Welcome And Guest Reveal

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to What's in the Box, the brand new podcast brought to you by Box Technologies, powering retail with purpose. Boxtech delivers innovative and market leading customer engagement solutions that turn business ideas into a performing reality. From design and integration to ongoing support and maintenance, we're with you every step of the way. Now, this podcast might be a little different to what you're used to. It's audio only, and our guests love that. It's completely unscripted, honest, and it's around about 20 minutes because we're busy. Our guests certainly are, and we're sure you are too. So let's get right into it. My guest today is it says here, a prominent figure. No, he really is a prominent figure in the retail industry, and is primarily known for his leadership of the retail technology show. So I'm sure that you guessed who it is already. And he's built that to become the UK's biggest event dedicated to the future of retail hospitality and leisure. His insights bridge strategy and execution, making him a trusted voice in the retail landscape, which has seen him appear in countless retail, top retail expert and influencer lists. He is a passionate advocate for future-proofing the legacy of the retail sector and protecting our people. It is an absolute pleasure to welcome Matt Bradley to What's in the Box? Thank you. I love that intro. Thank you very much. Well, I think you wrote it. I think yeah. No, it's all true. And um, yeah, everybody, I'm sure, who's listening into this, we all we all know and love love you, Matt. And so this episode, well, yeah, we're gonna talk about the retail technology show. What else is there to talk about? But before we get into that, just give us a little bit of um an overview, a little bit of the background, the history. I mean, I've I've been working with you for a number of years now, and I I remember it before you and 19 Group took it over. So tell us just a little bit about the sort of journey you've been on before we talk about this year's show.

From RBTE To Retail Expo To RTS

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, I think you know that I suppose the best starting point would be the journey of retail tech shows in general in this industry. I mean, the before my time, the two big ones were the retail solutions show, which I think had been at the NEC for multiple years, then the retail business show, run by Mark Pigou and Paul Bessum, which was Olympia. And for various reasons that we don't need to go into now, they they they sort of they departed from the sector, leaving quite a big gap. I think a lot of people say in those times technology wasn't moving that quickly, particularly in the retail sector. And I think really we came along, I came along with with two business partners and looked at the gap. One of my business partners had been running something similar in Asia, and we're talking 2010 at this point, and thought, you know, there it feels like there needs to be a show. And the one thing that had changed between the last retail solution show and the start of what was then called RBTE was an iPhone had come along, which had completely revolutionized how we shop and had sort of been the marker for a lot of retail change. So I think there was a real, you know, you know, of course, we worked really hard. We really tried to get under the skin of the industry and become part of that community. We still do, but it there was some really fortunate timing on our behalf. That gap in the market appeared, the technology was really fast moving and ever-changing, and there was a real demand for a show, both from the retailers who were trying to keep up, and of course, the suppliers that were constantly evolving their technology. I wanted to get that in front of uh in front of that audience. So, over you know, for I suppose about six or seven years, we built that up until we sold the business to Reed. I went along with Reed, helped run that, as we renamed it the Retail Expo, until eventually COVID completely demolished all of our dreams. And uh we we had to pull the plug. 19 approached me and said, you know, we think this is a great idea, we'd like to invest in it, which they did, and they've been very, very great, they've been fantastic backers alongside the private equity company Phoenix. And RTS Retail Technology Show was born in 2022 and has gone really from strength to strength. So yeah, that's that's where we are now.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

It has, and and the thing that's always stood out for me is the the energy which you and your team put into it. Uh and there's a lot of social media pre-the-show, and you really seem to have you know you you do something that's different to to the to the other the other conferences and expos and shows. It is that something that comes from from your enthusiasm, your drive, or is it the also the team that you build around you?

