Retail Week Live: Round up - what the key speakers said

Philip Clarke, Tesco

Philip Clarke kicked off day one with a bang when he talked about Tesco’s need to take the lead in reshaping the retail industry in a multichannel age, as well as the grocer’s loss of consumer trust.

He said the grocer had led the way in bricks-and-mortar retailing, and that it needs to follow this up with a pitch-perfect multichannel offer.

That means a new, central role for digital and technology experts. Clarke said technology leaders must now be a core part of retailers’ response to the challenges they face, saying digital skills are crucial for any retailer that wants to lead the way in multichannel.

He said: “There has been a dramatic change in what a forward-thinking retail business does. That requires new skills - who would have thought five years ago that Tesco would have an app development centre in Clerkenwell?”

After decades of aggressive growth, Clarke said the focus is no longer on size. “We have to accept that bigger is not seen as better by today’s customer. It’s not about size any more. Better is better.”

Bruce Daisley, Twitter

In a presentation full of jokes about iPhones and photo messaging app Snapchat, Twitter’s managing director did a good job of selling the social network to retailers.

Bruce Daisley highlighted just much the social network can influence customers’ buying habits with research carried out by Nielsen and Twitter. He said 56% of consumers are influenced by content they see on their newsfeeds, and that one in five online retail sessions include a visit to Twitter.

“It’s all about enhancing their purchase by checking what other people are saying,” said Daisley. “What we are seeing increasingly is a large amount of trust being placed in strangers.”

Describing how to harness this influence, he said retailers should take advantage of targeted ads which fit seamlessly into the stream of content surrounding them: “If you can get across a message that is suitably timely, it tends to have an enhanced impact.”

Susanne Given, Supergroup

SuperGroup’s chief operating officer Susanne Given gave bricks-and-mortar retailers something to smile about in her interview with journalist Declan Curry.

Given - who has worked previously with House of Fraser, Harrods and John Lewis - was sure young people still love to shop at physical stores. She said: “For them there’s no substitute for the store environment - that is where they socialise, dream, where they get the feel of the brand.

“They do buy online, but if they can’t get into the brand in a physical sense of it we’ll never get a deep connection with the customer.” She added that social media is “absolutely crucial” to keeping younger customers engaged after they have left a bricks-and-mortar store.

Given said the retailer is working hard on expanding internationally. However, she cautioned that cracking China would be a difficult task. “The Chinese market is evolving faster than any other economy in terms of retail,” she said.

Theo Paphitis, Boux Avenue

Retailer and TV star Theo Paphitis entertained his audience with some frank opinions on the state of the industry.

The Boux Avenue owner was keen to address the political issues that retailers face in an interview with Retail Week Live chair Declan Curry. In contrast to business secretary Vince Cable’s optimistic speech earlier in the day, the Dragons’ Den entrepreneur criticised the Government’s claims that it recognises the importance of retail.

“They know how much retail employs, they know how much the UK economy relies on it, and the Exchequer’s purse through business rates relies on it. But whether they truly appreciate retail, if I had to come down on a yes or a no, it would be a definite no.”

He added that the skills shortage in the industry would be alleviated by a change in the attitudes of young people.

“Students have got to get a grip,” said Paphitis. “The entitlement mentality has to go. You have to earn it.”

Tim Steiner, Ocado

Ocado boss Tim Steiner was upbeat about Morrisons’ online prospects in the first session of day two. Following a testing interview, he insisted that the grocer had not missed the opportunity to succeed in online retailing, despite coming late to the party.

“By partnering with us, they’re able to come out with the best customer service,” he said. “They have better fulfilment, better online delivery, better apps and better websites than all of their competition, which they can combine with their products and customer proposition and outgrow their competitors.”

Steiner also revealed that he thought Amazon is the one to watch in the future of online food retailing: “Amazon is a phenomenal business with massive resources and incredible technology. If you were to ask who our biggest competitor in online grocery in 20 years’ time [will be]… I’d place my money on Amazon,” he said.

Alex Baldock, Shop direct

Shop Direct boss Alex Baldock did not hide his love of big data.

He said the retailer plans to ramp up testing in order to utilise its “treasure trove” of data and boost sales. “Test-and-learn is something we’re investing heavily in. We did 36 of these tests last year, we’ll do 420 this year and 1,200 next year,” he said.

Further investment will be channeled into improving Shop Direct’s systems, as well as searching for new retail talent. He said the retailer is going after bright technophiles: “We’re tapping industries like online gaming and we are hiring every propeller-head we can find.”

Baldock also said that the mobile revolution had changed the way his company did business. “We all need to know how we best fit into and prosper in this new connected clamour of the customer’s digital life,” he said.

“It’s a customer who is harder to satisfy but is giving us the means to satisfy her more than ever,” he said.

Andy Street, John Lewis

John Lewis’ managing director kept his audience entertained in the final keynote speech of Retail Week Live.

A parody of the retailer’s 2010 ‘She’s Always a Woman’ advert and a film clip of founder John Spedan Lewis speaking before his death in 1963 had conference delegates bursting into spontaneous applause.

Street explained how the retailer managed to lead the way in omnichannel retailing.

He cited John Lewis’ shareholder model as the reason for its success in-store and online. Without shareholders, there was less conflict of interest when developing the brand. He said: “In the words of George Osborne, we’re all in it together.”

Street was confident that future success will be linked to an omnichannel strategy. “Omnichannel trumps pure-play,” he said. “Customers want the best of all channels.”

Scott Weavers-Wright, Haatch

Kiddicare founder Scott Weavers-Wright was not afraid to speak out following the news that Morrisons will sell the maternity specialist.

He said that despite the hype surrounding new technological developments in the industry, hardly any businesses are genuinely embracing new services such as click-and-collect.

He explained that online only 74% of retailers have a mobile-optimised website, only 44% have a customer review option, and only 4% send personalised emails. “We talk about augmented reality and all this technology but only nine retailers in Oxford Street offer wi-fi,” he said.

Weavers-Wright, who now runs business hub Haatch, implored businesses to start thinking about themselves as technology firms by investing in a dedicated team or appointing a board director to represent the channel.

“How do you let a small agile business creep up behind you and overtake you? Asos is worth more than Morrisons today,” he warned. “I think a lot retailers can do a lot more to adopt an agile approach.”

Dan Cobley, Google

Google UK managing director Dan Cobley excited retailers and tech fans alike with his presentation on the future of wearable technology.

He said that although it cannot be predicted what form new devices will take, they will inevitably offer retailers the ability to deliver better customer service.

In a display that included a demonstration of Google Glass, Cobley said wearable technology could be used in merchandising, with store bosses using the device to see shelf stackers at work in real time.

He said: “You will be able to see some very real applications for your staff using these soon.”

Cobley also discussed the potential of the internet of things, explaining how almost everything has the potential to be tracked through connected devices.

But he also highlighted that retailers aren’t doing enough to explore the potential of some technologies. He reminded delegates that 26% of top retailers don’t offer a mobile-optimised experience: “If that’s true of your business, it’s really something you should prioritise fixing.”