OPINION: What did you learn from the Local Shop Summit?

What will great local shops be selling in 2015? How can you thrive in a regulated market? What technology will drive future profits? And when should you take on your competitors with fresh and chilled?

These are hefty topics which are vital to get right in store, but where do you start and how do you measure whether you’re on the right lines?

On Monday, RN’s approach was to gather nearly 70 of the UK’s best retailers, the country’s biggest symbol group, Booker Wholesale, and market-leading suppliers such as JTI. The aim was to work in teams, debate six key topics and thrash out an action plan for each.

From getting the best out of supplier relationships and learning how to introduce fresh fruit, veg and meat into convenience stores, we heard hundreds of real life examples that are being used every day that you can try in your own business.

These sessions formed part of the Local Shop Summit on the second day of Better Retailing LIVE. Our vision for this event was to bring to life all the things you tell us are most valuable about RN and our sister products – Retail Express, the Independent Achievers Academy, Better Wholesaling and Better Retailing.

Collecting and disseminating the information gathered over the two days is key to improving and growing your business. So, over the next three weeks, we will be delivering a series of articles sharing the lessons we learnt that you can turn into tangible deliverables: lessons from the show floor this week; from the Local Shop Summit and Come Shop With Me LIVE next week; and from the Profit Zone on 24 October.

Thank you to everyone who came to Manchester and participated in making the event a success. And I hope the information over the next three weeks inspires you to take action.