And that's a wrap! - The Hive Network

Big things to come!

2021 was one to remember for so many different reasons, so we pulled some of the key highlights and learnings of the year all together in one place. We’ve also included some of our plans for 2022 and a taster of what’s to come at The Retail Hive.

Navigate the pulsating pins to unlock a bank of knowledge and content from the community!

We hope you enjoy, and here’s to a successful 2022!

<h3>Sustainability:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Deap Khambay, Head of Sustainability, Seasalt Cornwall kindly joined us to share <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/how-were-driving-sustainability-within-the-business-with-deap-khambay-head-of-sustainability-seasalt-cornwall/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>how they’re driving sustainability within the business</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We were also joined by Greg Bamford, Head of Logistics and Customer Fulfilment, Viviobarefoot who shared <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/our-approach-to-sustainability-with-greg-bamford-head-of-logistics-and-customer-fulfilment-vivobarefoot/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>their approach to being a sustainable business</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>At our Fulfilment Leaders in person meeting in September, Wincanton joined us to host a discussion on collaboration in the supply chain, one of the main topics within this conversation was the importance of collaboration for sustainability… They followed up with <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/increased-collaboration-in-efulfilment-will-future-proof-supply-chains-for-retailers-and-consumers/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>this report outlining their discussions.</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Take a read of <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability-in-the-supply-chain/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>this blog post about sustainability in the supply chain</a>, which came from Ray Fowler, a good friend of The Retail Hive. It has a few ideas from various retailers and some very important considerations for a sustainable approach!</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Here you’ll see the <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/sustainability-boardroom-takeaways/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>takeaways from a boardroom</a> we hosted based solely on sustainability.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>And here are the <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/the-retail-hive-fulfilment-leaders-takeaways-2021/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>takeaways from our Fulfilment Leaders</a> meeting in London, many of which are focused on a sustainable fulfilment journey.</li> </ul>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>We’ll be discussing Sustainability further at:</h3> <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-digital-week-19-20th-january-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands Digital Week</a> 19-20th January Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-exchange-3-4th-march-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Exchange</a> 3/4 March The Luton Hoo <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-focus-on-fulfilment-digital-week/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Focus on Fulfilment Digital Week</a> 27/28 April Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-future-retail-27-april/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Future of US Retail</a> 27 April Midtown Loft, New York <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-fulfilment-exchange-19-20th-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Supply Chain Leaders: Exchange</a> 19/20 May UK – TBC <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-acquisition-and-retention-for-nordic-retailers-31st-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Acquisition and Retention for Nordic Retailers</a> 31st May Brewery Center, Stockholm <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-15th-june-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands</a> 15 June West Indisch House, Amsterdam

SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability has been a hot topic for our discussions this year – from product manufacture to fulfilment operations, the retail industry must change in order to safeguard the future of the planet. Getting there is no easy feat. Through roundtables, boardrooms and interviews, this year we’ve highlighted some of the incredible work happening across the industry to change the way we operate to be more sustainable. Through sharing strategies that have worked, and discussing goals from retailers across the world, the Hive are dedicated to spotlighting these stories. In 2022, sustainability will continue to be top of agendas for many retailers – what are your plans?

<h3>Personalisation:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Check out our <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/interpreting-shopper-intent-to-maximise-conversion/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Interpreting shopper intent to maximise conversion</a> scribe from a boardroom we held earlier this year.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We hosted a roundtable at our September Exchange on Making first party data work harder, <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/making-first-party-data-work-harder/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>check out the takeaways and a scribe outlining the discussion here.</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We held a digital boardroom earlier this year with recommended partner Precisely all around breaking down data silos. Data has become so abundant that its now more important than ever to know what data you have, and use it effectively to provide your customer with a tailored shopping journey. <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Breaking-Down-Data-Silos_Precisely-1.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Here’s a report outlining the discussion.</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We also had a roundtable on Personalised product discovery at our September Exchange, you can <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/the-retail-hive-exchange-takeaways-2021/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>find the takeaways from the discussion here!</a></li> </ul>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>We’ll be discussing Personalisation further at:</h3> <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-digital-week-19-20th-january-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands Digital Week</a> 19-20th January Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-the-future-of-luxury-9th-february-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The Future of Luxury</a> 9 February Altitude, London <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-exchange-3-4th-march-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Exchange</a> 3/4 March The Luton Hoo <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-future-retail-27-april/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The Future of US Retail</a> 27 April Midtown Loft, New York <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-acquisition-and-retention-for-nordic-retailers-31st-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Acquisition and Retention for Nordic Retailers</a> 31 May Brewery Center, Stockholm <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-innovation-in-customer-experience-23-june-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Innovation in the Customer Experience</a> 23 June London

PERSONALISATION Essential to the customer experience is the personal element; creating a journey that is as tailored as possible to an individual shopper. For many of our retailers this year, implementing personalisation strategies has been essential to drive up AOV and improve conversion rates. Through better understanding of who your customers are and what they want from their interaction with you, their journey can feel much more personal and unique. And with so much competition, consumers are attracted to those businesses that they feel truly understand them. Next year, it will be important to continue to gain this holistic view of your customers to feed back to them the experience they require.

