Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of the process, according to Touker Suleyman.
Speaking at Retail Technology Show (RTS) 2026, the retail entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den investor delivered a blunt view of what it takes to build and scale a retail business today.
“Failure, in my view, is not the end… it’s knowledge,” he said. “If you do fail, you pick yourself up, you learn from your mistakes, and you try again.”
Despite rapid change across the sector, Suleyman argued the fundamentals remain the same.
“If you had to start a business in retail, you don’t have to be a genius,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is look for successful businesses and say, how do they do it? How can I do it better?”
That “better”, he said, comes down to design, quality, value and service — with cash flow the biggest pressure point for most businesses.
He warned founders to be cautious with funding, particularly around personal guarantees, urging them to challenge lenders that don’t show confidence in the business.
Marketing was another area he called out, describing it as one of the biggest drains on modern retail.
“Marketing seems to be the biggest overhead,” he said, adding that spend often disappears into what he described as a “black hole”.
Instead, he advocated shifting investment into product and community. Referencing his upcoming beauty brand, Lipstick, Suleyman outlined a strategy focused on distribution over paid media, including giving away thousands of products to ambassadors.
“It’s cheaper than giving it to Meta or Google,” he said.
On technology, he was pragmatic rather than evangelical.
“Technology today is an expensive product,” he said, positioning it as another core cost alongside wages, rent and rates.
With an increasingly crowded vendor landscape, he warned businesses – particularly smaller ones – not to rush into long-term commitments without clear value. On AI, he struck a cautious tone, noting there will be “winners and losers” and advising businesses to wait for the market to settle.
Customer expectations, meanwhile, continue to rise.
“Our customers’ expectation is far greater today than it’s ever been,” he said, pointing to the ease of comparing products, prices and experiences online.
He stressed the importance of consistent service, noting that how retailers respond to issues often determines whether customers return.
When it comes to loyalty, his view was simple.
“I think loyalty… is going to be based on the product,” he said. “If somebody gets a good product at great value, they’ll come back.”
Suleyman also acknowledged the ongoing pressures facing the sector, from rising costs to increasing levels of theft, noting there is no simple solution to loss prevention and that many businesses must absorb a level of shrinkage while prioritising staff safety.
His message to the audience was clear: resilience matters.
Reflecting on the current environment, he pointed to rising wages, taxes and operating costs, urging businesses to stay focused and keep going despite the challenges.
Summing up the realities of running a retail business, he added: “If it moves, it costs you money.”
For all the discussion around innovation and AI, the session reinforced a simpler point — retail success still comes down to getting the basics right and executing them well.
