Agenda 

8.30am-9.0am 

Breakfast and networking  

9am-9.05am 

Welcome from Retail Week 

9.05am-9.20am 

Keynote: How to create a culture where future leaders thrive 

Great leadership is about lifting others up and sending the elevator back down for the next person. 

Creating a culture where the best talent can rise, regardless of background, future proofs not just one business, but creates generations of capable future leaders that will go out and drive other businesses to greater heights.  

That’s a legacy that any founder or chief executive can be proud of.  

This year’s summit kicks off with an inspiring business leader revealing the practical measures they’ve put in place to help their colleagues climb the ladder.  

Speaker to be announced soon.

9.20am-10am 

Rebranding retail as a positive career path 

Panel 

When it comes to the UK economy, retail is critical.  

The ONS reports the sector ranks as the UK’s second-largest employer, accounting for 12.8% of jobs in 2024, second only to health and social care at 13.5%.  

In terms of economic output, it also comes in second at 9.9%, just behind the 13.1% derived by real estate.  

So, why is the sector often overlooked as a desirable and long-term career path?  

It’s a perception problem that exists even among retail staff. A recent Retail Week report found that only just over half of UK store staff rate retail as a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ long-term career.   

In this panel, we will explore:

• Does retail as a career path need a rebrand? If so, what does that look like
• Perception becomes reality – how to proactively get the message out
• Retail’s new personas – as AI and tech becomes more embedded, what does that mean for recruitment?
• Be the change – why the right benefits, including remote and flexible working, will attract the right talent  

Speakers to be announced soon. 

10am-10.30am

In-store tech – how to create more agile workforces and bring people on the journey 

Store staff are imperative to sparking retail success. Yet with reports indicating that so many of today’s UK frontline workers feel disengaged, overworked and under supported, retailers must step up their investments to empower and engage this crucial lifeline.  

When deployed in the right way, in-store tech can help generate real change in retail workforces - be it tech that allows employees to deliver better customer experiences to shoppers or admin-busting tech that frees up employee time so that they are more efficient and can spend more time with customers. 

The opportunity of in-store tech is there for the taking but the challenge is understanding what in-store tech will generate the greatest returns to power productivity. 

In this panel session, we’re joined by an industry expert and two retailers that have successfully invested in tech across their store network to discover how to use the right tech solutions to create more agile workforces. 

We’ll explore: 

• The in-store tech that’s worth the hype – and the tech that isn’t 
• How to avoid tech overload 
• What it takes to get staff buy-in to result in happier, tech-enabled workforces 

10.30am-11am 

Coffee and networking  

11am-11.25am  

Protecting your people from the rise of retail crime 

Panel 

One of the most distressing aspects of modern retail is the rise in retail crime, with frontline workers sometimes facing organised crime and abuse from members of the public.  

This is affecting all kinds of retailers; Pret-a-Manger has given staff body cameras, Co-Op has described it as an “epidemic” and Deliveroo recently called on the government to include its riders in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill to protect them from abuse and violence from customers.  

What can retailers practically do to ensure the safety of shop staff?  

Our panellist will examine:  

• The scale of the threat posed by retail crime 
• Putting frontline staff first: how the sector is rising to the challenge to protect employees
• Real-world insights on what’s working
• Fighting back: the impact tech will have on safety and reducing crime

Speakers to be announced soon. 

11.25am-11.55am 

AI meets Human: A match made in heaven?  

In conversation with 

There is no doubt – AI is already proliferating through retail, across shops and online and back up the supply chain.  

It has the power to revolutionise organisations and transform retail jobs.  

So where does the human fit into this future vision? 

This is a question retailers need to plan for – working out how AI will change their people needs, skills requirements, and the training they will offer.  

In this panel discussion, we’ll cover:  

• The areas our panel of retailers are investing in AI and what it’s meant for their people needs
• Getting staff on board: the tech rollouts guaranteed to ensure teams are successfully bought-in
• How AI can help enrich retail jobs and act as a staff retention driver 

Speakers to be announced soon 

11.55am-12.25pm

Diversity and me: Why my organisation’s approach to DE&I matters 

Panel 

In the final panel session of the day, we bring together a selection of rising retail professionals, each leading or working within DE&I groups in their retail organisations.

We’ll hear from them on how their business’ DE&I strategy attracted them to work there in the first place, the role they have been empowered to play in shaping that strategy, and the steps they believe retail as a whole needs to take to create truly diverse workplaces.  

As a panel, we will discuss:  

• What makes a great DE&I employer
• DE&I in practice: What a robust strategy looks like and the role they play in businesses
• First-hand advice to other retailers on what works and what doesn’t
• Enacting change: How they believe we can achieve greater progression in the future  

Speakers to be announced soon.

12.25pm-12.30pm  

Closing remarks from Retail Week.

Showcase 

We are hosting a small selection of burgeoning retailers and brands created with the consumer at their core as part of our People and Leadership Summit Showcase. The following innovative businesses will be at the 2024 event with samples, information and representatives on hand to provide insight and inspiration. 

Showcase partners to be announced soon.