Retail Sector Reflections & September Forum

Not a day goes by without an announcement or some commentary on the retail sector and the impact Covid is having on an industry which was already facing challenges before the global pandemic hit.

We’ve all been surprised by some of the names that have disappeared from view, both in retail and its closest pal, leisure, and it’s fair to say that we’ll see a much-altered retail and leisure offering in a post-Covid world, when that finally comes.

Recently, we were joined by a group of retail professionals for a lively debate reflecting on their experience of the re-opening of what were classed as “non-essential” shops. At that point, we’d had the 2 metre rule reduced to 1m plus, so-called “Super Saturday” - which saw the re-opening of hospitality (and the unsurprising revelation that drunk people find it difficult to socially distance!), a local lockdown in Leicester as cases rose more sharply there, and additional financial support – through job retention bonuses etc - being announced by the Chancellor. More recently, some leisure and parts of beauty have had their opening dates announced.

Now with less than 100 days to go until Christmas, we’d be delighted if you could join us via Zoom for an open session to discuss some of the potential bumps in the road between now and the big day.

We’ll have specialists on hand to provide some guidance on gritty topics like restructuring, and we’re delighted that Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard and one of the world’s top retail influencers, will be joining to share some data-led themes and forecasts.

If you work in the retail sector, please join us on Thursday 17 September 2020, at 9.30am – 10:30am

Book your place:If you'd like to join us, please email [email protected] and joining instructions will be shared with you nearer the date.