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Retra Conference highlights the importance of sustainability for the future of electrical retail
This year’s Retra Conference (October 17, Double Tree by Hilton hotel, Coventry), was themed around ‘A Sustainable Industry.’ In his opening speech, Retra CEO, Howard Saycell, stressed the
importance of sustainability for the future of the planet but also for the electrical retailing industry.
sustainable product design in a circular economy, while Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express magazine, spoke about the move to electric vehicles and whether the UK infrastructure was strong enough to support them. Business journalist and broadcaster, Declan Curry, who hosted the conference, gave his views on the economy, and said that sustainability was both a big opportunity and a challenge, that would require ‘the rewiring of Great Britain’, and ‘mammoth investment by companies and the Government.’ Delegates were given a thought-provoking and fascinating insight into the concept of AI (Artificial Intelligence) by Tim Gordon, partner at Best Practice AI, who highlighted both the opportunities and threats that the technology could bring, while Andrew Goodacre, the CEO of BIRA (British Independent Retailers Association) looked at the future of the high street. Mr Goodacre said that if you are a retailer in a non-essential
market, it’s tough, adding: “The place not to be is in the middle.” He called for retailers to not lose their identity, citing the recent
Retra CEO, Howard Saycell
He cited a study carried out by research company Nielsen, which found that 81 percent of global respondents feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. “Sustainability is good for the Earth and it’s actually really great for your business,” said Mr Saycell. “It’s basically a win-win.” He told delegates that as a nation the UK is doing ‘quite well’ on its journey towards net zero, but he said that the Government’s target of achieving it by 2050 was ‘ambitious’, adding: “It’s a challenge because you’ve got to look at the whole supply chain,” but, he added, it was a ‘bold effort.’ On sustainability in retail, Mr Saycell said Retra was supporting
the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Climate Action Roadmap initiative, which it had promoted to Retra members. Looking at the future of the high street and the independent
retail sector, Mr Saycell said: “The high street is in decline, but quality, omnichannel retail with a focus based on the community is actually doing really rather well.” He said one of the challenges facing independents is
manufacturers selling direct to consumers and urged brands to be responsible when doing so: “Protect your traditional retail market and think about the people who have helped you build that brand for decades and think about how you can help retain the livelihoods of them and their staff.” Speaking at the conference, AMDEA CEO, Paul Hide, outlined the sustainability challenge faced by the home appliance sector and electrical retailers. He said: “We need to work together to achieve a net zero future.” Educating consumers on purchasing and using energy-efficient appliances is key, said Mr Hide, highlighting AMDEA’s Know Watt’s What campaign. He also talked about the importance of recycling electrical
appliances, as did guest speaker, Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, which runs the award-winning Recycle Your Electricals initiative. REPIC’s member account manager, Laura Crehan, updated
delegates on recycling activity and targets as part of the WEEE Directive, as well as producer responsibility and the need for
6 News Conference host, Declan Curry
The performance of the consumer electronics sector has been disappointing, said Mr Simon, but he singled out turntables as a star performer. The final conference session of the day was an industry panel
with retailers Matt Renaut, managing director of Dacombes of Wimborne, Matthew Todd, partner at Herbert Todd, and Luke Gammon, director of Wades, as well as Sean Hannam, editor of Retra’s Alert magazine. A wide variety of subjects were discussed, including sustainability, training, direct selling and the use of social media. Also at the conference, Retra members were told about some
of the latest initiatives introduced by the trade association. Paul Laville, managing director of T21 Group, talked about
Retra’s new online e-learning platform, and Rosalind Klass, managing director of Health & Safety Click, promoted the benefits of Retra Risk Assist, which can provide members with information and support for areas including health and safety, employment legislation and wellbeing. For more on the Retra Conference, see pages 24-28.
failure of hardware chain Wilko as an example of a retailer that didn’t know where and what it wanted to be. Analyst GfK’s client director, market intelligence, Nick Simon, was on hand with the latest industry sales trends and data. He explained how the SDA (Small Domestic Appliances)
market is continuing to do well and said the MDA (Major Domestic Appliances) market had slowed down last year but has since picked up and is relatively healthy.
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