Building Energy And Community

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah, I think a bit of both, really. I think you know, initially it would would come from me, but the team are on board and they're part of that journey, and they are as creative and as enthusiastic, certainly, as I am. And I think it really comes born from a desire to do the very best for the industry. We feel very fortunate to be the the, I hate this word, but we'll use it, the flagship show. And we take that responsibility very seriously. You know, we've got a huge amount of exhibitors that rely on us to give them that route to market, and we've got a huge amount of retailers that want to know what the you know how to solve some of the issues that are facing them today. So that but we do live by the mantra that that shows or trade shows, which I hate that term as well, they they they don't have to be boring, they don't have to be miles and miles of carpet space with the you know the same stand now every 10 yards. So it's we try to inject some life. We want people to want to come to our show, not feel they have to come to our show. Because when you want to do something, you tend to love it a lot more and you'll come back. So we don't want people waking up on that Wednesday morning going, Oh god, I've got to go to the retail technology show today. We want people jumping out of it. I don't know whether they are, but that's certainly what we we drive to try to achieve, achieve.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah, it and it's become a real over the years. For me, it's become a real community. And I I think that you from all the feedback that I get, people do want to come to it. Uh so you know, from that point of view, I think it's an incredible achievement. Let's talk about this year's show. Um and for the people listening to this, I'm sure you know when and where, but we will confirm that at the end of the podcast. But the theme this year, okay, so Disco. Tell us about that and what uh we might expect. And of course, this is coming from I'm speaking from Boxtech uh headquarters, and we're pleased and look really looking forward to uh having it stand at the show. And of course, we were talking before this that this is Bee Gees Country, literally where I'm sat, Robin Gibb, I used to live about two miles down the road. So we're certainly up for the disco theme.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yeah, I think it's we try and bring a theme every year, we try and give it some identity. Again, it's about fun. You know, we work on this show for the entire year, it takes up a huge amount of time, so we want to be enjoying it while we're doing it. We want to have some fun. It's a very serious industry, but it's also a very fun and exciting and vibrant industry, and we try and inject some of that fun into the show. It tries to reflect what retail is. And um, you know, you go into John Lewis or a Selfridge's or a Hamley's or anything like that. There's life, there's life, and they try and bring that life to their customers and in in influence that experience. And it would be remiss of us not to try and try and match that in in an exhibition that is meant to represent that industry. So yeah, the disco theme is uh is a lot of fun. We we had carnival last year for our first show in Excel, and it went down really, really well. I was surprised by how many of the exhibitors got on board with that, with the dressing of their stands, etc., and some of the fun stuff that you could do. But it was really well received. And probably probably one of the challenges we face is trying to come up with something that is that is different but also exciting and unique the following year. And you know, I'll be honest, I had a couple of ideas. I'm already thinking about 2027, and I presented them to the team and said, look, you know, just choose out of these three. And it was brutal. They said, look, we didn't like any of them. So uh you know, it's all great being the boss and the leader, but when the whole team says they're all terrible, then you gotta just you gotta take that one on the chin and go, okay, right. And we had a Claudia who works on our marketing team, I think she'd only been at the business for a few weeks, said, I've had an idea and put this presentation together of disco and it was brilliant. And so she will get the credit for the theme this year. Good for her, came from the mind of uh of Claudia. So yeah, we we're we've got a few surprises lined up at the show as always, and we're very, very excited. Outfit pending.

Why Disco And How Themes Happen

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Outfit pending, yes. I've already got my eye on uh a glittery jacket to uh to wear. So um any extra. Yeah, absolutely. It's normally just for the weekends, not really weekends. So yeah, looking forward to that. So, okay, disco theme. Now, you know, we've got obviously the expo floor and and the and the conference. We'll come on to the the some of the speakers a little bit, but um what can we expect you from the the expo floor and the conference? And last year it was, I mean, you filled, I can't remember how many halls at Excel, but it it seemed that it was pretty packed.

Aligning Expo Floor To Conference

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Yeah. Yeah, it's and it will be the same again this year. You know, there's a real demand and drive for from the industry to be part of this show, and we're trying to reflect that as much as possible. We're trying to get the right people in. There's we've worked very hard this year to try and reflect on the show floor the companies that can resolve the issues that will be spoken about within the conference. So, you know, I think in the past there has been some criticism, and I think we'll probably have to take that one on the chin, that some of the themes are being discussed in the conference. Retailers were walking out and going, okay, well, who's gonna help me resolve that? Now I know where to go. And actually, the suppliers not being on the floor to be able to enable that. We've worked really hard to ensure that we've had the conference theme set up relatively early this year, earlier than previous, and the sales and the team, the commercial team, have been pushed very hard to say, okay, reflect that themes or those themes on the floor. So you're gonna see a lot of new exhibitors that we haven't seen previously. There's again, there's a huge focus on innovation. The startup safari or the stars, super startup superstars, which is an incredibly popular feature of the show, always has been, has been moved direct to the front of the show, you know, backed by, you know, just purely from visitor demand. And a lot of our decisions are, I say a lot, pretty much all of our decisions are based upon visitor research. Visitor research, industry, industry research. We cannot do this show without the input of the experts and the input that people that are going through those challenges currently. So expect around, I don't know, could it be close to 500, maybe? I don't know. Close to 500. When you take people that multiple have multiple companies on one booth, then yeah, maybe it will be close to 500 suppliers. Wow. Yeah, some features are like a lot of a lot of the startup companies because we have a preferential rate if you're a startup company, because we want to ensure you are the lifebud and the future of this industry. So we want to make sure you've got that platform. Plus, you know, the retailers really want to know what's new out there and what those guys are, you know, working out of their bedrooms right now, you know, don't have a huge amount of budget, but still have got something that could really make a difference to what a retailer's doing. Plus, you know, likes to yourselves and some of the key traditional suppliers that we know and love that are always innovating. I've got some phenomenal RD departments that uh sort of the lifeblood of that industry. And um, so yeah, so expect to see a lot more exhibitors showcasing a lot more tech that will reflect the issues that retailers are challenged by at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

