Representatives from brands, including Anya Hindmarch, Between The Lines, East, Sweaty Betty, Long Tall Sally, and more, gathered last week at the Fashion and Textile Museum to toast Retail ITÂ’s 10th birthday

Representatives from brands, including Anya Hindmarch, Between The Lines, East, Sweaty Betty, Long Tall Sally, and more, gathered last week at the Fashion and Textile Museum to toast Retail IT’s 10th birthday

Surrounded by Tommy Nutter suits (including those worn by Mick Jagger and Elton John, among others), some of British retail’s finest names gathered in the Fashion & Textile Museum soaking up the atmosphere and being inspired by a striking group of speakers.

The host, Retail IT, celebrated ten years of providing retail management systems to speciality retailers in the UK and it said the names in attendance were testament to the impact of its work. The organisation’s customers include major fashion players like L.K.Bennett, Jimmy Choo, Diesel, Issey Miyake, Ozwald Boateng, Roberto Cavalli, Comme des Garçons and Blue Banana.

Looking to the future

James Rodger, Retail IT’s managing director, fleshed out Retail IT’s vision for the next ten years – notably sharing the truly multichannel capabilities of its products, and the end-to-end offering of the company, which now stretches to include managed connectivity for retail, as well as capabilities to provide hardware, software, technical skills, bespoke development and payment processing.

Mike Eaton, Retail Answers managing director, shared some of his experiences and lessons in transitioning to multichannel retailing, while Ruta Julius of Yespay talked about the future of payment and how retailers can use concepts like mobile wallets to improve their customer’s experiences.

Keeping pace with demand

Sylvain Jauze, Cegid’s international operations director, flew in from France to deliver a fascinating discussion on innovative retail technology and how retailers are using technology to meet shifting customer expectations and trends. Finally, the entrepreneurial Tom Allason (founder of eCourier and Shutl) discussed the importance of delivery and evolving fulfilment with alternative fulfilment models.

“This has just been a great success. We love our customers and it’s always just great to catch up with everybody – they’re very loyal, some of them have been with us for our entire ten years, and we wanted to thank them for that, and we’re really looking forward to the next decade, which promises to be even more exciting than the first,” said Rodger.