Move that dial: People, Planet & Place

My opening speech at our recent Annual Lecture ....

If someone said 12 months ago that at this lecture would be 7 months into a pandemic, the day before the second English lockdown, already in a Welsh Firebreak and with different restrictions in Scotland…. with all its effect on each of us, our people, the economy, our industry. No-one would have believed them.

I've spoken to lots of CEOs over the last 7 months, I know the decisions that every single business has taken have been hard and in many instances, people are choosing between a multitude of bad outcomes, against a backdrop of a very uncertain future. I do not envy you.

From our BRC pov, you saw some of the team on the short opening video, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved for you – the industry – over these past months. Supporting you in a time of crisis. The collaboration with our members has been superb. We’ve worked seamlessly together in a way I’ve never seen before. Anything that we’ve achieved has been powered by you.

A crazy year it’s been.

An early highlight for me – if I can call it that – was a Saturday in late March where I got word one morning that No10 wanted me to take part in A press conference. No problem, I thought, I’ve done plenty of those. I got in touch with my team, started preparing messages, Q&A. As the morning passed, it became clear that No10 wanted me to be in THE press conference. And that I was going to be standing at that podium, in front of the flags, to reassure the nation that our supermarkets were not about to run out of food.

At the start of the crisis, that was the issue – panic buying and the public’s concern about food supply. While that brought its own challenges, that was only the start.

Since then we’ve been working flat out on everything else. The business rates holiday, furlough and loan schemes, rent, persuading government to keep warehouses and online open. Right up to now, the consequences of local restrictions. Then each of the 4 home nations in the UK doing things slightly differently in lockdown version 2. It seems to be never-ending. We continue to try and make sense of it all for you.

In that range of issues is the story of the industry in this crisis. There are retailers that have demand that they cannot cope with. There are retailers that are dealing with challenges and are doing OK. And there are retailers – perfectly healthy businesses 8 months ago – that are now struggling – struggling for survival in some cases – because of circumstances entirely beyond their control.

The pandemic – and arbitrary govt decisions - have created winners and losers like never before.

But I think it has also shown you – the industry – at your best. As retailers, you have drawn on your competitiveness and resilience to respond brilliantly. Agility is my favourite word of the pandemic. The ability to pivot quickly when confronted with a problem. To turn a risk into an opportunity – or at least work to mitigate the risk. To engage with customers in innovative ways and keep the nation supplied with the goods people need.

It hasn’t been easy. Costs have shot up. Retailers have spent hundreds of millions of pounds, implementing social distancing measures in stores, warehousing and distribution centres.

What does this all add up to?

I’ve made lots of speeches about retail transformation. My diagnosis has always been positive. The theme for those speeches was ‘reinvention, not Armageddon’ retail.

This pandemic is accelerating many and reversing some of the trends of the transformation that was already taking place in retail.

And while I might be going out on a limb if I use the phrase tonight, I do still see some grounds for optimism.

I want us to briefly cast our minds beyond the midst of the crisis and talk about three things that can and should be our collective contribution to a better industry coming out the other side.

Firstly, People

Retail is the UK’s largest private sector employer, providing around 3 million jobs. Given this reach, retail, more than any other industry is uniquely placed to support the government’s ambitions to level up the economy across the UK.

There will be fewer retail jobs as a result of the crisis. But there is a golden opportunity to move more quickly towards our shared vision of ‘better jobs’ – More digital, customer focused, highly skilled, productive jobs.

We need to ensure the outcome from the crisis is rich rewarding careers for everyone, protecting what has always been unique about retail jobs. Flexibility for people in different life stages. From students or parents who need flexible hours to those who are retired and looking for part time work.

And to do that we need to live up to our aspiration to be a diversity and inclusion leader. While we know we have a great story to tell of opportunity and of improving people’s life chances, we also need to shift the dial on diversity.

Research is underway which will question whether our record at senior levels would pass the “satisfactory” school report grading. The business case is there. More diverse businesses are more successful.

Even with the backdrop of covid, we have more engagement in our BRC Inclusion Dialogues, in our diversity forums, so I am very encouraged.

Lets move that dial.

Secondly, our Planet

As we emerge from the crisis, climate action is a priority for the world. It must be a priority for retail. Next week, we will launch our Climate Action Roadmap. The ambition is to bring greenhouse gas emissions of the UK retail industry and its supply chains to net zero by 2040.

The business case is there. We will have over 60 brands standing with us. We can make a huge contribution to the UK’s aims on carbon reduction.

With support from government – investment in infrastructure – surely, we want to see retail move quickly to sites powered by renewable energy; zero carbon logistics; sustainably sourced raw materials; helping customers live low carbon lifestyles. Increasing industry resilience, reducing costs AND protecting our planet.

Lets move that dial.

Thirdly, Place

We had too much retail space before March and were heading to a future of fewer stores. The crisis is accelerating this. Many working from home, the overlay of lockdowns. The effect on town and city centre footfall is severe. The viability of more stores is in question.

The short term picture is challenging. If government listens, acts, fixes some of the structural issues – the burden of business rates, inflexible planning rules – then there is a compelling vision for modern, diverse communities and places in the future.

The pivot that the industry has made to digital continues to cement our position as one of the most competitive and advanced digital retail markets in the world. We must build on that. It is not online v offline, bricks v clicks, stores v digital.

We must align behind a shared vision for our local communities. Where you can stroll from new homes, to modern co-working spaces, to culture and entertainment venues or to the wellness centre or the gym as well as into the world of retail.

And for many community-based retail spaces to be less about transactions, and more about experience – a brand showroom, a source of inspiration or a convenience, service or fulfilment offer. With a seamless connection between physical and digital.

Let’s share that vision, let’s move that dial.

CONCLUSION…

2020 – a year of unbelievable challenge. But perhaps it can lead to some positive change. And an exciting future.

I am full of admiration for you....job you have done – and are doing.

I am full of admiration for BRC team....what we’ve achieved with you and will continue to do......

Despite the backdrop, I hope you enjoy slightly different event this year....