Helping retailers to understand how designing the ideal format and blueprint delivers customer delight...
Putting customers at the heart of every retail concept...
Expert retail consulting focused on customer journey and store design excellence.
Customer-Focused Retail Consulting Experts
McCutcheon Retail Consulting specialises in the UK food retail sector, delivering strategic and practical store format and blueprint solutions. We fuse insight, experience and execution to create customer experiences that drive business success and loyalty. With 30 years experience of working in the major UK Food retailers, we are able to help retailers shape their future and put the customers first!
35+
Years' Experience
McCutcheon Retail Consulting was founded by Ian McCutcheon, a retail format and design specialist with over three decades of experience shaping the physical and digital experience of stores for major UK retailers. Most recently Head of Format Development at Co-op Group, Ian has led the strategic design, innovation, and deployment of customer-focused store formats across the UK — from flagship openings like Manchester Piccadilly, Baker Street and Salford Media City to a pioneering Lab Store programme spanning over 60 proof-of-concept propositions.
100+ Stores
Successful Delivery
McCutcheon Retail Consulting brings this experience to retailers and brands help navigating their own transformation — guiding the full journey from customer insight and format blueprint through to project delivery on the ground. Supporting major capital investment programmes over the last 20 years, he brings leadership, teamwork and collaboration to everything he does. He works cross functionally with internal teams, external suppliers and agencies to ensure the customer is at the heart of all the thinking and designs
Future Focused
Customer Retention
Ian’s career spans Co-op Group and Tesco Stores Ltd, with expertise covering format development, space planning, VR-enabled concept testing, capital investment, and multi-site rollout. He has managed multi-million-pound format budgets, delivered double-digit sales uplifts through new store propositions, and driven cost efficiencies worth millions annually — all while keeping customer and colleague experience at the centre of the process. His work has been recognised with Store Design of the Year (2019) and multiple POPAI UK & Ireland Retail Marketing Awards. More recently delivering a future store VR concept to showcase what the UK convenience store of the future would look like for the customer of 2035.
Why UK Food Retailers Choose McCutcheon Retail Consulting
Our unique blend of strategic insight and and experience keeps customers central to every retail concept, design and transformation we support. We bring the customer into the meeting so we never lose sight of the customer delights and irritations.
Customer Journey Expertise
Able to bring years of insight and experience of what the customer in a UK food retailer wants and expects from their shopping experience
Format and Blueprint Design
Supporting the review or building of formats and blueprints of functional store layout tailored for the UK food retail environment.
Start Transforming Your Retail Experience Today
Discover how our customer-first retail consulting can elevate your store formats and boost engagement with tailored solutions.
Contact us to discuss retail consulting, store design, and customer experience projects.
Telephone: (+44) 07871303743
E-mail: Ian@mccutcheonretailconsulting
Address: Leyland, Lancashire