Retail Week Live: Don't miss Sainsbury's Mike Coupe, the Financial Times' Tim Harford and Amazon UK's Doug Gurr

Mike Coupe on the marriage of Sainsbury’s and Argos

Sainsbury’s £1.4bn acquisition of Argos is by far the biggest retail story of the year. The grocer’s chief executive Mike Coupe has grand ambitions to build a multichannel food and general merchandise powerhouse to complete with the likes of Amazon.

The retailer plans to introduce Argos and Habitat concessions into its largest supermarkets, and opened a pilot store with all brands under one roof in Vauxhall, London, last week. It also plans to harness the power of Argos’ fulfilment offer, including its same-day delivery service Fast Track.

Coupe will reveal his grand plan for the combined business and will discuss the rationale for the deal, the opportunity the combined business creates and an insight into how customers will benefit.

How to see into the future

Economically and politically, the past year has been one surprise after another. So what does this all mean for the future of the economy? And how should we react when – as so often – forecasts don’t pan out as expected?

Tim Harford, author of the Financial Times’ long-running The Undercover Economist column and the subsequent million-selling book, gives advice on how to embrace change and constantly adapt, improvise rather than plan and how to work from the bottom up.

Harford, also presenter of BBC Radio 4’s More is Less programme, has previously spoken at TED. His Retail Week Live presentation promises to give a glimpse into the future that will get attendees thinking about familiar situations in unfamiliar ways and unfamiliar situations in familiar ways.

Amazon’s UK boss on staying ahead of customer demands

Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the world and continues to grow by constantly innovating and giving customers what it wants. Be it books, groceries, music and TV, or even takeaways with its new Deliveroo-style Amazon Restaurants division, its shoppers need only visit one site – Amazon.

At Retail Week Live, new Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr – who previously led the etailer’s Chinese business – will reveal his vision of the future of retail and how it strives to evolve to stay ahead of its customer’s demands.