A Princely Endeavour

Retail has several very worthy charities of its own but one very good cause which I hadn’t previously realised was so well supported by the industry was the Prince’s Trust. But last night the charity managed a great turnout of some of the sector’s biggest names at an event designed to raise awareness of the work it does in retail.

The event was hosted by Charles Dunstone, who is chairman of the Princes Trust and clearly very passionate about its work, and supported by other retailers including Kingfisher CEO Ian Cheshire, Havey Nichols boss Joseph Wan and fashion guru Jeff Banks, Others in attendance included Disney boss Teresa Tideman and Geoff Quinn from TM Lewin, and the setting - outside at the top of One New Change - was wonderful for a Summer’s evening.

The highlight of the evening was a speech given by Gina. Gina had been serving a six year sentence in Holloway prison for drug smuggling. Many would have given up on her as a hopeless case, but as she showed last night, this was a woman with something about her. She first came to the attention of the Trust when she asked the prison governor to be alowed to set up a flower shop selling blooms to relatives of inmates who were visiting.

There were plenty of hurdles along the way but from these really unpromising circumstances Gina is now not just a reformed characted but has a flourishing business. Working alongside the Trust was key, and really helped her to stay on track when challenges came up.

Gina is a credit to the Trust’s work, but many retailers are working with it to help young people from difficult backgrounds develop careers in the sector. With retail one of the few parts of the economy to be creating employment, and being such a people business, it is well-placed to help those young people who need a foot on the ladder. For retailers, the Trust is a cause well worth backing.