<h3>Future Store:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Check out our <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/experiential-moments/'>Experiential Moments scribe</a>, it outlines some of the key factors to consider when future proofing your stores</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>At our September Exchange we hosted roundtable discussions on <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/the-role-of-the-store-in-the-future-of-shopping/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The role of the store in the future of shopping.</a>.. The roundtable was Hosted by Gary Bott, Managing Director, Gentle Monster, who also<a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/the-role-of-the-store-in-the-future-of-shopping-2/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'> shared his story with us</a> on how Gentle Monster are creating an immersive shopping experience for their customers.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We also created a <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/retail-fulfilment/store-transformation-amidst-evolving-buyer-behaviour/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>store transformation amidst evolving buyer behaviour</a> scribe earlier in the year, showing some of the methods our community have been using to draw their customers into their stores, and keep them fully engaged with the best experience possible.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Is ship from store the future of fulfilment? We discussed this in a boardroom hosted by our recommended partners Fluent Commerce all around <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/the-heroic-role-of-ship-from-store/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The heroic role of ship from store</a>… this was a massive initiative for many brands during the pandemic, but with increased efficiencies , it’s here to stay for many.</li> </ul>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>We’ll be discussing Future Store further at:</h3> <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-the-future-of-luxury-9th-february-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The Future of Luxury</a> 9 February Altitude, London <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-exchange-3-4th-march-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Exchange</a> 3/4 March The Luton Hoo <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-future-retail-27-april/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>The Future of US Retail</a> 27 April Midtown Loft, New York <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-acquisition-and-retention-for-nordic-retailers-31st-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Acquisition and Retention for Nordic Retailers</a> 31 May Brewery Center, Stockholm <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-innovation-in-customer-experience-23-june-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Innovation in the Customer Experience</a> 23 June London

FUTURE STORE Physical retail – it’s been a tough ride this year! The future of the store continues to be hotly debated, and the place of physical in retail is a bone of contention for many commentators. However, as we have seen through the reopening of retail through this year, consumers are drawn to the physical experience of shopping. However, the place of the store in the shopping journey is evolving. Whether that is as an experiential space over a transactional space or the combining of physical and digital worlds for a seamless customer journey. The future store is an exciting place to be! Into 2022 and beyond, the physical retail space offers some of the most innovating and exciting developments.

<h3>Talent Crisis:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Agility has been a key focus when facing the 2021 talent crisis, so our<a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Injecting-Agility-into-Your-Warehouse-Management-Systems_2021_Snap-Fulfil-report.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'> Injecting agility into your WMS report</a> is a great resource for the best ways to achieve an agile warehouse management system.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We surveyed a group of our members to find out about where the talent crisis has hit them hardest, and what they’re doing to overcome it… You can see the results of our research in our <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/overcoming-the-talent-crisis/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Warehouse Talent Crisis Infographic!</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>A number of our closest members have come together for breakfast meetings regarding the talent crisis, with recommended partner DHL getting involved in the discussions too! Here’s an in depth resource to have a read through that they’ve fittingly named the<a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Breakfast-Elephant_Talent-Crisis-TheRetailHive-Publish.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'> ‘Breakfast Elephant Talent Crisis’.</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>At our Recent Fulfilment Leaders meeting in London, DHL also hosted a roundtable on people, peak and agility… You can <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/the-retail-hive-fulfilment-leaders-takeaways-2021/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>find the key takeaways from the discussions here.</a></li> </ul>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>We’ll be discussing The Talent Crisis further at:</h3> <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-digital-week-19-20th-january-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands Digital Week</a> 19-20th January Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-exchange-3-4th-march-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Exchange</a> 3/4 March The Luton Hoo <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-focus-on-fulfilment-digital-week/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Focus on Fulfilment Digital Week</a> 27/28 April Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-fulfilment-exchange-19-20th-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Supply Chain Leaders: Exchange</a> 19/20 May UK – TBC <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-15th-june-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands</a> 15 June West Indisch House, Amsterdam

TALENT CRISIS For our Fulfilment community, the major theme for the year had to be the evolving talent crisis – from driver shortages to warehouse staffing challenges, in a year dominated by online shopping and requiring more capacity than ever – the lack of resource pushed our community to come together for solutions. The power of the Hive has truly come into its own – as a community, we’ve been able to benchmark, forecast and brainstorm together. The challenges here show no signs of slowing down, and next year the Hive promise to do more than ever before to be a safe place for the industry to continue to circulate the winning strategies and create a future for Fulfilment that is exciting, interesting and attractive to a new generation of potential fulfilment talent.

