Retail chains
Aldi UK: profile of the German discount grocer's British operation
Aldi UK profile: history, Atherstone HQ, store count and market position of the German discount grocer's British business.
Retail
Retail
Retail and e-commerce brands, and the partner side of selling to consumers — webshops, stores, chains, marketplaces and trust marks.
Webshops
Online-only retailers and their affiliate and partner programmes.
Shops
Brand stores, specialty and independent retailers selling direct.
Retail chains
Large retail chains and supermarkets with many locations.
Marketplaces
Online marketplaces and platforms hosting third-party sellers.
Trustmarks & reviews
Trust marks, certification bodies and review platforms for webshops.
Retail chains
Asda: the Leeds-founded supermarket chain built on a 1965 dairy merger
Asda, formed in Leeds in 1965 from the merger of the Asquith brothers' stores with Associated Dairies, remains one of the UK's largest grocery chains.
Retail chains
B&Q: Inside the UK and Ireland's Leading DIY and Home Improvement Chain
A profile of B&Q, the UK and Ireland home improvement chain founded in 1969 and owned by Kingfisher plc, trading through stores and diy.com.
Retail chains
Boots: The UK Pharmacy and Health & Beauty Chain Entering a New Ownership Era
A profile of Boots, the Nottingham-founded UK pharmacy and health & beauty chain now trading as a standalone company, The Boots Group.
Retail chains
Lidl UK & Ireland: profile of the German discounter's British and Irish operations
Lidl profile: history, Surrey HQ, store footprint across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Retail chains
Marks & Spencer: from an 1884 Leeds market stall to a British high-street institution
Marks & Spencer, founded in Leeds in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, has grown into a major UK clothing, home and food retailer, now London-based.
Retail chains
Sainsbury's: Britain's second-largest supermarket chain, from a Drury Lane shop to a nationwide group
Sainsbury's, founded in London in 1869, is the UK's second-largest supermarket chain by market share and also owns Argos, according to company and Kantar data.
Retail chains
Tesco: how a market stall in London grew into Britain's largest grocery retailer
Tesco, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, remains the UK's largest supermarket chain by market share, according to Kantar grocery data.
Marketplaces
AliExpress in the UK: China's Cross-Border Marketplace
AliExpress, launched by Alibaba Group in 2010, ships cross-border into the UK. A profile of how it handles VAT, customs and UK warehousing.
Marketplaces
Amazon.co.uk: how Britain's biggest online marketplace works for sellers
Amazon.co.uk launched in 1998 and is now the UK's largest online marketplace. A look at how it works for sellers, its fulfilment network and market position.
Marketplaces
eBay.co.uk: inside Britain's second-largest online marketplace
eBay.co.uk launched in 1999 and is one of the UK's most-visited marketplaces. How it works for sellers, its Richmond HQ and its position in UK e-commerce.
Marketplaces
Etsy in the UK and Ireland: the marketplace for handmade and vintage
Etsy launched in 2005 and is the go-to marketplace for handmade, vintage and craft goods. How it works for UK and Irish sellers, and its market position.
Marketplaces
Notonthehighstreet: the Richmond-based marketplace for independent makers and gifts
Notonthehighstreet, founded in 2006 by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, is a UK marketplace for independent makers, gifts and homeware. A profile.
Marketplaces
OnBuy: the Bournemouth-founded marketplace taking on Amazon on fairness
OnBuy, founded in 2016 near Bournemouth, is a UK online marketplace where every sale is made by a third-party seller. A profile of its model and growth.
Marketplaces
Temu in the UK: PDD Holdings' Fast-Growing Marketplace
Temu launched in the UK in April 2023 and quickly became the country's most downloaded shopping app. A profile of the PDD Holdings marketplace.
Marketplaces
Top B2B & retail marketplaces in the UK & Ireland for 2026
Amazon UK, eBay UK, OnBuy, Notonthehighstreet, Etsy and Fruugo compared for UK and Irish sellers on fees, seller base and where each marketplace actually fits.
Marketplaces
Zalando UK & Ireland: Germany's Fashion Platform and Its Partner Programme
Zalando launched in the UK in 2011 and in Ireland in 2018. A profile of the German fashion platform's Partner Programme for retailers and brands.
Webshops
AO.com: the Bolton-founded online retailer that redefined how Britain buys appliances
AO.com (AO World plc), founded in Bolton in 2000 by John Roberts, is a UK online electricals retailer known for its own delivery fleet and appliance recycling.
Webshops
ASOS: how a London "as seen on screen" start-up became a pure-play online fashion retailer
ASOS, founded in London in 2000, is a pure-play online fashion and beauty retailer selling its own labels alongside more than 850 partner brands worldwide.
