The 2026 Programme

Registration and networking

09.30 - 09.45 Chair's welcome and opening comments

Giles Smith, Independent Digital Product & Technology Advisor 

Opening Keynote Strategy Address: Reengineering retail strategy - a positive vision for the future for the retail high street and beyond

Our opening session brings together retail operations leadership and the charity sector to explore how the realities of today’s high street are directly shaping operational strategy at store level. Our speakers will examine how economic pressure, shifting customer behaviour and rising social challenges are influencing everything from cost control and workforce management to in-store experience and consistency. We explore how businesses can play a constructive role in supporting the communities they operate in, without compromising performance.

Simon Spencelayh, eCommerce Managing Director, Robert Dyas
Rupert Bateson, Director of Services, The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Retail Experts Fireside Chat: Going beyond traditional retail – alternative retail concepts and formats

The future store must be multifunctional to survive with an experiential space to access services, seamless online to store. To attract new customers and possible expansion in the UK and overseas, design and strategic locations will play a crucial role when revaluating the retail format. These stores push the boundaries on customer experience and introduce new concepts to impress and make business sense.

• Blending technology, experience and community into every store visit
• How brand storytelling and consumer engagement can drive visibility
• Concepts that offer a “lifestyle-driven” shopping experience
• Using AI to create more immersive in-store experiences - digital try-ons / AI-generated styling advice

Jan Duckworth, Managing Director, Cox & Cox
John Magill, Founder, IconiQ; former European Head of Store Design & Merchandising, Sky

Networking Break

Retail Insights Panel: Harnessing AI to increase margins and improve operational resilience

This session will discuss the latest insights into how to leverage new technologies, techniques and tools to maximise your ROI on your retail business operations. Learn how to create efficiencies, streamline processes through automation and legacy system integration. Our speakers will share great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.

• The impact of AI and emerging tech in store - automation, efficiencies
• Exploring/adopting the use of AI for store replenishments, customer service and ecommerce
• How are retailers integrating immersive technologies in-store and online?
• The technologies you can leverage to boost both productivity and job satisfaction

Sam Haslam, Director & Practice Leader, Risk & Resilience Advisory, WTW

Jonathan Penna, Co-Founder & CEO, Azio Beauty

Craig Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Angling Direct

Marcus Beaver, Managing Director - EMEA, Legion Technologies

John Gallifant, Head of Central Operations, AF Blakemore

Retail Mega Panel: People-centred retail - empowering and engaging store teams in a digital first world

People are the backbone of any organisation. Providing the best possible retail experience for customers involves bringing one of retails most valuable assets – their retail staff – fully onboard with their vision and strategy. Never has it been more critical for retail to harmonise digitalisation and technology, with the collaboration and guidance of an organisation’s frontline teams. This session looks at how retail businesses are prioritising how to deliver store performance, drive efficiency and protect margins, while supporting frontline teams.

• Frontline retail skills that directly impact customer experience, employee engagement, and sales performance across diverse store environments
• Delivering exceptional customer experience through happy and informed employees
• Adapting stores roles to changing work patterns and increased need for flexibility
• The role of training and development in equipping retail employees with digital skills and adapting to changing consumer needs

Rowland Gee, CEO, The Shocklite Company
Nigel French, Bookseller, Coles Books
Linda Campbell, former Global Retail Director, The Body Shop
Audrey Halpin, Enterprise Manager EMEA, SafetyCulture

Networking Lunch

Retail Success Stories: Tales of speed, service, and seamless experiences

This fireside chat discusses how two diversely different brands have adapted to mitigate against rising costs, whilst enhancing customer experience (CX) and boosting employee engagement – resulting in anchoring their CX and procurement strategies in purpose, agility, and innovation.

Ian Hunt, Director of Customer Services & Procurement, Liberty
Jo Handley, Global Head of In Store Customer Experience, Astrid & Miyu

Retail Experts Chat: Leveraging data driven insights to understand consumer behaviour to drive transformation

By working to better understand consumer behaviour and adapt to changing consumer habits, retailers can capitalise on value-added services that will deepen customer loyalty. Data also underpins the most game-changing retail innovations from system and warehouse automation, to demand prediction and inventory management for operational prowess. This panel will examine leveraging key data to deliver more impactful experiences and creating greater value for the business and the shopper.

• Empowering the retail market with data-driven precision and seamless customer engagement
• Constantly changing shopper expectations - using data driven insights to understand consumer behaviour
• How data-driven machine learning and AI are being used across operations

Shannon Osman, Head of Retail, Footasylum
James Coughlan, Chief Marketing Officer, Astrak Global
Erol Ayvaz, Founder & CEO, Serve First
Lavinia Dumitrache, Data Insights - Transaction Banking Solutions, Lloyds Corporate & Institutions

Networking Break

Retail Insights Chat: Storytelling is the past, present and future of great retail

This session will explore the reset of Berghaus within Pentland Brands. Drawing on live transformation work, our speakers will unpack how a heritage outdoor brand is being repositioned for a modern, direct-to-consumer world, balancing brand authenticity with commercial performance. From redefining retail and elevating physical experiences to integrating digital ecosystems and rebuilding consumer relevance, this conversation offers a candid, behind-the-scenes view of what it really takes to reset a global brand for long-term growth.

Ryan Llewellyn-Pace, Founder & Chairman, Hay Life Clothing
Bob Neville, Global Head of Retail, Pentland Brands

Retail Fireside Chat: How reliant is your eCom business on the store - what does true omnichannel look like?

Retailers are increasingly leveraging their store-base for the handling and fulfilling of online orders. By preparing online orders in-store, it enables orders to be fulfilled at speed. This can be a complex model to sustain and grow with challenges such as stock availability and increased locations. This session looks at how to expand your quick-commerce proposition and how brands like B&Q are doing so to future proof the ever changing customer needs.

Sophie Lynch, Director of Retail Operations, B&Q

Chair's closing comment