retailers, department stores and premium retail environments operate under very different dynamics. The creative opportunities are simply far greater. This is because, when done correctly screen deployments form part of the store design, an integrated approach, rather than an overlay.
The other distinction is the product offering. In FMCG, buying decisions are typically low-involvement, simple, so you are stifled when it comes to creative execution. Department stores, on the other hand, carry product that lends itself to storytelling.
Having worked with leading technology providers and solution vendors for many years, what separates effective retail media technology from industry hype?
Retailers are approached constantly by solution providers. There is no shortage of innovation in the market and new technologies emerge all the time. Keeping abreast of innovation is what I enjoy the most.
The challenge is understanding which solutions genuinely solve business problems and which are simply responding to industry trends. One of the benefits of spending many years on the retailer side is that you develop an understanding of what creates measurable value. Technology should support retail objectives, not dictate them.
My approach has been to source each component separately. Sure, you take on risk, but you end up with a solution that’s fit for purpose, optimised by design. If I’m going to own it, I want to make sure I understand it. This has always been my preference over turnkey solutions. It has also allowed me to build lasting partnerships. Partnerships that go beyond contractual obligations.
What are the biggest mistakes organisations make when building retail media propositions?
This is a relatively new revenue stream for many, which naturally needs an investment in capital and thus an expectation for a return. My observations, however, are that, in the ROI equation, the focus is on the return rather than the investment.
Retailers are hiring media sales and partnerships managers. In interviews, there is a lot of talk about how to structure the organisation, who should own the brand relationships, and which are the most valuable measurement metrics. Now, these are all important questions, but who’s looking after the product? Who’s building a network that will be attractive to advertisers in the first place, and how will it be managed? This skill set isn’t typically found in retail, so the task is outsourced. The risk is not in generating the revenue; the risk is in allocating the capital.
Optimising your technology stack not only reduces initial spend but also saves on ongoing maintenance and support costs. For example, at Harrods we would typically pay back the initial investment within 12 months, but it was our low maintenance and support costs that returned operating margins of over 90%. And for that, in-house expertise is essential.
What should retailers focus on over the next few years?
Where you can, consider deploying media opportunities in line with current store refurbishment pipelines. When it comes to building out capability, ensure decisions are informed by a comprehensive requirements gathering exercise. Take the time to understand the capabilities and constraints of different solutions and try to build a canvas that allows for a wide range of creative expression. Remember that your retail media estate will become a core tenet of the overall store design and part of the brand DNA.
Conclusion
After more than 25 years at Harrods, Alex Germanis has seen first-hand how retail has evolved, from traditional in-store marketing and merchandising to today’s increasingly sophisticated retail media landscape. That breadth of experience gives him a perspective that spans customer experience, technology, brand partnerships and commercial strategy.
One theme runs consistently through his views on retail media: context matters. While much of the industry’s attention is focused on FMCG-led models, Alex believes retailers need to build approaches that reflect the realities of their own customers, environments and brand relationships. What works for one sector will not necessarily work for another.
For retailers considering their next steps in retail media, his advice is straightforward: focus on the customer experience first, understand where genuine value can be created for brand partners and avoid chasing trends for their own sake. Commercial success follows when those fundamentals are in place.
As retail media continues to develop, the conversation will undoubtedly evolve. The principles, however, remain unchanged: know your customers, understand your strengths and build for the long term. Those lessons have underpinned Alex’s career and continue to shape his view of where the industry is headed.
