ExCel London calling: Matt Bradley talks changing times as RTS moves across town

Retail Technology Show (RTS) is this year moving from London Olympia to ExCel London, delivering what Director and Founder Matt Bradley promises will be an event like no other.

“It’s showtime!”. That’s the promise of this year’s Retail Technology Show (RTS) which is themed around a retail carnival coming to town. But this year (on 2nd and 3rd April) the event comes to a different part of town, moving from London Olympia to London ExCel. This will enable an additional 4,000 sq m in floor space (taking it to 16,000 sq m in total), a further 150 exhibitors (to around 450) and 16,000 visitors, compared to 11,500 in 2024.

Bradley says the decision to switch venues wasn’t an easy one. “Olympia has been home to the retail show I’ve run in various guises since 2012, so I’ve had a great relationship with the team at Olympia and I loved working there.”

“However, we found that our show works very well on one level but doesn’t tend to lend itself to multiple levels and we’d pretty much taken all the downstairs floor space. To grow the show as demand was becoming greater, we had to start looking at how we could facilitate all those people that wanted to be involved in it without jeopardising the quality of the experience.”

Bradley admits that ExCel had been chasing him to host the show for some time. “They feel there’s a really good fit,” he says. However, he says he was reluctant to move until the infrastructure and local facilities were in place.

“Now the Elizabeth Line is in and has been operational for a couple of years, plus their affiliation with Canary Wharf and all the restaurants, bars and activities that go on there, allows our exhibitors and visitors to tap into that as well. There’s so much more going on so I felt now would be the right time to do it.”

Retail carnival coming to town

The move will be supported by this year’s carnival theme, which Bradley hopes will also help to bring the new venue alive. “I’ve been in this industry for a long, long time and I know a lot of people find the perception of ExCel is that it can be a bit soulless and so I want to prove that wrong. There’s nothing more exciting or less soulless than a carnival. If I can bring that carnival feel to ExCel on 2nd and 3rd April then we will do a very good job of breathing life into the venue.”

The showtime theme will run throughout the show. Stages have been named accordingly, including Wondrous, Magnificent and Spectacular, and Bradley promises other touches and acknowledgements towards the carnival world at the show, along with a few surprises and the chance to win some prizes too.

“We’re trying to keep the theme running throughout so that you really feel immersed in the experience. We don’t want people to feel like they are in an exhibition hall,” he says.

A maturing show

Along with the move, Bradley believes the show has matured thanks to the quality of people involved. “It feels like a grown up show now and in part that’s the level of people we work with. Our advisory board is really strong and we’ve got a really good relationship with those people who we can lean on for influence and understanding and to help support introductions. 87% of our speakers are C-level so it’s about senior minds getting together.”

He says even he is surprised by this year’s stellar speaker line-up. “I would never have dreamed of being able to attract the likes of Archie Norman, Chairman of M&S, to the show but I think what we’ve carefully created is a cross between those generational greats such as M&S, Holland and Barrett and Tesco with some real cool up and coming, disruptive companies such as Nobody’s Child, Gymshark, Google and TikTok Shop.”

The strength of speakers is also encouraging suppliers to get more involved in the show, and to make it a more integral part of their marketing campaigns, Bradley adds. “They’re not just focusing on those two days at ExCel but they are looking at their pre-show build-up, their PR campaigns, roundtables and the parties and drinks that are happening as the show goes on. It just feels like there’s a lot more talk, noise and activity around the show than there’s ever been.”

Show highlights  

So, who’s on Bradley’s wishlist to see? He says it includes Archie Norman, Gymshark’s Chief Technology Officer John Douglas and Stuart Trevor, founder of All Saints, who will be speaking about his new brand. “If I can get to see them I’ll be absolutely over the moon,” he says.

The quality and depth of suppliers will also impress, he promises. “You will see some technology that hasn’t been seen anywhere else including some of the most innovative technology from France coming over onto a distinctive pavilion called Business France.”

“We are also working with the Retail AI Council in the US to bring some of the most exciting AI led suppliers who can really make a difference to retail. The Start-up Superstars is also really exciting. It’s full of some of the most exciting innovative companies out there. We give them that platform - at a lesser rate because these guys are starting out - but some of these ideas are going to change the way all of us shop.”

He says the networking will also be valuable. “I spend a lot of time in this industry and out with people but it’s rare to get this volume of people together. The Big Party is always a great event and we’ve got some nice little surprises for everyone to keep people on their toes.”

Main themes of the show

Bradley believes there will be several talking points at the show, alongside the impressive cast list.

“AI as a technology is obviously still high on people’s curiosity list. A year has gone by since our last show and it will be interesting to see how much the needle’s moved and how much retailers are now implementing AI because it was still relatively new when we last all got together.”

Supply chain technology, advancements in electronic shelf labelling and RFID coming into its own will also be key issues.

Meanwhile, non-tech issues such as the economy, the future of the in-store experience and trading, retail leadership, sustainability and the supply chain will also be important topics. “There are more and more things for this industry to discuss and more issues facing this community. There won’t be much room for silence at the show - there’s a lot to talk about,” he says.

So, as Bradley prepares to offer the best show yet, RTIH asks what he credits for the show’s success? He ponders for a moment. “It’s bravery and belief. It’s about taking a few risks and learning from the retail sector that we represent.”

He concludes: “I don’t take my inspiration necessarily from other exhibitions in the world but from events like Super Bowl, concerts or retailers in general such as the Nike store where there’s lots of cool innovations and activations and you think ‘maybe I could replicate that in the show?’. It’s about being brave, pushing the envelope and not conforming to what people traditionally expect an exhibition to be.”