Day one of Fashion Connect 2021 unites the industry with exclusive networking and thought leadership, providing delegates with the opportunity to share experiences and discover best practise, at The Hurlingham Club, London
We welcome leading retailers to reveal key studies on the difficulties faced during the pandemic, and how the crisis has revealed opportunities and paradigm shifts that will be here to stay. Expect a focus on 2021 performance, and a look ahead to what we can expect within the industry through to 2025.
From unique IMRG data and insight to keynote retail panel discussions; and from roundtable discussions to insight workshops, Fashion Connect will help you navigate industry opportunities and challenges.
Key Takeaways:
- Fashion review of 2021 in hindsight, including key trends and data detailing market performance
- What changes have been observed in fashion retail, and how has the pandemic impacted brands?
- Speak to experts about expected challenges over the next 5 years
- Discover where new opportunities lie in 2022 and how you can implement winning strategies
- Hear from fellow industry peers and leading retailers such as The Very Group, Ted Baker and Vivobarefoot
Agenda
Wednesday 09 February - In-Person Event (The Hurlingham Club)
08:00 - 09:00 AM
Entry Badges and Complimentary Breakfast
09:00 - 09:15 AM
What Are Fashion retailers good at?
Andy Mulcahy, from IMRG, analyses how effective (or otherwise) fashion retailers are at moving visitors across their sites toward conversion, and which elements of navigation work the best. 09:15 - 09:25 AM
State of Operations Experience Management 2022
Our first headline sponsor, parcelLab will present a review of the key 2021 ecommerce trends, predictions for 2022 trends that will influence fashion retailers. They will also give exclusive first access to parcelLab’s ‘State of Operations Experience Management 2022’ study, comparing the customer journeys of the UK’s top fashion retailers across checkout, shipping and returns, as well as an analysis of sustainability improvements since 2019Katharine Biggs, Head of Marketing Communications - EMEA at parcelLab
09:25 - 09:35 AM
What was the sales performance for clothing in 2021?
Matt Walsh, from IMRG, gives a presentation on fashion retailers’ performance; find out:- Which categories are performing best – menswear / womenswear / footwear / lingerie / accessories
- Analysis on the top 10 performers and their traits
09:35 - 10:05 AM
Retailer workshops
Get involved in a series of insightful debates where you can hear about your peers’ strategic approach across a range of areas, moving between tables to discuss: customer acquisition, the post-purchase experience, use of product information, social channels, marketplaces, global expansion and the impacts of Brexit. 10:05 - 10:15 AM
How has average spend / conversion changed during the pandemic?
Matt Walsh, from IMRG, gives a presentation on customer behaviour on fashion sites; find out:- How the amount customers spent varied across the year
- Increases and declines in conversion rate across the year
10:15 - 10:45 AM
Retailer workshops
Get involved in a series of insightful debates where you can hear about your peers’ strategic approach across a range of areas, moving between tables to discuss: customer acquisition, the post-purchase experience, use of product information, social channels, marketplaces, global expansion and the impacts of Brexit. 10:45 - 11:15 AM
Coffee break and general networking
11:15 - 11:25 AM
Fashion Brands: Capitalising on new digital consumer behaviour - post lock down and beyond
How have changing consumer behaviours in the last two years impacted fashion brands and what challenges are we facing moving into 2022. Epsilon will demonstrate how retails can capitalise on these changes to accelerate growth.Amiee Stroud, Business Development Director at Epsilon
11:25 - 11:35 AM
How did clothing perform during Black Friday 2021?
Matt Walsh, from IMRG, gives a presentation on Christmas peak performance in fashion; find out:- Daily performance data for fashion retailers from Black Friday week
- Were discounts higher or lower in 2021 for fashion retailers?
