Mark Price to head up RetailEXPO 2020 conference stream
Mark Price, ex-MD Waitrose and Deputy Chairman of John Lewis Partnership, has been announced as the keynote speaker for RetailEXPO 2020.
His presentation will be entitled Creating a new vision for a new era of retail “The retail industry is undergoing unprecedented change against a backdrop of global uncertainty and weak consumer demand and it can be difficult for retailers to know how to evolve and where to focus to remain relevant,” says Price.
“The growth of the experience economy and the impact of sustainability are reconfiguring the high street and at RetailEXPO we will look at what the future might hold for retail and what action retailers should be taking now to ensure long-term survival and success.”
Other speakers lined up for the 2020 event include: Martijn Bertisen, Head of Retail, Google UK; Thomas Berry, Global Director of Sustainable Business, Farfetch; Adam Plummer, Global Digital Product Experience Director, The Body Shop and Benson Chan, Principle Design Director, Microsoft Store.
Still set for April
Earlier this week, the company behind RetailEXPO said that the show will go ahead next month, as concerns increased around the escalation of coronavirus in Europe.
In an online statement, Reed Exhibitions commented: “We are actively and continuously monitoring the situation around COVID-19 Coronavirus and we are following the latest guidance from Public Health England and the World Health Organisation (WHO).”
“We wish to reassure all our participants of RetailEXPO that should the UK government issue any further guidelines, they will be applied to our event and we will continue to update everyone involved on a regular basis.”
Also of interest: Stand out from the crowd at RetailEXPO 2020
The company added that it was working closely with the venue, Olympia London, to put health and safety measures in place. These include anti-bacterial soap in every toilet around the venue, shared equipment (microphones, headsets, presentation laptops, clickers) to be cleaned between each use, and extra cleaning staff and increased routine checks.
Shoptalk 2020
Another major retail show, Shoptalk 2020, had been due to take place later this month in Las Vegas. But following the Covid-19 outbreak, the event has been rescheduled to 14th-17th September, with the venue (Mandalay Bay) remaining the same.
“The guidance of various health and safety organisations and our commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of our community necessitated the shift. We considered input from many of our sponsors, attendees and speakers, as well as the impact of widespread corporate travel restrictions during March across the retail industry,” the organisers said in an online statement.
“We’re working hard to transition our sponsors, attendees and speakers to the new dates, and we expect Shoptalk 2020 to be the best event we’ve ever held,” it added.
Groceryshop, which was planned for September, will be moved to Spring 2021, with additional details to be announced in the coming months.
