Retail workers finally get the protection they need. Today, the government announced the introduction of a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. For over five years, the BRC has campaigned alongside the likes of Usdaw Union, Association of Convenience Stores, Retail Trust, Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots UK and John Lewis Partnership among others for the standalone offence to be introduced into law. 📜 Not only does this announcement send a clear message that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated. It will also improve the police response 👮♂️, which was rated as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ by 60% of respondents in our 2024 Crime Survey. The standalone offence will give police the data they need to allocate resources sufficiently to deal with retail crime. 📊 To read our full statement 👉 https://lnkd.in/eNSu7jx6 Watch below to see why today’s landmark announcement was needed and is welcomed by the retail industry 👇 #retailcrime #standaloneoffence
British Retail Consortium
Retail
The voice of British retail. Follow for the latest thinking, news, and events from the British Retail Consortium.
About us
The BRC’s purpose is to make a positive difference to the retail industry and the customers it serves, today and in the future. Retail is an exciting, dynamic and diverse industry. It is a driving force in our economy, a hotbed of innovation and the UK’s largest private sector employer. Retailers touch the lives of millions of people every day, supporting the vibrancy of the communities they operate in. The industry today is going through a period of profound change. Technology is transforming how people shop; costs are increasing; and growth in consumer spending is slow. Retailing will continue to evolve and advance. Online retail will continue to grow as retailers invest in new emerging technologies; there will be fewer stores and those stores remaining will offer new experiences; there will be fewer, but better jobs and a career in retail in the future will be very different to today. We are committed to ensuring the industry thrives through this period of transformation. We tell the story of retail, work with our members to drive positive change and use our expertise and influence to create an economic and policy environment that enables retail businesses to thrive and consumers to benefit. We do this in a way that delivers value back to our members, justifying their investment in the BRC. This membership comprises over 5,000 businesses delivering £180bn of retail sales and employing over one and half million employees. www.brc.org.uk Twitter: @the_brc
- Website
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http://www.brc.org.uk
External link for British Retail Consortium
- Industry
- Retail
- Company size
- 11-50 employees
- Headquarters
- London
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 1991
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
2 London Bridge
London, SE1 9RA, GB
Employees at British Retail Consortium
Updates
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#MenditMay continues. Today, we highlight the work Dunelm are doing to help their customers make, mend and renew homewares and furniture products. 🔧 Live demonstrations 📽, free workshops 👨🏫 and advice from experts 📑 are just some of the ways Dunelm are helping their customers mend or even upcycle their products. They also have a partnership with Airtasker, a company where skilled local experts offer their services to help people with repairs. 🧔 For more detail on the work Dunelm are doing, click here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eTzVZhH9 Swipe across to see comments from Debbie Drake, Design Director at Dunelm and Sophie De Salis, Sustainability Adviser at the BRC. 💬 #BuyIntoRetail
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‘Embracing the Future Consumer: a new era of omnipresence’ 💭 On Tuesday, CEO Helen Dickinson, spoke at the Retail Gazette Future Consumer Debate. 💬 In a debate hosted by Fawn Hudgens, Helen was joined by Indranil Das from Microsoft to discuss shifts we are seeing in consumer behaviour across retail 🧔, sustainability 🌍 and the role retailers must play in driving consumer preferences.🛒 Over 100 BRC members pledged in March 2022 to bring the retail industry to net zero by 2040. 📅 Now it’s time for leadership, collaboration and unity throughout the industry to create change. Politicians must also play their part and #BuyIntoRetail. 🏛 With the right policy environment and clear signals on the right technology to invest in retailers will be able to move further and faster in this space. For more detail on the 2024 Future Consumer Debate 👇 https://lnkd.in/eyZgCHPJ
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Scottish Retail Consortium meet Deputy FM Kate Forbes MSP. 💬 The SRC were delighted to welcome the Scottish Government’s new Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes MSP to their board yesterday in Edinburgh. The Deputy FM reinforced her commitment to economic growth and maximising opportunities for the retail industry to invest and become more productive. 📈 The SRC were also joined by the Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, Sara Jones and the Head of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Neil Johnston. Retail is the everywhere economy and it’s essential that politicians #BuyIntoRetail by implementing pro-growth policies which support retail’s vision for Net Zero♻️, a digitally transformed industry providing higher skilled, better paid jobs 💷 and the best shopping experiences for customers🛍️. On a separate note, It was Scotmid Co-operative’s John Brodie’s last time chairing the Board, after 6 eventful years for Scottish retail, in particular steering the industry through the pandemic. We thank John for his time as Chair. 👏 He leaves the Board in the safe hands of new Chair Debbie Harding of Dobbies Garden Centres. #Scottishretail #BuyIntoRetail
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We were delighted to host an interactive breakfast yesterday with Google at our HQ, The Form Rooms in Covent Garden. 🥐 The morning started with a fireside chat hosted by Director of Insight at the BRC, Kris Hamer. Kris was joined by Sophie Neary and Andrea Williamson from Google to discuss how AI can power growth and core capabilities. 🤖 Members were then treated to a live demo, led by Michelle Unterbrink from Google, showcasing the power of data analytics and AI to improve marketing and customer experience. 📊 The morning concluded with an open discussion on transforming retail marketing with generative AI. Members discussed the ways in which AI is developing conversational commerce, creating personalised shopping experiences and enhancing customer engagement. 💬 Director of Insight, Kris Hamer, commented: “AI-powered technologies are set to transform the retail industry in the next few years so it was great to be joined by Google to discuss the challenges and opportunities that AI presents. AI is a complex topic, however following this interactive breakfast members will have left with a greater understanding of what a future with AI at its heart looks like. We look forward to welcoming members back to The Form Rooms in the near future for more insightful events.” If you’d like to host events like this, why not join as an associate member. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eKv7aabP If you’re interested in hiring our Central London events space, click here 👇 https://formrooms.co.uk/ #AI #retail
