With Retail Week Live making a welcome come-back to the ‘IRL’ events circuit this week, we round up five things not to be missed at the 2021 conference programme.
1. Going green with Superdry – how brands can accelerate sustainability agendas
(Day 1 – 13 Oct 2021, 10am, Track Four)
With sustainability still flying high on the retail agenda, as well as in the minds and hearts of shoppers, you’re not going to want to miss this session from fashion retailer, Superdry, who share insights from their journey of going green.
Superdry’s mission is to inspire and engage style obsessed consumers while leaving a positive environmental legacy. It has created several ambitious initiatives, from reducing waste to new packaging to ethical working programmes, and set themselves high targets.
In this session – Superdry wants to be the most sustainable listed global fashion brand on the planet. Here’s how they’re going to do it –
Carly Thomas, Head of Sustainability, and Shaun Packe, Global Sourcing and Sustainability Director, will discuss their journey to going green.
The will also highlight the lessons learnt along the way and share ideas and strategies for how brands can accelerate their own environmental and sustainability agenda.
2. ‘Your reputation precedes you’ – how global brands, like Nike and LEGO, win on reputation
(Day 1 – 13 Oct 2021, 10.50am, Track Four)
Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, Global EVP at Reptrak, leads this insight-packed session which uses new data to reveal how and why the world’s leading brands are able to win reputation and elevate success. Relative to other strategic tools that a retailer could leverage, such as brand and purpose, this session will drill into the merits of reputation and lead to deeper understanding of what it takes to win shoppers, and increase customer numbers and engender loyalty.
3. What’s really next for the High Street?
(Day 1 – 13 Oct 2021, 12.25pm, Track One)
A stellar line up sees John Lewis’ CEO Pippa Wicks and Harvey Nichols’ CEO, Manju Malhotra, join the CEO of luxury furniture retailer, OKA, to discuss the direction, survival and future of the High Street.
In the session – CEOs discuss: The future of the high street – why retailers need to think digital, sustainable and collaborative to survive – they explore how covid-19 changed the High Street and the consumer. They then unpack what that means for the High Street of tomorrow, how tech and data tools are helping in the new normal; and what retailers need to do to repurpose their real estate to provide a first-class customer experience.
4. Beneath the sheets of shoppers – Bedding brand, Piglet in bed, and M&S explore how brands can better understand customers
(Day 2 – 14 October, 2021 – 11.55am, Track Four)
Piglet in bed’s CMO, Jake Newbold, and M&S’ Head of CX and Loyalty, Hayley Ward, will join Wunderkind’s Danielle Auerbach for the panel session – How to accelerate (and sustain) growth with 1st-party, owned audiences.
It will explore the changes in the last couple of years around GDPR and tracking prevention, alongside a heightened awareness of data ownership by the consumer. The panel will discuss how to capture data from consumers, respect the data they’re providing, and use technology to drive ongoing engagement, maximise conversion and ultimately, boost customer lifetime value.
Join this panel to see how you can reduce reliance on ‘renting’ third-party audiences, and pivot to a sustainable 1st-party approach to build a higher-quality cohort of shoppers that remain engaged and brand-loyal over time.
5. The future of cross-border ecommerce
(Day 2 – 14 October, 2021 – 12.10pm, Track Two)
This exclusive session from ESW (formerly eShopWorld) features findings from its recent survey of more than 36,000 cross-border shoppers in 14 countries.
ESW’s CTO, Colm O’Donaill, explores consumer insights into key trends in cross-border commerce including the rise of DTC, why Western brands must look toward Asia’s megacities for future growth, as well as uncovering key supply chain learnings from Brexit.
It will also offer insights into what brands and retailers can do to ensure they are positioned to win in the world of cross-border ecommerce.
