28 February - 3 March 2022 Inside Retail presents a week of learning, ideas and celebration.

Last year, 40-year-old Australian furniture retailer Freedom underwent a transformation, which involved a major rebrand, a return to its design-led roots and a focus on omnichannel. After all, in this current climate, it’s no secret that boring retail is dying and businesses that refuse to change are on their way out. Here, Freedom CEO Blaine Callard reveals what it’s like to turn around a major retail business and the importance of investing in people.

During his career, Steve Terry has managed and owned some seriously large global haircare and beauty brands and one of the most interesting observations he’s made is the demise of transactional retail and the rise of experiential retail in order to build meaningful customer relationships. Customer loyalty is at the heart of everything Steve is building for his new company Youtime, launching early 2022. In this session, he takes us through his strategy and explains how retailers can convert transactional customer relationships into life-long connections.

In this session we speak with three industry professionals about their experiences (both personal and in business) of dealing with diversity and inclusivity in retail and how they have long been overlooked. Head of Campaign and Strategy at Adore Beauty, Shanthi Murugan’s mission is to ensure that no other person of colour would ever have to experience exclusion from an industry intended to make you feel good. Style By Deni is a vocal activist for queer rights and human rights and pushes the narrative forward around topics of gender, sexuality, politics, race and equality. They are a respected voice within the industry, advocating for inclusivity and inclusive language. Deni identifies as gender non-conforming and presents themself as a neutral combination of gender expression, of which they affectionately call ‘The Space In Between’. Lisa Cox, award-winning media professional, author and public speaker, uniquely fuses her modelling and academic media/advertising background with her lived experiences of disability. Everyday she is changing the way disability is represented in mainstream popular culture, including the fashion industry. Together, we learn how to create authentic inclusivity in business for both customers and staff. Our panel will take us through their own experiences, where and how to get started in our own businesses and what to do if it all goes wrong.

Inside Retail recognises the biggest and brightest e-commerce talents across Australia.

A ‘sprint-like event’ whereby teams ‘collaborate intensively’ to solve real world retail problems. The results are mind blowing!

Now in it’s fifth year, the awards highlight customer experience excellence across Australia and New Zealand and attract some of the best talent the retail industry has to offer.