The question at the first ever Opportunities for Retailers 2012 was clear...
Are you ready?
The answer...there is still some way to go for the majority of UK retailers to put in place plans to reap the benefits that 2012 will afford.
And, when Richard Lloyd Owen, Global Retail Partner at Deloitte, asked “What do retailers think about the Olympics?”, the answers included “It is a long way off”, “Summer is quiet for retail”, “The economy is tough at the moment” and “You have to pay to be a sponsor to profit.” His response was that NOW is the time to get your strategy into place and, official sponsor or not, there are real opportunities - up to £3bn spend in retail during the games - to reap the benefits. |
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So this conference, attracting over 150 people in retail and hosted by Jo Ankier, former international elite athlete, was a great starting point for many who may not yet have got the ball rolling, providing well needed advice and direction into what the industry should do to maximise opportunities.
What was clear that there are prospects for everyone, even if that opportunity is “as simple” as ensuring that you have plans in place to make sure your staff get into work on time....as Graham Stephens, TfL’s Games Co-ordination Manager revealed, there will be some restrictions to the Olympic Route Network and with the extra influx into London, predicted to be upwards of 2 million visitors, public transport will be working to capacity.
In terms of new retail spaces, Jonathan Daniels, Development Director, Stratford (Westfield Ltd) took us through the development of the Westfield Stratford Olympic village and opportunities for retailers within the three story shopping mall and its 1.9m sq ft of retail space, which will see 200-250,000 customers each day come through the its doors.
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Once those customers come through the door (not just in Stratford, London but around the country) and make a purchase, it is crucial that retailers capture those new customers and Tony Bryant, Head of Business Development, K3 revealed his checklist of visitor essentials for retailers, including considering multi-language and multi-currency issues, showing online availability if none in store and how to capture visitor details. He advised retailers to consider new ways to deliver – do you offer despatch to visitor hotels? If so, what do you do if the item needs to be returned and they are leaving the country the next day? |
He also highlighted ways to acquire new clients by finding ways to engage visitors at touch points, marketing brands across all journeys, queues, exits and entrances, and exploiting m-commerce and kiosk technology both during and after the games to ensure that retailers kept on-going relationships with those customers, particularly if the retailer is international.
With the opportunities that the largest public event ever held in the UK offers, there are also the potential downsides and Commander Richard Norris, CO12 Olympics Operational Command Unit, Metropolitan Police, revealed how the Met was preparing for the first games in an international city set against the backdrop of a severe terrorist attack, making this the single biggest policing challenge ever in the UK.
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As an event taking place over 64 days at 35 venues +, with 15,000 athletes, 24,000 media representatives, 200,000 construction workers, 200 countries, 6,000 coaches and officials, offering 9 million tickets, this is a major operation for the Met and regional police forces.
However, he was keen to stress that despite this threat, the approach is not seen as one of policing against such a risk but making the Olympic Games “Everyone’s 2012” ensuring that celebrations, festivals, street carnivals etc will run smoothly and that businesses and the public are not affected negatively.
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As an Olympic sponsor, Niccolo Rossi Di Montelera, Group Divisional Vice President, Birks and Mayor Inc, Montreal, Canada, knows a thing or two about the benefits of such a relationship so when he announced he was unable to attend the event at the last minute, Retail Knowledge sent out a film crew to Venice and the interview was broadcast at the event.
Niccolo delivered an overview of Birks involvement with the Olympic Games in the past and provided some insight into the benefits, branding, sales, traffic and challenges of inventory management and manufacturing. The main focus of the presentation was to show how, by sponsoring the games, the company, which had been predominantly known for its engagement rings, attracted a new, younger audience to their brand and is now also known for its more informal jewellery.
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A long-term sponsor of the Olympics is Visa Europe and Colin Grannell, FIFS, Executive Vice President,Visa Europe revealed how all retailers could participate in the London Olympic and Paralympic games with Visa.
From October 2010 onwards, Visa Europe will make their selection of retailers for generic and bespoke promotions. In June 2011, PoS promotions will start, with the branding of bags, cards, pin and chip machines. So to benefit from this partnership, the call to action for retailers is to contact their acquiring bank, wait for the Visa Tool Kit, contact the acquiring bank for new EPOS with proper branding and electric messaging, and therefore benefit from that association with the Olympics without being an “official” sponsor. |
Another sponsor, taking the business to business approach, is two tier sponsor Deloitte, and Heather Hancock, Lead Partner for London 2012, explained why the company chose the Olympics as a platform to reach new markets and explain what they do to a wider audience.
Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain gave an overview of how they are using the Olympics as a means to showcase Britain abroad and inspire visitors both old and new to come to the country. As part of its campaign, it will promote lifestyle including retailing and hospitality to benefit our industry and with predications that £2.9m will be made over 10 years after as a result of the games, tourism is going to be a catalyst for retail success.
Mike Mulvey, Chief Executive, London Business Network announced that up to 50% contracts are still available and companies should visit www.competefor.com to find out what contracts may be suitable for them. |
On a different note, Dalton Grant, GB High Jumper, World Veteran Record Holder, took the delegates through his journey from boy to man, his pride at being mentored by Daley Thompson and his experiences at the Olympic games and the camaraderie that such an event brings, giving the audience a passionate overview of actually being part of an event that attracts visitors in their millions to the host country.
So the message is clear, if, like Dalton, you want to go for gold, then you had better get off the starting block now!
To find out more about this event and others planned for the future, please visit www.retail-knowledge.com |
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