The Cotswold Company (TCC) saw Christmas sales surge 22% to £19.9m, B Corp certification, and the opening of its eleventh and twelfth showrooms in Marlow and Harpenden.

The Cotswold Company's strategic partnerships with John Lewis and Next are delivering strong results, contributing to a 22% sales increase to £19.9 million during the Christmas trading period.

We are excited to announce True’s participation in Eyva’s €2.7m Seed funding round co-led with Earlybird and Wenvest.

We are an investment firm dedicated to the consumer and retail sectors, emphasising the significant opportunities for growth and innovation within these markets. With a focus on partnering with founders, we want to use our expertise to help build successful companies and navigate the evolving landscape of consumer and retail.

On Wednesday 20th November, we hosted our latest annual Tech Showcase. The evening brought together leading retail and consumer industry innovators to explore eight cutting-edge technology solutions that are driving top-line growth and bottom-line efficiencies.

AI is transforming consumer markets by making high-cost services more accessible and affordable. This parallels past tech revolutions, like personal computing and the gig economy, where innovation and cost reduction spurred market expansion. AI's rapid, scalable advancements, championed by major companies, are creating massive new demand. The market potential is vast, with history hinting at billion-dollar opportunities—and we're excited to support founders shaping this future.

Hush has appointed Philip Mountford, former CEO of Hunkemöller and Moss, as its new chairman. With over 40 years of executive retail experience, including his role as Managing Director at Versace and a 15-year tenure as CEO of Hunkemöller, Mountford brings valuable expertise. His appointment follows a successful brand relaunch and strengthens Hush’s leadership as it pursues growth in the UK and internationally.

The Cotswold Company have announced the opening of a delivery driver training academy (CHD) and a further delivery depot, moving them steadily closer to becoming a leading premium homeware brand in the UK.

The retail sector is in constant evolution, shifting in response to the ebb and flow of consumer demands, macroeconomic factors and increasingly, environmental concerns.As the environmental footprint of both retailers and consumers comes under growing scrutiny, we’re closely watching a handful of exciting technologies poised to address these challenges, helping the industry become more sustainable.

The customer contact landscape has undergone a substantial transformation. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI, has reshaped the customer contact landscape in ways that seemed futuristic just one year ago. This prompted us to revisit and update our research, resulting in our new Customer Contact 3.0 report.

Portfolio company, The Cotswold Company, the digitally-led premium handcrafted furniture and homeware brand, is pleased to announce plans to open its 10th UK store, located in Stamford, in September.

In the year to date, the Group has recorded a 96% increase in revenue generated by upholstery, driven by its highly popular lines such as Talbot & Morris. Below TCC announce the roll-out of its innovative Upholstery Hubs -an in-showroom offer that provides customers with a one-stop-shop for all their upholstery needs.

At True, we pride ourselves on being specialist investors in the Consumer and Retail sectors. Many associate "Consumer" with D2C physical products, but the reality is much broader. In this blog, Mike Martin, Director in the VC team shares more on our investment strategy and remit.

We’ve distilled the key takeaways from the Retail Jam 2024 into four main themes: Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability, AI & Digital Transformation, Omnichannel Strategies, and Customer Insights & Engagement. To put each point into context with what we’re seeing on the Innovation Advisory side of True, Danielle Le Toullec (Head of Marketing at True) interviews Gursh Mendhir (Innovation Principal).

By 2030, environmental and social impact will be the core factors dictating consumer behaviours for purchasing decisions and personal actions. Sustainability and responsibility will be non-negotiable for retail propositions. Businesses will need to fundamentally change existing linear business models by adopting resale, rental, repair and recycling initiatives where appropriate.

Amid an abundance of technology solutions, the challenge for retailers is not one of opportunity but navigation, maintains Matt Truman in his latest Retail Week column.

In light of London Tech Week, we hosted an evening of drinks, canapes and insights that brought together leaders from the retail, consumer, and technology sectors. There was a dynamic panel discussion on corporate innovation with industry experts, Clare Forbes, Director of Technology at Fortnum & Mason, Farrukh Hassain, Investment Director at Sony Innovation Fund, Omar Hassan, Managing Director of Global Growth Hub, moderated by Danielle Le Toullec, Head of Growth & Marketing at True.

Major sporting heroes are increasingly investing in food and drink brands, giving these products star power and health credibility. Joe Seager-Dupuy, Director of VC Investment at True, shares insights in The Grocer's recent article on how brands can cut through the noise and stand out by leveraging the influence of famous athletes. Learn how these high-profile deals begin and the impact they can have on your brand.

Retail, both in the UK and globally, has transformed rapidly in recent years from a business primarily focused on real-world interactions to one led by technology. The latest stage of the industry’s digital acceleration is coming from the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. Owen Eddershaw, Innovation Associate at True, comments on adaptive AI in the latest Retail Week report, AI Adopters.

RIBBLE REBELLION electrified at the US Armed Forces Cycling Classic this past weekend with extraordinary bikes that pay tribute to the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. Cole Davis (USA) was on the striking Ribble Ultra SL R P-51 Mustang Special Edition, and British rider Matthew Bostock was on the Ultra SL R Forces Special Edition. The bikes, inspired by WWII aircraft, were then auctioned to support TAPS, a charity aiding military families.