Retail Week Live 2017 is an event not to be missed. We look at some of the key themes on the agenda.

Disruption

Retail is one of many industries that has faced much disruption over the past few years as new technology transforms how we live and shop, and pioneering start-ups shake up traditional retail models.

Retail Week Live gathers some of digital’s biggest disruptors including Airbnb general manager for Northern Europe James McClure.

Retail Week Live gathers some of digital’s biggest disruptors including Airbnb’s James McClure

He will share its journey from start-up to the world’s largest hotel business in less than 10 years.

The event will also explore the start-up landscape and identify where the next big threat to retail will come from.

OC&C partner Anita Balchandani will uncover the new models replacing the traditional retail model, their economic advantages and how worried retailers should be.

Transformation

To keep up with the pace of change in retail, businesses have been forced to re-evaluate and transform their models.

Retail Week Live will look at what digital transformation really entails.

Nathalie Balla, chief executive of French home shopping giant La Redoute, will share its journey from catalogue business to a digital powerhouse and the stumbling blocks she’s tackled on the way.

Autotrader chief executive Trevor Mather will discuss its radical transformation from a print business to a successful digital brand.

Mather will share his strategy to create a more trusted brand, a streamlined digital journey and the importance of speaking with your customers.

Management and structure

Retail is changing fast, it’s only right that the way retailers structure their businesses evolves too.

Chief customer officer, chief productivity officer, chief innovation officer – new job roles are being created to reflect changing customer needs.

John Lewis chief productivity officer Andrew Murphy is one of many experts that will explore what the management board of the future should look like.

Chief customer officer, chief productivity officer, chief innovation officer – new job roles are being created to reflect changing customer needs

The way retail’s leaders manage is also changing.

Timpson chairman John Timpson will discuss his upside down approach to management and how it ensures the customer is at the heart of its cobbler and key-cutting business.

Pets at Home chief executive Ian Kellett will reveal how to get employee engagement right.

Brexit

The UK’s exit from the EU will undoubtedly be the biggest talking point of the next two years.

Retail Week Live is packed with practical insight and expert opinion to try to help retailers prepare, and even capitalise, from Brexit.

We will delve into how consumer confidence will be impacted and how businesses can adapt with evolving customer needs and economic conditions.

Experts will also advise on how to manage the variations in foreign exchange rates and explore how Brexit will impact international expansion.

Be Inspired

Retail Week Live will provide a platform for Retail Week’s gender diversity campaign Be Inspired.

British female Olympian Katherine Grainger tells her story on how crucial team work, communication and self-motivation are in the pursuit of excellence

Two campaign ambassadors, Card Factory chief executive Karen Hubbard and N Brown boss Angela Spindler, will interview each other and discuss what more the industry can do to encourage more women to rise to the top of the retail ladder.

Unilever executive vice president and UK chairman Gina Boswell will share how breaking gender stereotypes internally has transcended through to the portrayal of its brands.

Meanwhile, rower Katherine Grainger, the most decorated British female Olympian, will provide a real-life dose of inspiration as she tells her story and how crucial team work, communication and self-motivation are in the pursuit of excellence.

Retail Week Live 2017 takes place on March 8 to 9 at The Intercontinental Hotel, O2, London.

To book your ticket to Retail Week Live 2017 click here or email andrew.falconer-borgars@emap.com