Feature: Retra / Bira update Retra - Working in Your Corner
Here is an update of activities from Jeff Moody, Commercial Director, Retra (part of the Bira Group).
T
here is a perception that trade associations exist primarily to
offer financial services, discounts, and compliance support. Those things matter, and Retra is proud of what we offer in that space. But I want to use this column to talk about something equally important, and perhaps less visible: the work we do every single day to represent independent electrical retailers in the corridors of power. Over recent months, Retra (which is part of the Bira Group) has been leading and contributing to two significant lobbying campaigns on behalf of our members. I am delighted to report that both are now bearing real fruit, with Ministerial meetings secured and Government attention firmly focused on issues that affect your businesses directly. If you sell small domestic appliances, you will
already know how acute this issue has become. Independent electrical retailers are competing against overseas sellers on major online platforms who are simply not playing by the same rules. The most damaging abuse involves VAT fraud: non-UK sellers misrepresenting themselves as UK-established businesses to avoid collecting and remitting VAT entirely. The result is that a compliant UK retailer is undercut by 20 per cent from the very first transaction, not because an overseas competitor is more efficient or offers a better product, but because they are defrauding the system. This is not a minor irritant. For members selling small electrical appliances, it is an existential competitive threat. And left unchecked, it will spread further into other sectors of the electrical market as online platforms continue to grow. Retra led the campaign to put this issue
squarely in front of Government. We were instrumental in building the coalition of 18 business organisations and tax experts that wrote formally to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, calling for a consultation on extending online marketplace VAT liability rules. The principle is straightforward: if a marketplace hosts the sale, it should be responsible for ensuring the seller is VAT compliant. It works elsewhere. It needs to work here. The results of that campaign are now coming through. We have meetings confirmed with Ministers and Treasury officials, and the
12 |
www.ierdaily.co.uk
conversation has moved from whether this issue needs addressing to how it should be addressed. That is a significant shift, and it happened because Retra pushed hard and built the right alliances. The second campaign has been equally
important, and equally hard-fought. Independent electrical retailers, like businesses across the economy, have been hammered by energy costs in recent years. What has frustrated our members is not simply the cost itself, but the sense that small businesses have been treated less fairly than larger counterparts when it comes to pricing structures, contract terms, and the protections available to them. Retra has been making this case consistently and at the highest levels, and I am pleased to report that our advocacy has resulted in Ministerial meetings taking place on 24th February. These are not token conversations. They are substantive discussions about what fairer energy pricing for small and independent businesses should look like, and Retra is at the table making sure the voice of independent electrical retailers is heard clearly. Beyond these two campaigns, I can share some genuinely exciting news. Retra, through the Bira Group, has been invited to meet with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, as part of a government engagement on small business and the future of the economy. Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, has received the invitation for March, and it represents a remarkable recognition of the standing
PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
that independent retailers now have in the Government’s thinking. To be invited directly into conversation with the Chancellor is not something that happens by accident. It reflects years of consistent, evidence-based advocacy, and it gives us a direct opportunity to put the concerns of our members, including those in the electrical retail sector, in front of the person who controls the nation’s finances. I make no apology for highlighting this
work prominently. It is easy to measure the value of a trade association in terms of the financial savings it delivers or the compliance support it provides. Those things are real and important. But the value of having a powerful, credible voice representing your interests in Government is harder to quantify and every bit as significant. When Ministers sit down to consider policy on online marketplace regulation, energy pricing for small businesses, or the broader economic future of independent retail, Retra is in the room. We are making the arguments, presenting the evidence, and pushing for outcomes that protect and support your businesses.
That is what Retra membership means. Not
just services and savings, but representation that reaches the very highest levels of Government.
• Jeff Moody, Commercial Director, Retra (part of the Bira Group).
Spring 2026
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 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
