National chair of trade association the Kbsa, Richard Hibbert expects its conference will equip retailers with tools and techniques to combat the challenging market and continuously improve

Q: The theme of this year’s conference is Empowering and Enhancing Excellence, why did you decide upon that?

A: The theme came from the desire to provide retailers with speakers that will inspire and inform.

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We want our speakers to impart knowledge that will help retailers continuously improve.

Q: What was the reaction from last year’s conference and how did it inform this year’s event?

A: We have taken on board the feedback from last year and built a programme that is focused on providing fresh insights and new perspectives.

We have focused on the essential skills and procedures required to run a business.

The feedback from last year was exceedingly positive. Delegates requested a return of some topics, such as AI, and there was overwhelming support to repeat the Big Debate.

Q: Who are the speakers, what topics are they covering, and why did you choose them?

A: We have a mix of familiar and new topics, with sales and business coaching being new.

Sales is a key skill for any retailer and our keynote speaker Matt Elwell is an experienced sales trainer and coach, with experience in the KBB industry.

Tina Southgate is an international master coach, mentor, author and speaker, who has worked with several high profile KBB retailers.

She has a proven track record in business, developing teams, bringing innovation and excellence to the marketplace.

Artificial intelligence, (AI) was a hot topic last year. Technology has changed over the last 12 months, making a revisit important to review just how powerful a tool AI is.

Our speaker Alan Coleman, national sales manager for the Kitchen Division at Cyncly, will deliver a presentation that covers how AI can be used to enhance a kbb business.

Q: What will be the discussion points of the Big Panel and who can we expect to hear from?

A: The Big debate is returning, with some well-known faces from the industry.

Retailer owners Belinda Dangerfield of Qudaus living; Koralia Hume, Co-Founder at Quarrybank Boutique; and Dan Stronge, MD at Jones Britain Ltd will be taking part.

Belinda Dangefield and Dan Stronge are both former Kbsa Design Award winners.

The discussion topics will be based around the day’s presentations of business coaching, sales and marketing, and AI.

Q: Will the advice surgery make a return and what will be available for guests?

A: The advice surgery will be making a return with some of the platinum sponsors of the Kbsa conference available to talk to delegates on how they can support their businesses.

Kbsa business providers will be represented to include Pirkx, Clear Insurance Management Ltd, TrustMark, Teya, Markel, Capital on Tap, Dell and First Insurance.

Two of our speakers will have a stand, Tina Southgate and Matt Elwell.

There will also be a media stand this year for all media partners.

Q: What do you hope retailers will gain from attending the conference?

A: Confidence. We hope that attendees will leave with tools and techniques that they can implement in their businesses and that will help them compete in a challenging market.

Q: What are the biggest challenges for KBB retailers in 2024?

The cost of living and rising prices will remain one of the biggest challenges for the year ahead.

We are also likely to see increased competition form the nationals, as they harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to develop new markets.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities for KBB retailers in 2024?

A: After a period of uncertainty, we should see a period of stability and renewed confidence, which should stimulate growth in consumer spending.

There may also be increased activity in the construction industry, with more houses being built as the new government is committed to increasing housebuilding, which will also boost the KBB industry.

Q: Having recently formed a partnership with the KBBG, what influence will this have on the attendance numbers at the event, and how close is the event to becoming a sell-out?

A: We are hoping the partnership with KBBG will encourage more non- members to join us.

Last year’s event was a sell out and we are very close to achieving this again- retailers that would like to join us should book now!