Webshops
Boohoo: the Manchester fast-fashion webshop now trading inside Debenhams Group
Boohoo, founded in Manchester in 2006, is still a pure-play fast-fashion webshop — now one of five brands under the renamed Debenhams Group PLC.
Webshops
Gymshark: the Birmingham-area garage start-up that built a billion-pound fitness-apparel brand
Gymshark, founded in a garage near Birmingham in 2012, grew via influencer marketing into a billion-pound fitness-apparel brand, sold mainly online.
Webshops
Naked Wines: the Norwich-founded wine retailer that gets customers to fund the winemakers
Naked Wines, founded in Norwich in 2008 by Rowan Gormley, sells wine direct to consumers whose monthly payments fund independent winemakers upfront.
Webshops
THG plc: the online retail and beauty-tech group behind Lookfantastic and Myprotein
THG plc, the Manchester group behind Lookfantastic and Myprotein, floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2020 and, despite takeover interest, remains listed.
Webshops
Very: the Liverpool-based online department store built on flexible payment
Very.co.uk, launched in 2009 and run from Speke, Liverpool, is one of the UK's largest online-only department stores, built around instalment-based payment.
Webshops
vidaXL: the Dutch online retailer bringing affordable home and garden goods to the UK and Ireland
vidaXL, founded in Venlo in 2006, is a Dutch pure-play online retailer of home, garden and DIY goods, trading in the UK via vidaxl.co.uk and in Ireland via vidaxl.ie.
Trustmarks & reviews
Best trustmarks & review platforms for UK webshops in 2026
Trustpilot, Feefo, REVIEWS.io, Trustist, eKomi and Checkatrade compared for UK webshops on verification model, Google Seller Ratings and where each actually fits.
Trustmarks & reviews
eKomi: the Berlin platform behind UK Google Seller Ratings for thousands of shops
Editorial profile of eKomi: the Berlin-founded, transaction-verified reviews platform and official Google review partner, active in the UK since the 2010s.
Trustmarks & reviews
Feefo: the Hampshire-founded reviews platform built on eBay's feedback idea
Editorial profile of Feefo: the UK reviews platform founded in 2006, now owned by Vespa Capital, used by over 6,500 brands to collect verified customer feedback.
Trustmarks & reviews
REVIEWS.io: the Leicester start-up that began at a kitchen table
Editorial profile of REVIEWS.io: the Leicester-founded reviews platform started in 2010, now part of US group AppHub, serving e-commerce retailers worldwide.
Trustmarks & reviews
Trusted Shops: the Cologne trustmark that guarantees UK online purchases
Editorial profile of Trusted Shops: the German trustmark scheme founded in Cologne in 1999, offering UK shoppers buyer protection of up to £2,500 per order.
Trustmarks & reviews
Trustist: the York reviews platform that grew out of a Kwik-Fit experiment
Editorial profile of Trustist: the York-based reviews platform founded in 2014 by Nigel Apperley, born from a Google-reviews trial run inside Kwik-Fit branches.
Trustmarks & reviews
Trustpilot: the Copenhagen start-up that became a London-listed reviews giant
Editorial profile of Trustpilot: founded in Copenhagen in 2007, now headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2021.
Shops
Fortnum & Mason: three centuries of Piccadilly grocery and gifting
Fortnum & Mason, founded in 1707 on London's Piccadilly, is a privately owned luxury grocer and department store famous for its hampers, tea and royal warrants.
Shops
Hotel Chocolat: the British chocolatier that owns its own cocoa estate
Hotel Chocolat, the British chocolatier founded by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, runs its own shops and a Saint Lucia cocoa estate, and is owned by Mars.
Shops
Lush: how a Poole bath-bomb workshop became a global cosmetics brand
Lush, founded in Poole in 1995, makes and sells its own fresh handmade cosmetics through more than 100 UK shops and 869 stores across 50 countries.
Shops
Rituals: the Amsterdam wellbeing brand that hit 100 UK shops
Rituals, the Amsterdam-founded body and home-fragrance brand, passed 100 UK shops in 2025 and sells its products through boutiques across Britain and Ireland.
Shops
Superdry: the Cheltenham fashion brand that went private to reinvent itself
Superdry, the Cheltenham fashion brand founded by Julian Dunkerton, delisted from the stock market in 2024 and returned to profit as a private company.
Shops
Waterstones: how Britain's last big bookshop chain turned itself around
Waterstones, founded in 1982 by Tim Waterstone, is the UK's largest bookshop chain, with 317 shops and a curated, store-led model under James Daunt.