When it comes to the new consumer – fickle, demanding and impatient – there is a danger that the more you know, the less you see. What is the answer to keeping pace with this complex shopper? Join us at Retail Connections as we explore real life case studies from a stellar panel of retail leaders, brands and analysts.
Only by arming themselves with a much deeper understanding of their customers can retailers hope to succeed and beat the averages in markets where competition is driving weaker players into liquidation. Can you afford not to be there?
Speakers
Chris Field
Director, Fieldworks
A former journalist for the Financial Times, TIME magazine and Retail Week, Chris regularly speaks at international conferences on how to market technology to retailers and brand owners.
Darren Williams
International Retail Director, T2
Darren is charged with rolling out Australian retailer T2 across the UK, USA and mainland Europe. He has experience across multiple genre of the Retail industry, including heading up the expansion of Hotel Chocolat from 2009-2014, and Commercial Director at Paul UK Ltd.
Andy Harding
Chief Customer Officer, House of Fraser
Andy is responsible for House of Fraser’s customer strategy including brand and marketing, the digital proposition and multi-channel sales, both in the UK and internationally.
Alex Mathers
Associate Partner, OC&C Strategy Consultants
Based in the OC&C’s London office, Alex specialises in e-commerce, digital media and technology, leading buy-side and sell-side due-diligence work and corporate strategy development.
Rob Feldmann
CEO, BrandAlley
With an extensive background in Online Media, Music and Mergers & Acquisition, Rob Feldmann has been involved in BrandAlley since its inception in 2008.
John Gillan
Industry Retail Leader, Google
John Gillan has been working for Google for over nine years and is currently an Industry Leader within the Retail division working with some of the largest UK retailers. The UK is currently Google’s primary retail market outside the US.
Schedule
6th July 2016
3:30pm - 4:00pm
Guests arrive
4:10pm - 4:20pm
Chris Field
Welcome and introduction
Retailers are being urged all the time to be customer centric, but what does that actually look like? And who can you trust to tell you the truth?
Chris will present the results of a poll taken among members of the Retail Connections community, comprising retailers, brands, analysts, digital agencies and industry bodies, which will set up the debate with our five speakers.
4:20pm - 4:45pm
Andy Harding
HOUSE OF FRASER
As a critical driver for growth, Andy radically restructured the organisational model at House of Fraser to become a customer centric business. Andy will talk about how retailers need to put customers firmly at the forefront of all critical business decision making and will provide advice on how to effectively transition from a silo led approach.
4:45pm - 5:00pm
Alex Mathers
OC&C
With the world’s four largest e-Commerce markets – China, Germany, UK and the USA set to double in size over the next two years, to a combined alue of £645 billion, Alex Mathers Associate Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants will provide advice on how UK retailers can capitalise on this rapidly growing opportunity and crack the world’s largest e-commerce markets.
5:00pm - 5:15pm
Darren Williams
T2
Darren will talk about how premium tea retailer T2 creates unique and engaging retail experiences, reinventing the store for the digital age while immersing customers’ in all the sensory joys of traditional tea making.
Exceptional customer services, lies at the heart of the brand experience, from knowledgeable store staff to a great on online Tea Society. As the business looks to expand its international footprint from Australasia through to Europe and the North America, each store has a strong connection with the community and environment in which it lives.
4pm - 5:30pm
John Gillan
Industry Retail Leader at Google John Gillan, will talk about how Google works with retailers and brands help them innovate around their customer experience and business operations, both online and in store.
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Rob Feldmann
BRAND ALLEY
As CEO of the UK’s leading online destination for discounted designer living, Rob will provide insight into trends in on-line consumer buying behaviour and the role that the burgeoning online market place scene plays in this mix. From prime conversion times, to tips to avoid basket abandonment, Rob will unveil the stories that lie behind the data.
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Q&A
Gallery
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One Aldwych occupies one of London’s stand-out buildings. The triangular building which sits at the end of The Strand, opposite Waterloo Bridge, has had a varied life operating under many guises before becoming the hotel we know today.
Building
The hotel is located in an Edwardian style building constructed in 1907 by the same architects who designed The Ritz. It is located on the corner of The Aldwych and Wellington Street, adjacent to the Novello Theatre and opposite the London Transport Museum. For many years the building was used for The Morning Post newspaper office purposes. In 1998 the hotel was restored by Jestico Whiles Associates who purposefully retained its Edwardian style, and also included Louis XVI ornaments to furnish it, including a 400 piece art collection. The exterior is also made from Norwegian granite.
Art
With over 400 pieces in the hotel’s private art collection, guests are always excited by the contemporary art and sculpture that is on display throughout the property.
Flowers at One
The flowers at One Aldwych are one of the hotel’s defining features, from the unmissable displays in The Lobby Bar to the individual arrangements in each bedroom. All are created by our in-house florist, the extremely talented Mark Siredzuk.
One Aldwych Hotel London, WC2B 4BZ