What: the annual gathering of Business of Fashion to discuss the results of their 340+ brands survey.

Why it is important:  In-person retail is far from being dead, but stores are now an element of the brands’ media mix, which emphasizes the notion of community.

Business of Fashion gathered futurist Doug Stephens, Farfetch José Neves, Ali baba Group president Michael Evans, among others, to discuss the future of retail. From a brands’ perspective, Stephens mentions that their only way to counteract what he calls Apex predators (Amazon, Ali Baba…) is to make sure they have a clear purpose, in other words, the question of the brand alone is the ultimate answer for a consumer. This is also valid for department stores and will be a topic for one of our Cross Function meetings this year.

Another point of discussion was the notion of last-mile: the convenience of delivery is not a factor of loyalty. Retailers have to rethink this important moment in the customer journey to ensure the last mile also conveys the experience they would have had in store.

VOICES 2020: Retail in the Roaring ’20s