And tell us a bit about the the conference. As I mentioned earlier, we'll come on to the speakers in a little bit, but the the sort of tracks that you've got. I think you were telling me that um you've got one on um cybersecurity, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah, again, reflecting what's going on in the industry. Uh you know, as an industry, we we hold so much data. And and that, you know, we we use that in the right ways. We use that because of the influx in the in e-commerce, and obviously that was accelerated due to COVID, but that also makes us incredibly vulnerable and never before, I don't think we've ever seen as much vulnerability as we've seen this year, or perhaps those vulnerabilities exposed. So that has to take you know a huge, a huge precedent at the show this year. That that retailers we've looked, someone's going to be next. There's absolutely no doubt about it. No one wants it to be them. And you know, a lot of the stories that we've seen, they're the stories that have made the media. I speak to retailers all the time that have had cyber attacks but have managed to keep it out of the press. So that this is going along, this is going on every day. And the cyber criminals are getting more and more sophisticated. The challenge is not going away, and and we need to be equipped in order to deal with it as best as possible. Because as I said, somebody's gonna be next, and I don't want to I keep using the word next. That's not an influence that is going to be the retailer next. I hope right as well, but but certainly uh that that is retail is a prime target for cyber criminals right now.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

It is sadly. Yeah, I've got to say, I mean, I remember from my days as a retailer, a Kingfisher super drug, it was hard to get approval for something, for you know, CapEx approval for something if it didn't directly drive sales, add to the to the bottom line, that sort of thing. And yeah, it it's it's just a sad truth that that is part of the mentality, I think. And but hopefully that that is changing.

Startups, Innovation, And New Exhibitors

SPEAKER_01 14:51

I I don't yeah, I don't think that's gone away. I think I've probably you know, speaking to a lot of people that have had attacks, they all talk about the importance of getting the board on board as early as possible. Yeah, and you know, the mass media coverage of the likes of Land Rover and obviously MS and stuff like that, yeah. Hopefully has has you know brought this to the to the boardroom table. And I think it probably probably has in a lot of cases, but there will be cases that it simply hasn't, and like you say, it's um it's a it's a capex expense, and I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah, anyway, let's move on. Um getting back to to the show. So what else have we got we that we can expect? You talked about the startup hub. We've got the French retail tech hub.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Yeah, yeah, that I mean that's fantastic because it it gives us an opportunity to bring what's really innovative in France over to here, and they've got some incredible companies, they really are. They are just they're very exciting, they are outside of the box thinkers. And some of their tech because we run our um you know our um innovation awards, and anyone can enter, who's an exhibitor, obviously, and then we choose the top ten finalists, goes to a judgment panel of people to choose the top ten finalists. And more often than not, a lot of those French startup companies are on the list. So I expect to see to see some really groundbreaking stuff with those guys. But yeah, and then yes, so the the the the French startup pavilion is always a very exciting part for me.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Yeah, no, absolutely. And probably I don't want to give them a plug, but I will give them a plug because I I'm just constantly amazed by what the guys at Vusion are doing. Uh and uh because I'm totally bought into that whole concept of the what I call a connected store. And of course, we saw recently from when you know we're recording this podcast the announcement with Carfor. And and it's it's I think it it's gonna it is changing the whole face of particularly grocery shopping. And I think we're really I'm I'm and you know we we don't have to be a good one.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

So I'll give you an exclusive that nobody knows. With the help of Fusion, we're gonna have Car 4 on stage talking about the connected store.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Wow, wow. Okay, so what's in the box has got an exclusive. Now that is one session to definitely, definitely go to. Okay, so talking about speakers, you got Archie Norman coming back. Now I think this is the first time you've done this. Tell it tell us about this.

