They’re struggling against the shift to online shopping, rising operating and supply-chain costs, and shoppers having their spending money chipped away by inflation. Sook was founded in 2019 by John Hoyle, who was once a captain in the British army and then worked in real estate before launching the company. “People love engaging in real life and we just need to facilitate a model that allows that,” he says. Wanting to reach customers in the real world, Stark has held pop-up sales with Sook in Edinburgh, and on London’s Oxford Street. “Creativity and flexibility will be absolutely essential to ensuring that high streets continue to be diverse and vibrant,” he adds.

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Persons: Sook, John Hoyle, Hoyle, ”, “, Nicole Stark, Stark, “ We’ve, we’ve, Andrew Goodacre Organizations: CNN, Newcastle, Adobe, Mastercard, Oxford, British Independent Retailers Association Locations: Britain, London, Leeds, Johannesburg, South Africa, Edinburgh, Scotland, Italy, France