This week I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast seminar hosted by McCann
Manchester on Retail in Post-Brexit Britain.
Whilst the prospect of a debate around Brexit might not
sound the most riveting, the event turned out to be both illuminating and
entertaining, this largely helped by three splendid key contributors.
So, we heard Richard Perks from Mintel, Tom Woodham from PWC
and sandwiched in-between, a slice of Jamie Peate from McCann Manchester.
Richard began by talking us through some retail stats for
Christmas 2016. Here we learnt that Ted Baker continues to thrive, whilst Asda
took a bit of a dive. Tesco and M&S appear to be on the up, whilst Shop
Direct is also performing strongly.
Richard threw in a reference to the ‘Titanic Syndrome’, a
new one on me, to describe how some shoppers may have spent more on Christmas
2016 on the assumption that Christmas this year might not be so good. If
nothing else, the year ahead is looking uncertain, a theme which emerged
throughout the talks of all three speakers.
Interestingly, Tom Woodham suggested that economists are now
predicting a soft landing post-Brexit. So potentially no recession but
challenges may well come as inflationary pressures rise and the pound remains
weak. He referred to Theresa May’s ‘JAMs’, those just about managing, a sector
which may well struggle further, especially if interest rates go up.
Tom also cited how, when asked, consumers say that they
imagine spending more on food this year and less on ‘big ticket’ items and
hospitality. This was felt to reflect the notion that post-Brexit could well
mean higher prices, especially for groceries.
His advice was to plan and prepare for Brexit, not just sit
and wait and hope for the best. He provided us with an interesting anecdote
too, saying how he’d recently visited a company in Kettering where 137 out of
150 workers were from Eastern Europe. He wondered what effect Brexit might have
on an employer such as this.
Jamie gave us an acronym which seemed to sum up many of the
views of both Richard and Tom. This was again something I’d not come across and
now I’m telling the world about it! It’s not a particularly nice-sounding
expression but it’s called VUCA. It suggests that post-Brexit means we’re
living at a time which is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. I don’t
think anyone in the room or indeed outside the room can argue with that.
From this potentially gloomy outlook on life, Jamie took us
on a retail safari which was both fascinating and good fun. He donned his
Snapchat glasses with which he’d been filming the dubious goings on at Bonis
Hall; people sitting at desks and everything. He showed us pictures of a
colleague who’d been ‘virtually’ dressing up on a phone app. He told us of an
app in Japan which can show a ‘made-up’ version of oneself on a video
conference call, handy if you’ve just dragged yourself out of bed and haven’t
had time for face-paint.
In amongst so many great examples of how the retail world is
changing, Jamie had three key themes which punctuated his talk. One, that
companies should deploy their assets and go where their customers are. Two,
that retailers should do everything they can to keep emotions alive for consumers.
And three, that there should be purpose in all retail activity, marketing and
advertising included.
So, a fine morning was spent and the breakfast was excellent
too. Marian Sudbury ended the session with some words and then a video about
the Northern Powerhouse. This reminded us all how fortunate we are to be living
and working in the north of England.
Hats off to McCann Manchester, here’s to the
next event and thanks for having us.
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