Leading entrepreneurs and retailers named as keynote speakers in IJL 2015 seminar programme
LONDON, July 2015 – The keynote speakers heading up this year’s IJL Seminar programme have been named as Laura Tenison, Founder of the mother and baby boutique global multi-channel brand JoJo Maman Bébé, and Sally Heath, Ecommerce Director of the successful fashion brand New Look.
The seminar programme, which runs the full three days of the show (6- 8 September 2015), will this year feature more than 40 high profile industry experts sharing valuable advice on topics as varied as Sales Techniques, Social Media, HR issues, Security, Brand Building and Intellectual Property. The sell-out one-to-one Advice Clinics first introduced in 2014 add to the must attend agenda for 2015. All the seminars are free to attend.
Karla Rendle, Research Analyst, Fashion and Beauty from Euromonitor International
Event Director, Sam Willoughby comments: “This year’s seminar programme promises to deliver thought-provoking, commercial insights delivered by leading professionals drawn from a broad range of disciplines. We are also very lucky to have two of the most successful retail entrepreneurs as speakers, who will be sharing their first-hand experiences gained from the shop floor to the boardroom. As well as the seminar launch of a jewellery industry first of the book ‘Think #Digital First’, adapted specially for the sector by the social media entrepreneur, Warren Knight. So something for everyone!”
2015 highlights over the three packed days include…
Sunday September 6
The first day of the show will provide a unique opportunity to hear from one of the most successful fast-fashion retail brands, New Look. Entitled ‘Ecommerce in Fashion Retail – what it really takes to build a successful online fashion brand’, Sally Heath, Ecommerce Director, will outline how Ecommerce has changed customer expectations and how this in turn has influenced the way that businesses now operate. Sally will explore key themes around the organisational structure and how best to deliver growth in a competitive market.
Sally comments: “Ecommerce is the fastest growing, most disrupting development in Fashion retail, but also the most exciting. The New Look transactional website ships to over 120 countries worldwide to complement our 800 stores across 23 countries including Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, China and Asia. Mistakes are expensive, it is important to get it right and keep your customers happy”.
Other feature sessions will cover hot topics such as the key to using social media to build and promote a jewellery brand. In the high profile forum session – ‘How to Increase Engagement and Generate Sales on Social Media’ – Katerina Perez, Jewellery Consultant and Editor-In-Chief of katerinaperez.com, will take centre stage with jewellery designers Beanie Major from Indetail London, and Sarah Ho from Sarah Ho London. They will be focussing on the most successful ways of gaining new followers and engaging with them in the future – giving examples of successful campaigns and sharing their own experiences of growing ‘likes’ and followers organically and through paid methods.
“I believe being present on social media is a good way of advertising a brand. It helps to grow a brand’s popularity, desirability and therefore increases the chances of securing sales”, Katerina says.
Sarah Ho adds: “Social media plays an important role within our marketing mix. For the consumer launch of Numerati we focussed solely on social media and the increased exposure has definitely raised the profile of this Collection with our best launch so far. We will be presenting the story and results in the seminar at IJL”.
Another vital topic on the industry agenda is the issue of security and the retail security expert, Hilaire O’Shea, will be giving a must-attend seminar: ‘Victim or Victor?’ Theft can take many guises, often carried out by organised gangs across international borders who are experts in transportation, smash-and-grab, distraction theft and card fraud. This seminar brings together advice and tips from the Police, Retail and Insurance agencies to show how adopting simple security procedures and products can actually enhance the shopping experience for genuine customers while deterring the criminals.
Hilaire adds: “‘Victim or Victor? Some retailers are repeatedly robbed while others never have a problem. Some retailers go from strength to strength while others barely make a profit. Ever thought the two might be related? This seminar will help make sure your business is the victor, not the victim”.
The very successful free drop-in Business Advice Clinics will once again give visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to meet leading experts from a broad range of disciplines on a one-to-one basis. One of the highlights will be the Legal Advice Clinic with Stephen Welfare, Partner of Royds Solicitors, focussing on Intellectual Property as part of the Royds/Reed Exhibitions Intellectual Property Initiative (PIPR www.jewellerylondon.com/en/exhibiting/PIPR). The one hourly sessions on Sunday and Monday, will be looking at how the industry can protect their IP, the risks for retailers and the practical steps they can take.
Stephen elaborates: “Intellectual Property is essential to business. It is not limited to Patents and Trade Marks, but includes designs and the expression of ideas. Where there is creativity, there is Intellectual Property, and it needs protecting. It is IP that more often than not is the driver for growth and investment in a business”.
Katerina Perez will also be running an Advice Clinic on ‘How to market a jewellery brand via Social Media’.
Monday September 7
One of the highlights of the programme will be ‘Doing Well, Whilst Doing Good’ with the charismatic headline speaker, Laura Tenison, MBE, Founder and Managing Director of JoJo Maman Bébé. JoJo Maman Bébé is the highly successful UK mother and baby boutique global multi-channel brand which trades via a UK and US website, social networking platforms, catalogues and 75 stores and boutiques across the UK and Ireland. Launched as a one-man business in 1993 by Laura, who was looking for a way to support herself and offer good quality employment to as many people as possible, the strict principal of putting people and the planet above profit has not been detrimental to business growth; in fact Laura will advocate in this keynote seminar that the company’s success is down to its long term vision and ethical ideals – and that one can do extremely well whilst doing plenty of good.
