Since joining the British Retail Consortium (BRC), I have enjoyed meeting our members and discussing the future of the retail industry, and hearing your insights into the BRC’s work and our future direction.

Since joining the British Retail Consortium (BRC), I have enjoyed meeting our members and discussing the future of the retail industry, and hearing your insights into the BRC’s work and our future direction.

Our industry is undergoing fundamental and significant change so we too must change, building on the strong foundations we have today to become a more valuable trade association tomorrow.

Our purpose is to make a positive difference to the industry by advancing vibrant and consumer-focused retail. We can only achieve this by standing for what is important to the industry and working in partnership with our members to shape the debate and influence outcomes.

Together, we have identified three key priorities that I wanted to update you on.

In June’s column I wrote about tax. A fit-for-purpose tax system for retailers is the first of our priorities.

Since getting senior industry figures around the table in July for a very productive session, we have kicked off some important work on how the business rates system could be reformed.

The depth of need and feeling in the industry is strong and, although persuading any government that change is required will not be easy, I believe it is crucial for a thriving retail industry in this country.

I look forward to working with Retail Week and its readers on this later in the year, as we did previously with the Fair Rates for Retail campaign.

Secondly, after horse meat and Bangladesh, consumers’ trust in the industry has been dented.

On a trust theme the BRC’s first project is focused on trust in the supply chain and our ability to responsibly buy and source what we sell.

Through a series of seminars called Great Expectations, chaired by senior, independent experts, this programme is aimed at opinion formers.

As well as collating the discussions into a report, which will be published later in the year, we believe tackling these issues with some of our critics will help enhance trust in the supply chain.

Finally, the BRC will also be developing and running an initiative to improve the reputation of retail as a career.

We know choosing a retail career opens up fantastic opportunities to experience the variety and excitement of one of Britain’s biggest, most diverse and innovative industries.

However, we also see that among young people a career in the sector doesn’t always have the same kudos as other industries.

We will be looking carefully at ways we might help to address this, in partnership with others in the industry.

So, as well as business as usual, you’ll see the BRC focusing on these three key areas over the coming months. I look forward to working closely with you on them all.

  • Helen Dickinson, director-general, British retail consortium