Retail is transforming faster than ever, reshaped by technology, data, and shifting consumer expectations. High-Energy Retail provides a powerful framework for understanding this new landscape, blending accessible explanations with standout examples from Zara, Amazon, Nike, IKEA, Aldi, and more. Moving beyond traditional retail wisdom, it reveals how variety, freshness, supply, distribution, availability, interfaces, and experience combine to drive success. Each chapter delivers clear concepts, vivid stories, and actionable tools to help readers navigate complexity and make smarter decisions. Additional technical annexes provide rigorous yet approachable models to support business transformation. Written by an award-winning scholar and industry expert, this is the essential guide for managers, students, and researchers seeking to understand – and shape – the future of retail.

‘The best retail decisions I've made were grounded in understanding people, not just data. This book shows you don't have to choose. It covers the full end to end value chain, and how you can create both value and simplicity in every step. What I love about it is that it makes complex things feel simple, without losing the depth. The examples are real, the thinking is honest, and the lessons stay with you. I wish I had read something like this earlier in my career.’

Juvencio Maeztu - CEO of Ingka Group | IKEA

‘The future of retail will belong to those who master complexity — who can blend agility, analytics, supply precision, and immersive consumer experiences into a coherent strategy. In ‘High-Energy Retail’, Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz delivers a masterclass in how to do exactly that. Bridging research and real-world practice, he shows how retailers can move from intuition-led management to scientifically grounded execution. For executives navigating disruption, this book is both a compass and a catalyst.’

Toni Ruiz - CEO of Mango

‘Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz offers a compelling, analytics-driven perspective on the transformation of retail. ‘High-Energy Retail’ combines state-of-the-art frameworks to understand the industry’s evolution, case studies, and practical tools to optimize execution, making it essential reading for leaders seeking to compete and win in a data-driven consumer landscape.’

David Simchi-Levi - William Barton Rogers Professor in Energy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

‘Showing how retailing can be energized with evolving business models, expanded coordination of the end-to-end supply chain, and leveraging technologies to provide deepened customer experience, Martínez-de-Albéniz has written a classic on modern retailing.  The wealth of innovative industry examples enables the lessons to come alive.’

Hau Lee - Thoma Professor of Operations, Information and Technology, Stanford Graduate School of Business

‘This is a fascinating book that blends history and clear business logic to present the evolution of retail. Deep dives into huge and tiny retailers are a fantastic resource. I would definitely recommend this book to executives and students of business who want to gain insight into the future of retail.’

Kamalini Ramdas - Deloitte Chaired Professor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, London Business School

‘This book traces retail’s evolution from its origins to today’s rapidly transforming landscape. It shows why ‘retail is detail’ and delivers answers to those details — through practical examples spanning omnichannel strategies, sustainability trade-offs, and data-driven decisions — capturing both the complexity and enduring relevance of modern retail.’

Alexander Hübner - Professor of Supply and Value Chain Management, Technical University of Munich