Posted by Georgina Pearsall on 6 March 2019
Trend analyst Phil Pond, from agency Scarlet Opus, will be familiar to visitors who have attended the show in previous years. Phil will speak twice, once to share a key trend, "The Traveller," which will play a large role in this year's Christmas sales, and a second time to share a longer view of leading global consumer and design trends and how they will influence customers in SS20.
NearSt is a retail technology company dedicated to increasing customers in high street shops. Their platform drives in-store footfall by connecting products on shop shelves to local shoppers searching for them online. In 2018 NearSt partnered with Google to enable shoppers to search live in-store products directly in the Google search function. CEO Nick Brackenbury says: "Retailers are currently missing out on a whole segment of shoppers who want to buy local." NearSt will discuss their work live at the show.
"What's really happening on the UK's High Streets" is a review by retail commentator and head of retail policy for the Federation of Small Business Michael Weedon. He argues that doom and gloom headlines should be ignored with an explanation of real data that offers valuable insight for any retailer assessing their chances of trading successfully on the high street.
Rebecca Saunders, retail and e-commerce independent consultant, is also returning to the line-up to deliver her "State of Stationery" industry update and run a hands-on workshop entitled "What can indies learn from retail buyers". Rebecca, previously a buyer and category manager at Not on the High Street and John Lewis Partners, will work with the group to share tips on how retail buyers manage stock and suppliers to help independent retailers identify what practices and expectations they should have in their own negotiations. Retailers should come prepared to share their experiences and learn from others. This workshop is pre-bookable with limited places.
In addition, two more retailer workshops will be available. The first is lead by Ian Retallick, founder of Specialist Retailers, and is titled "How soft assets can attract more customers to your store". The second is lead by retail consultant Catherine Erdly of Future Retail, and has been dubbed "Five key figures you need to know to boost your sales".
The show's programme of Live Talks and Retailer Workshops will run on both days of the show. Full details can be found on the "What's On" section of the show website www.stationeryshowlondon.co.uk
