Richard started his career at the Financial Times in the early 1970s as a Researcher in its Business Information Service. He moved to the consumer market analyst Mintel in 1979 and became Managing Director in 1982 and in 1984 he left to found his own company, Verdict Research.

Verdict aimed to publish the most authoritative industry analysis available through sector reports, forecasts, strategic issues and consumer research. Verdict was targeted at the City, manufacturers, marketing services businesses and retailers themselves. The company was the primary independent industry commentator in the print and broadcast media. Major clients included Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Kingfisher, The Very Group, Next and Currys, as well as most of the leading banks and financial institutions.

In September 2005 Richard sold Verdict to Datamonitor and today, the business trades as Global Data.

Following a successful earn-out, Richard joined Deloitte as Strategic Advisor to its Consumer Business practice, supporting client relationships in M&A, Restructuring Services and Corporate Finance.

More recently Richard has launched his own advisory firm working independently. He is NED at Ergonomic Solutions, a leader in POS, payment solutions, self-checkouts and digital signage. In January 2026 he launched the Substack Retail Reality Check Substack, analysing the industry and its runners and riders.