The Retailer Summer Edition 2022

THE RE TA I L ER

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NEWS FROM THE BRC

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

What are your priorities to help support BRC Members in the next 12 months? To deliver a content strategy that addresses the challenges our retail ers are facing and identify the right partners that can help us do that. We have events spanning so many topics from, Diversity & Inclusion, sustainability, customs & trade, cyber risk, retail tech & digital transfor mation, AI and the customer experience. We are reintroducing face to face events which are being well received by members, the opportunity to meet and share best practice again is something I think we have all missed over the last two years. Of course, all of this is done with some fluidity so that we can also react quickly to the ever-changing needs of the retail sector and help members stay informed of key industry issues and developments as they arise. We will be trying different event formats and looking at our digital offering to ensure our content reaches more members and we can offer something for everyone. For the in-person events this will include Forums such as our Consumer Insights Series that we launched earlier this year, showcase events for retailers giving the advantage of hearing from 6-8 providers in one day, a new tech event where you can join us for a drink and take a look at different tech providers or smaller roundtables on specific topics. We are also investigating hybrid technology and looking to expand our on-demand offering. What should members look out for from the Partnerships team in the next year? Is there anything else you are working on that you would like to shout about? Yes a couple of things. We are always looking for different ways to share information. BRC has recently invested in some camera equipment and William in our team, along with other colleagues in the business, are working on new and creative video content. We are also planning social events for members so look out for our ‘audience with’ or informal member receptions to encourage us back into the art of networking! Tell us a fun fact about your team We are a relatively newly formed team within the last 12 months and have mostlyworked virtually together sowe decided a bit of teambonding was required and booked an oche with limitless pizza and prosecco at Flight Club. Needless to say, the varying competitive streaks were able to shine! It’s incredible what a difference it makes to a team when you take an afternoon away from the office and the camaraderie and team spirit that continues once you return.

Diane Fievez Head of Commercial Partnerships British Retail Consortium

Diane, tell us a bit about your role at BRC and a bit about your team I head up BRC’s commercial partnerships team, we are a team of 5 responsible for delivering member value and creating opportunities for our partners to build closer relationships with retailers. We create and deliver a full programme of content for members and design agreements for partners to position along-side us industry thought-leaders to raise their brand profile and maximise their engagement with our audience. Our programme is delivered across multiple channels including virtual and face to face events at our own event space at The Form Rooms in London. The team also produce BRC’s Radio Retail podcast and this digital publication The Retailer . What was your background before joining BRC? My background is not retail but the business travel sector havingworked for large blue chips to start-ups including in aviation. For the last few years, I have worked for a trade association in business travel, very similar to BRC. I am enjoying retail and the multifaceted sector that it is. Many of the challenges faced by travel companies and their customers are not too dissimilar to what our retailers are dealing with today such as digitalisation changing consumer behaviour and disruption caused by operational challenges and labour shortages. W e caught up with Diane Fievez, BRC’S Head of Commercial Partnerships to find out more about her role at the BRC

If you would like to get in touch with Diane or a member of the team contact events@brc.org.uk