‘


We need to deliver great value and exceptional service – that’s how we will survive and prosper’


Welcome to the winter edition of Alert magazine. As we move into our traditional busy period, with Christmas not far away, I hope you will enjoy this issue.


For further information please contact:


Howard Saycell Chief Executive Retra


howard.saycell@retra.co.uk 01234 269110 www.retra.co.uk


This year has been a challenging one, and, sadly, 2024 isn’t going to be a whole lot easier, says Retra CEO, Howard Saycell, but, on a more positive note, he has had some great feedback on the recent Retra Conference.


We’ve seen some brands offer 24 or 48 hour ‘flash’ sales over


a weekend, or numerous offers of free delivery and installation, purely to drum up some business towards the end of the month. It’s short-termism at its worst in my opinion. I won’t go on and on about this but would ask all the manufacturers to think carefully before using this kind of tactic. You know who you are.


Fascinating One of the most fascinating presentations at the conference was from Tim Gordon of Best Practice AI. He looked at the potential benefits to us, all along with some cautionary notes. There is genuine concern from some that AI will take away


people’s jobs. Bear in mind that retail has already lost 100,000 jobs since 2020. I was reassured that if used well, AI will benefit retail and the economy.


There is no doubt that trade remains challenging for many.


We have persistent inflation which is well above the Government’s target of two percent. This will remain a key focus for the Bank of England and will


more than likely result in interest rates remaining high for the foreseeable future.


With the geopolitical uncertainty in Europe and the Middle


East, we are going to see continued volatility in the cost of energy. All of this and, of course, the prospect of a general election looming is not good for consumer confidence. Most of our markets remain challenging, apart from SDA which is performing very well. All these issues were discussed in some depth at our recent conference in Coventry. There is a full conference report in this edition, but I do want to touch on the event, especially for those members that were unable to attend. The conference was titled ‘A Sustainable Industry’ and looked at the sustainability question across a broad spectrum. There were speakers on AI, electric vehicles, waste recycling, the future of the high street and much more.


I was delighted with both the turnout and the feedback on the


day. We’ve had some very complimentary messages and I think we managed to deliver an interesting and thought-provoking conference.


Directly


In my opening comments on the day, I once again addressed the issue of brands selling directly to the consumer. It’s nothing new, but I do believe strongly that we need to keep


raising this issue. We know that for many UK subsidiaries this direction is something


that is imposed upon them by head offices from around the globe. The question is what does the UK management do about it?


They can make the decision locally to ensure that at the very least there is a level playing field.


Just simply using their websites to discount products for short periods of time is not good for their brand or their loyal retailers.


On a less positive note, recent figures state that there are around 850 incidents of violence and abuse against shop workers every day. We don’t hear much of this in Retra, but there was an incident recently where a knife was drawn in one of our member’s shops. We continue to campaign along with the BRC – and progress is being made – for the police to take this matter more seriously.


Risk Assist Launched at the conference was the rollout to all members of Retra Risk Assist. This is an online platform for everything you may need in your toolkit as a small independent retailer. It gives you advice, templates, staff training across a wide range


of business matters. I would urge you to start using it and reap the benefits of this excellent system. The best bit of all is that it is free to all members. There can be no doubt that 2023 has been challenging for many. Sadly, I can’t see that 2024 is going to be a whole lot easier.


“


We’ve had some very complimentary messages and I think we managed to deliver an interesting and thought- provoking conference


Optimism


At some stage we will have a new Government, which may give some renewed optimism, although many of the problems we are beset with are out of control of the UK Government, regardless of which party is in power.


As far as our industry and our members are concerned, we need to continue to deliver great value and exceptional service to the consumer. That’s how we will continue to survive and prosper. I want to take this opportunity to wish you, your families, and


staff a very happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. The Retra Helpline (01234 269110) will be open throughout the festive period, with the exception of bank holidays.


From the CEO 3


From the CEO


“


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44