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During #MendItMay, we will be showcasing the work our members do to help customers reuse and recycle. ♻ Today, we highlight the work of Primark’s Repairs Programme. 👨🏫 Through free repair workshops, Primark are inspiring customers to mend and revamp their clothing. Over 100 workshops have been run to date, with 1,600 free places offered to customers and colleagues. 👕 Online videos are also available for those who can’t attend in person and are available here. 💻 👉 https://lnkd.in/ecgm2SeY Swipe across to get some advice from Victoria Swain, Quality Lead at Primark and Sophie De Salis, Sustainability Adviser at the BRC on how you can ensure your clothes live a longer life. 💬
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#BuyIntoRetail In January we set out the power of the “Everywhere Economy” in our Retail Manifesto. As part of this, we at the British Retail Consortium are launching the next phase of our election strategy: ‘#BuyIntoRetail’. We are calling on the government to implement pro-growth policies which support retail’s vision for Net Zero♻️, a digitally transformed industry providing higher skilled, better paid jobs📈 and the best shopping experiences for customers🛍️. Retail is everywhere. Its impact stretches to every corner of the country. In 2023 it contributed £91.873bn to GVA UK, and the industry employs almost 20% of the UK workforce, directly and indirectly. Our scale, reach and representation of people from all over the UK means we should be at the forefront of the conversations that matter. We know this, and we need our government to recognise this too. The BRC’s role as an industry body is to bring a collective voice to the political table, and with the upcoming election, we need to make sure our industry is accounted for in policy changes. But as an industry we all have a part to play in getting the next government to #BuyIntoRetail. Our member involvement in this campaign will be key to its success and there are many ways, big and small, to get involved📣. Please get in touch with us if you want to discuss ideas on how we can ensure retail is at the forefront of debates and is a key focus of the next administration. Read all this and more in a recent article CEO, Helen Dickinson, wrote for Retail Week. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eiEswaC2 #Retail #UKElection #BritishRetailConsortium #EverywhereEconomy
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A morning of engagement with the Labour Shadow Chancellor. 💬 On Wednesday, CEOs of some of our members had the opportunity to speak directly with Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP about the challenges the industry currently faces and the opportunities that it can take advantage of with the support of those in power. A new government must: Reform an outdated business rates system that is holding back investment and leading to store closures. 📜 Create greater flexibility in the apprenticeship levy, allowing businesses to spend funds on a wider range of high quality, accredited courses. 📚 Help realise the full benefits of net zero & the green / circular economy, by giving clear signals on which tech to invest in, making sure there is a tax regime which supports investment, and closely collaborating with the industry to ensure regulations are effective & fit for purpose. 🌎 Below, the Shadow Chancellor along with BRC CEO, Helen Dickinson, reflects on a positive and insightful morning. 👇 #BuyIntoRetail
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💭 Thursday learning 💭 Ever wonder if unconscious bias is influencing your actions, strategies, hiring and decision making? Check out the strategies our team over at BRC Learning have pulled together to identify and tackle these biases… 📑 #learning #retailleaders
All aspects of life, including work, are affected by unconscious bias. The best-intentioned leaders can unknowingly harbor biases that influence their actions, especially in strategies, hiring and decision-making. The key to overcoming these biases is self-awareness and continuous learning. It can, at times, be difficult to identify and tackle. But we're here to help. Here are some strategies we've pulled together to help: 💕 Play Both Sides: Work with a partner that catches biases. Work together as a team, where one learns to predict, and the other spots and fixes unfairness. 💕 Mix Fairly: When sorting people into groups, make sure each group has a fair mix of people with different life experiences, so no group gets left out or favored unfairly. 💕 Many Heads Are Better Than One: Instead of relying on just one model, try a couple, each looking at the problem from a different angle. Together, they balance each other's biases. 💕 Look for Causes: Try to understand why things happen the way they do, separating what's actually causing a situation from what might just look like it is. This helps us untangle biases. 💕 People-Powered Checks: Always have a 'human' check when it comes to the decision-making process. They keep an eye on things and step in if unfairness creeps in. 💕 Juggle Many Goals at Once: Instead of just focusing on getting the right answers, we also aim to ensure they are fair for everyone. 💕 Be Open and Clear: Don't keep decisions secret. Explain why you're making the choices you do, so everyone can understand and trust its fairness. --------- Hello! 👋 We are BRC Learning and our mission is to 'develop exceptional leaders for the retail industry'. In collaboration with RPC, we've created a Masterclass specifically for senior leaders within your organisation. These leaders are in the position to shape the culture but perhaps don't have the knowledge, yet, to drive change: https://lnkd.in/engS3ySZ. Become the self-aware leader the world needs. We are creating a disruptive programme, the BRC Summer School, that creates self-aware leaders who understand themselves, their values, and how these can align with the organisation: https://lnkd.in/evi6tyns.
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Today, BRC CEO Helen Dickinson and Chair Andy Higginson were delighted to bring together CEOs of some of our members for a breakfast roundtable with Shadow Chancellor, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP at Fortnum & Mason. There were healthy discussions around the huge potential retail has to: Drive growth 📈 Upskill a huge chunk of the UK’s workforce 👨🏫 Move us all to a greener, more sustainable economy ♻ It was great to shine a light on retail’s current contribution to the economy and the untapped potential which politicians can help to unlock. 💡 A big thank you to Rachel and her team for their ongoing dialogue with retailers! 💬 #BuyIntoRetail.
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