The most recent Association member Webinar was entitled ‘The changing high street and how it is likely to evolve going forward’. It took place on Thursday 21 April at 3.30pm.
The speakers were Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director of Springboard, and Michele Young, founder and Director of Foodservice Support.
Diane Wehrle is regarded as one of the leading experts on retail and retail destinations, with an unparalleled knowledge and expertise in understanding current and emerging retail issues and consumer trends. She is a regular commentator on the performance of retail for national broadcast and print media, appearing regularly on BBC, ITV, Sky News and CNBC and her opinion is often quoted in the UK’s national and regional press.
She has 30 years’ experience in retail and is a founding director of Springboard which was established in 2002. Diane leads all of Springboard’s insights, and authors its regular commentaries, articles, reviews, and topical reports. She specialises in delivering intelligence and insights on both current retail performance and long-term retail trends to retailers, hospitality occupiers, landlords, investors and place managers. She was also named as one of the world’s 100 top retail influencers in 2021 and 2022 by Rethink Retail.
With a career spanning 25 plus years across a wide range of global brands, Michele Young has held board director level roles with household names such as Greggs and BB’s Coffee & Muffins and has a track record of international growth projects, having worked extensively across Europe & Middle East for chains such as Burger King and holding advisory positions with other international franchise or privately owned businesses.
She has been working closely with the British Sandwich Association for more than a decade and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience related to the high street grab and go, sandwich and coffee sector. With a strong marketing, NPD and innovation mindset, her customer-focused and business development background is complimented with a working knowledge of retail shop operations and P&L management.
Michele understands the day-to-day challenges faced by independent or regional businesses and how they often aim to keep the pace with the macro trends driven by larger multi-nationals or chains.
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