“Creating jobs, within a business managed with a strict moral code of conduct, is probably the most useful thing I can do with my life”, comments Laura Tenison.
Another keynote seminar will be given by Karla Rendle, Research Analyst, Fashion and Beauty, from Euromonitor International – who will be providing an invaluable ‘Overview of the luxury jewellery and watch market: A focus on the UK and Italy’. The Global Jewellery industry is poised for growth in 2015 with wealth and spend shifting even further towards the emerging markets. This presentation will provide an overview of the global jewellery and watches market and explore some of the key trends that are currently shaping the industry both in the UK and in Italy – thereby highlighting Italy as the country selected this year for the first IJL Market Focus. Karla will provide insights into the profile and spending habits of key consumers, as well as long term forecasts for the industry and future wealth distribution.
Karla adds: “Key drivers for growth in the luxury jewellery and watch market include the influence of designer brands and the growing consumer interest in costume jewellery. However, despite a positive global outlook, some risks remain and it is important that the industry is aware of these in order to make good business decisions”.
These seminars will be complemented with a jewellery industry first – the launch of the book ‘The Modern Entrepreneurs Guide to Growing a Business -Think #Digital First’ by Warren Knight, the social media guru and author. Warren has joined forces with IJL to specially adapt this information-packed book for jewellery retailers, providing a step-by-step guide to building a socially savvy business. In simple steps that are easy to follow, packed full of detail that demystifies the new digital age, this specially written book provides key pointers to help retailers market their brand online, save time and acquire sales to grow their business. The book will be unveiled during Warren’s seminar – ‘Think Digital First: 7 Simple Steps to a Socially Savvy Business’.
Copies will be given on a ‘first come, first served’ basis to the first 50 attendees and there will also be a special ‘Meet The Author’ session, following the seminar. Visitors and exhibitors will also have a first-hand opportunity to attend Warren’s Social Media Advice Clinic on Monday after his seminar.
“Traditionally the Jewellery industry has been slow to adapt to retail trends. So to help bring both brands and retailers up to speed, I’ve been working closely with IJL to write the first book that’s specifically targeted to helping jewellery businesses understand how to use technology to help them market and sell their products online”, says Warren Knight.
And for those interested in learning more about the management challenges behind achieving business success, the National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) workshops entitled ‘Running Your Business with your head, not your heart’ will examine a broad range of topical issues. Facilitated by Michael Donaldson, CEO of The Value Innovator who has over thirty years of experience in selling and marketing products, the three repeat sessions will help participants get a clearer picture of their stores’ performance and sharpen their competitive edge, by introducing them to a handful of key performance indicators. All designed to improve the performance of their people, the profitability of their products, and the productivity of their processes.
“The IJL seminar programme provides the perfect opportunity for members of the trade to continue their professional development by increasing their knowledge and understanding of a broad variety of issues. Training and education leading to increased professionalism is a core pillar of the newly formed National Association of Jewellers making its debut here at IJL, which is why I fully support the programme. Running your business with your head not your heart is particularly difficult when you are passionate about the products you sell to customers who are inevitably purchasing tokens of the heart. Getting the right balance between the head and the heart can be the difference between retailing success and retailing failure”, comments Michael.
Tuesday September 8
The third day of the show is set to be one of the busiest and the seminar programme kicks off with an unique insight into successful retailing with Jesper Nielsen, the CEO of Endless. In less than 20 months, Endless Jewelry has evolved from an idea in Jesper Nielsen’s head to being the world’s fastest growing jewellery brand with more than 3,500 retail partners in more than 20 markets – with these number predicted to have doubled by the end of 2015. In his seminar entitled ‘Building the world’s next super brand’, Jesper will be sharing his vision for the business and the key drivers behind its outstanding success.
“We debuted at IJL last year, and it was a great experience for everybody. I have a very good impression of the fair and the organization, and I look much forward to going again, and to present the Endless story to everybody who’s interested. For me it’s always an honour to participate in these events and to talk to everybody there”, comments Jesper Nielsen.
Another jewellery industry first is the launch of the Cadfolio platform at IJL. For the first time, show visitors will be able to network, keep up to date with daily show news and connect with new contacts in a way not experienced before and all online. The founder of Cadfolio, Ryan Edkins, will be chairing a highlight panel session in the Inspiration Theatre with Jack Meyer, CAD Design Lecturer, Holts, and Apple Noten-Boom, Hean Studio, on ‘Utilising Modern Technology to Increase Revenue’. This forum will explore ways in which to embrace CAD Design and 3D Printing to help increase company revenue, and also how to use these powerful tools to offer fully customised products to the consumer. The benefits and limitations of current technology will be considered, as well as how best to take advantage of automated pricing data in the retail environment.
“CAD design and 3D printing is having an increasing impact on the design and manufacture of jewellery, but there are still hurdles to overcome in offering clear choice and availability to consumers. In this panel session we’ll delve deep into how you can take advantage of new technology available, and how to understand the limitations CAD design presents on manufacturing jewellery in this modern way”, says Ryan.
Other not to be missed sessions over the three days of IJL include seminars on ‘Managing Sales Conversations’ with Debbie Barrow, Managing Director of Virada Training (the leading specialist supplier of sales training for luxury retailers in the UK Jewellery sector); ‘Understanding Customers, Understanding Products’ with the Birmingham Assay Office, and ‘Making Fairtrade work for your Business’ with Fairtrade Gold.