11:35 - 12:05 PM
Retailer workshops
Get involved in a series of insightful debates where you can hear about your peers’ strategic approach across a range of areas, moving between tables to discuss: customer acquisition, the post-purchase experience, use of product information, social channels, marketplaces, global expansion and the impacts of Brexit. 12:05 - 12:15 PM
Fashion retailers performance over peak 2021
Matt Walsh, from IMRG, gives a presentation on Christmas peak performance in fashion; find out:- Launch date data comparison with 2020
- What about Xmas – what happened to clothing over the weeks around Christmas
12:15 - 12:30 PM
Retailer workshops
Get involved in a series of insightful debates where you can hear about your peers’ strategic approach across a range of areas, moving between tables to discuss: customer acquisition, the post-purchase experience, use of product information, social channels, marketplaces, global expansion and the impacts of Brexit. 12:30 - 12:45 PM
Sales forecast for online fashion retailers
Find out how the online fashion category is expected to perform in 2022, using IMRG’s brand new forecasting model. 12:45 - 01:45 PM
Lunch and general networking
01:45 - 02:25 PM
Hosted retailer panel discussions with IMRG’s Advisory Board
An expert panel of directors, from our Retail Advisory Board, spark discussion around the key themes and topics, providing you with insight to enhance your ecommerce strategy; find out:- What the pandemic has actually changed about fashion
- Short-term expectations for fashion
- Longer-term strategy / challenges / opportunities in fashion
- Our hosts include:
02:25 - 03:00 PM
Coffee break and general networking
03:00 - 04:00 PM
Retailer hosted strategic roundtable session
Join top retailers at our topic-based roundtables, where they encourage open discussion around industry opportunities and challenges. Get involved in discussions around:- Last mile delivery – best practice in fashion customer experience
- The metaverse – is it a real retail prospect yet?
- Sustainability – strategies for dealing with after-life and end-of-life products
- Co-creating with influencers – product, content and value
- MACH architecture – what is it, should you try it?
- Analysis – why are so many retailers ‘data heavy but insight light’
- Merchandising – optimising product presentation for conversion
- Approaches for increasing customer acquisition
- Our hosts include:
04:00 - 05:00 PM
Hosted drinks reception to end the day
Keynote Speakers
Bio:
Consumer executive focused on transformation, growth and innovation. 23 years in consumer marketing and digital and a more recently board advisory.Jennifer Roebuck
Consumer Non-Executive Director
Ted Baker
Bio:
Paul re-joined The Very Group in January 2021 as Digital Customer Experience Director, and prior to that led the online business at Matalan for 3 years as their Director of eCommerce.Within his current role he is responsible for driving the digital customer experience across all of The Very Group’s brands and touchpoints, leading a collection of squads who focus on making data informed decisions to improve the journey and drive forward the technology landscape.
Paul Hornby
Digital Customer Experience (DCX) Director
The Very Group
Bio:
Chief Commercial Officer at Vivobarefoot, Paul is digitally native with 15 years of Ecommerce and Digital experience, and is Chief Commercial Officer at Vivobarefoot.Pauls current remit and focus is across international trade and channel optimisation, internal and customer facing technology innovation, and exploration of IR4.0 to enhance customer journey and experience.
Prior to his time at Vivo, Paul worked in the central E-commece function for Dixons Retail and Commercial Trading team for Carphone Warehouse.
Paul Walker
Chief Customer Officer
Vivobarefoot
Bio:
James Kearns
Managing Director
TM Lewin
Bio:
Sally Heath Minto is Global Digital Director at Revolution Beauty, a leading global mass beauty company, and manages all DTC websites and Digital sales through global Ecommerce partners such as Asos, Beauty Bay, Zalando and Amazon. A lifelong retailer, Sally started her career on the shopfloor in the early 90’s. She then held several Fashion Buying roles in retailers such as House of Fraser, Allsaints, USC and New Look before deciding to specialise in Ecommerce 10 years ago latterly becoming the Ecommerce Director at New Look in 2015. Sally is passionate about customer experience and loves the changing nature of Digital Commerce. Sally is also a Brand Ambassador for the Retail Trust.Sally Heath Minto
Digital Director
Revolution Beauty
Want to register for Virtual Fashion Connect 2022?
Day two of Fashion Connect 2021 unites the industry with exclusive digital content and thought leadership, welcoming industry leading speakers and topics.
Register for day two
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