Passion, people and product

So, after 18 months of waiting and planning, the 2010 World Retail Congress seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. But from the many conversations I have had during and since the Congress closed, there is so much to take-in. Unsurprisingly given the scale and breadth of the event with its 130+ speakers and over 40 sessions as well as all the various private meetings and networking events such as the Oracle World Retail Awards dinner and the reception at the Berlin City Hall. The team of reporters from Retail Week, led by Editor Tim Danaher, did a fantastic job capturing all of the key pointers from the programme sessions and which can be found on the Congress web site and the daily publications which you can still download.

But what sticks in the mind from the last 4 days? Firstly, I would have to say the mood was generally pretty upbeat - a blend of the cautious optimism of North America with the caution of Europe topped up by the soar away growth of the BRICs and other developing economies. This was summed up well by Deloitte’s Director of Global Strategy, Dr Ira Kalish and Executive Board member of the European Central Bank, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, in the opening plenary on day one. Their realistic summary of current economic growth was reinforced by the views of M&S Chairman, Sir Stuart Rose, HSN CEO Mindy Grossman and Esprit Holdings Chairman, Heinz Krogner.

However the discussion really took off when Philipp Schindler of Google got up to speak. For me, from thereon in, a strand of debate was set for the next three days - and that was all about the digital revolution and what it really means for retail. Philipp’s persuasive reciting of current facts and figures (knowing that tomorrow they will have changed again) had everyone on the edge of their seats - facts such as that 60% of in-store purchases are now researched online, that a product is sold on eBay every 2 seconds and 1 in 5 mobile phones are now smart phones.

Do retailers really “get it”? Well, there was plenty of talk that they did, but in reality, those that are closest to the digital revolution shake their heads. The following day, Mindy Grossman observed to me that having attended several sessions, her conclusion most definitely was that retailers had a long, long way to go.

If that was the biggest underlying thread of discussion, I was however, most struck by the fantastic and inspritational restating of retail principles by not just the retail veterans, but an undoubted new retail leader. From Bloomingdale’s Michael Gould who held the audience enraptured with his views whilst being interviewed by Financo Chairman, Gilbert Harrison, to Crate and Barrel founder, Gordon Segal and right up to Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts, their message was clear. For them, the retail market can change up or down, but what really matters is that it is driven along by “passion” - passion for the basic principle of serving customers, having great people and wonderful product. It was remarkable how consistent was this message.

Gordon Segal couldn’t have been more eloquent about the product as was Angela Ahrendts. Some misunderstood Gordon’s remarks about the internet when he said that he loved the sales it generated but was still unsure how it replicated the experience of touching and feeling the product. It is something the business continues to work on to deliver. Angela Ahrendts showed with Burberry’s all embracing digital and social media strategies that it is in-tune with its customers. She called this and other areas, the soft strategies as opposed to the hard financial strategies but they are clearly working. Similarly, Crate and Barrel is now performing back at 2008 levels and Bloomingdale’s is pulling in great numbers.

With so many ideas and takeaways from the Congress, the one’s that made most sense to me were the common values of passion, people and product that these retail greats espoused. And how many delegates I wonder, bought - or ordered online! - Richard Stengel’s book, Mandela’s Way after Michael Gould recommended it so emphatically in his session?