Cybersecurity Takes Center Stage

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Yeah, yeah, it was the first time I've ever done it. And it was it was on my mind that when Archie when Archie spoke last year, A, he was brilliant, B, there was probably 500 to six to a thousand people that didn't get into the theatre because it was. I remember, I remember that. Thirdly, about a month after the show was the massive cyber attack at MNS. So the the perhaps the biggest MNS story in years happened about a month after he was he walked off the stage at RTS. We wouldn't bring anyone back unless they had a story to tell or they had something interesting or new to add. And after perhaps the most controversial year, Martin Spencer's have ever, I thought, well, we've got to get him back to talk about it. So that was the thinking, really. And I'm sure there'll be some naysayers out there saying, Well, you know, yeah, you haven't you haven't thought outside the box, you're just repeating what you did last year. His interview will be completely different than last year because there is so much more to talk about. And you know, it's the opportunity for a lot of those people that didn't quite get in last year to to sort of try and change that this year. So we've got a bigger theatre um to try and fill to get to just try and occupy as many people as possible because he is a huge draw. And um, yeah, Kate Harcastle, who will be sitting down with him, I'm sure, will not pull her punches when she uh when she has some questions for you.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

No, absolutely. No, Kate Kate's incredible, she's really good. Okay, so that's Archie. Who else can we uh on the to the uh sort of main stages? Who can we expect to uh to hear from?

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Well, we I mean we're very excited to welcome Grace Beverly, who is uh the founder of Tala, which is the workout wear, and also podcast host. She's she brings a real different dimension to retail because she's one of the new faces amongst retail, perhaps the new generation. And I'm always trying to word this in the right way, and I'm not sure I've done it yet, but uh I want to sort of find a way where we've got traditional retail meets the disruptors. And I think with the likes of Archie and Tuca Sullivan as well, who is uh a retailer, a phenomenal retailer, and obviously a dragon, those guys are on stage, but we've also got, as I say, Grace Beverly, uh Marissa Poster, who is the founder of Perfect Ted, I think, which is now on the verge of overtaking Levi Root and Reggae Reggae Chicken as the most successful Dragon's Den product of all time. So she'll be on stage talking about brands, etc. We, as I said, we will have Carrefour talking about the connected store. We've got the likes of Holland and Barrett, we've got Curries. Yeah, it it's a real mix of your traditional top retailers and some of those really exciting e-com platforms and e-com companies that are you know completely ripping up that traditional in inverted commas rule book.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Yeah, and I think that's so important. It's great that you're doing that because there's so much, a bit like your you know, your marketing team, the lady who came up with the with the discount, yeah. And is Claudia a Gen Z, a millennial young millennial? Or somebody so somebody, in other words, somebody who would not have lived through the disco years of the 70s and 80s, but came up with the idea. So I guess it's you know that we can we can really, particularly now, we can really learn an awful lot from the new startups disruptors, call them what you like.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Yeah, there's definitely plenty of crossover there, and it's about being open enough to take that on. I think you know the program, the coverage programs in in a way split into two. It's it's the challenges, but also the opportunities. There is, you know, there's there's an enormous amount of challenges that that are facing retail. We've we've touched on cyber and stuff like that. I'm not actually sure where AI is. Is it a challenge or is it an opportunity?

SPEAKER_00 21:40

We've got do you know what I was just thinking that we've got to 22 minutes, and we hadn't we hadn't mentioned AI.

French Pavilion And Connected Store

SPEAKER_01 21:49

But yeah, in between for some people, you know, retail media is a phenomenal opportunity, and so we're gonna be covering a lot of that. We're gonna be talking about you know the growing retail, we're gonna talk about loyalty, customer experience. And again, with all of these things, there are challenges, but there are loads of opportunities, and it's about trying. To marry those. You know, we're not, we don't believe in walking, you know, opening that venue and going everything is perfect. You know, the retail sector is buoyant, it's in the best position it's ever been. It would be remiss of us not to focus on some of the challenges that are facing these retailers because that's one of the reasons why they're there. They're there to try and solve this, you know, the issues that they're faced. But there is, you know, we don't want to get bogged down in the negativity that everything is due. In fact, anything but it is a very exciting time with multiple opportunities facing this sector right now. And I hope a lot of that is reflected both in the conference theatre and on that show floor.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Yeah, absolutely. We are just about out of time. Uh, we could go on talking for hours about uh RTS. But Matt, just a quick reminder to people when and where?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

22nd to the 23rd of April, London's XL. Registration for retailers is completely free. All you need to do, head to retailtechnologieshow.com and click register here, and it will take you five minutes. Your badge will be sent to you, and you will be part of Retail's Beavers Disco.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Fantastic. Well, that's all we've got time for from what's in the box for now. New episodes will be dropping every two weeks, so please stay tuned. And if you want to find out more about BoxTech, please follow us on LinkedIn. Matt, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much. I know you're incredibly busy in the run up to RTS, so thanks for your time for this one. Uh, and yeah, looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Me too. Cheers, Andrew, appreciate it.