<h3>Customer Experience:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Removing friction from the shopper journey has been a massive focus for the community this year, with an enormous shift to online shopping, it’s never been so important to have a seamless journey. Find our <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/removing-friction-from-the-shopper-journey/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>scribe and takeaways from this discussion at Exchange here!</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We were also joined by Dean McElwee, Director of International eCommerce Strategy at Stanley, Black and Decker, who shared his story on <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/removing-friction-from-the-customer-journey-with-dean-mcelwee/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>how they remove friction from the customer journey.</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Recommended partner Nuvei joined us this year to host a boardroom on seamless international payments to fuel growth… <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Nuvei-Report.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>here’s a report off the back of the boardroom</a> on how you can improve the customer experience internationally via payments.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Recommended partner Tulip also hosted a boardroom on Delivering high touch customer experiences… <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Clienteling_Tulip.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Read the report created off the back of this boardroom here!</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>The customer experience is more than just the onsite or in-store process, it also covers the fulfilment process and getting your product efficiently to your customers door is equally as important… Check out this report from recommended partner Manhattan Associates on <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fulfilment-Loyalty_Manhattan.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Fulfilment as a driver of loyalty</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'><a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Signifyd-Aug-2021-1-1.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Removing friction and risk along the customer journey</a> is so important to keep a loyal customer base who want to continue shopping with you… Take a read of this report from recommended partner Signifyd</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We were joined by Ryan Shannon, Managing Director of Bamboo clothing to discuss <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/getting-the-biggest-bang-for-your-marketing-buck-with-ryan-shannon-managing-director-bamboo-clothing/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Getting the biggest bang for your marketing buck</a>, have a listen to his podcast!</li> </ul>

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE After an unprecedented year of online retail growth as consumers were forced online, combined with the re-opening of physical retail – the power of a memorable, unique customer experience should not be understated. As many consumers have gained a newfound digital confidence, the journey from discovery to transaction must be seamless to convert. With more competition than ever for consumers attention and wallet, retailers must be able to create experiences that resonate – without friction. For many of our retailers, experience is at the centre of their strategies for 2022 – what about yours?

<h3>Automation And Robotics:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Automation, robotics and AI have been huge points of interest for our members this year, with so many allocating high budgets to growing this sector of their business. The key for many is to balance human and AI correctly to get the best results, so <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/uncategorized/humanising-the-digital-experience-balancing-ai-and-human/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>we put together this scribe to give some advice!</a></li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We carried out some research with our members to find out what they’re doing in terms of automating their processes… <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/an-automation-temperature-check/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>This infographic will outline the key findings</a> from our research for you, Enjoy!</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Recommended partner and 3PL giant DHL joined us to host a boardroom earlier in the year on <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Flexible-Robotics_DHL.pdf' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>flexible robotics</a>, here’s a report off the back of the discussions.</li> </ul>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>We’ll be discussing Automation and Robotics further at:</h3> <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-digital-week-19-20th-january-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands Digital Week</a> 19-20th January Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-exchange-3-4th-march-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Exchange</a> 3/4 March The Luton Hoo <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-us-focus-on-fulfilment-digital-week/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Focus on Fulfilment Digital Week</a> 27/28 April Zoom <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-fulfilment-exchange-19-20th-may-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Supply Chain Leaders: Exchange</a> 19/20 May UK – TBC <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-events/the-retail-hive-d2c-for-brands-15th-june-2022/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>D2C for Brands</a> 15 June West Indisch House, Amsterdam

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS Automation has been a running theme we’ve seen in many of our meetings this year – it seems to be finally coming to fruition in many of our retailers’ plans and strategies. As our Fulfilment Pulse shows – 88% of our members are currently investing in some degree! This is such an exciting phase and the power of the community is only more important when testing new technologies – from insights, honest recommendations and first looks. Does automation hold the key to solving some of the biggest challenges in retail today? 2022 seems like a good place to continue that conversation!

I have now been a part of the Hive team for a year, and what an amazing year it’s been. The highlight of my year has not only been the team growing with such amazing new colleagues and the community growing with incredible members, but also the return to live meetings – mainly the Exchange! Next year I’m really looking forward to seeing the growth of The Retail Hive continue, internally and through discussion topics, meetings, geographies and obviously members! 2022 is already set to be a great year! Rebecca Shepherd, Customer Success Manager

I started here at The Retail Hive in August amongst all the excitement of coming back to live meetings. After a year separated through Zoom screens and chats, I’ve been delighted and honoured to meet many of our members in real life this year – and I can’t wait for that to continue! In 2022, I’m really looking forward to getting to know more of our members more personally in order to develop and present more content that is relevant and interesting to the wider community. Niamh Stone, Head of Content

My highlight of the year was definitely following the fantastic growth of our North American community and after a year of disruption, it was amazing to see our members come back together in-person in New York, without a Hive team member being there and our FAM (Founding Advisory Members) hosting an amazing meeting in our absence. I’m super excited that we will be back together in-person much more over 2022, with many of our pillar meetings back in the calendar. The next phase of our members platform is also going to be released and will be a game changer for The Retail Hive’s members to stay connected and updated with all things retail! Tom Scott, Head of Customer Success

What a year 2021 has been for us at the Hive Network, challenging, fulfilling and amazing! Being able to adapt to the ever changing nature of the world that we live in has tested us all! There have been many highlights for me to draw from but there is one core theme for me that is consistent, and that is PEOPLE, both our members and partners and also The Hive Team. <div>Firstly our members and partners, who have been unfailing in their support to keep their communities alive throughout this year. Joining us from all over the world; supporting their peers with ideas and solutions; sharing their challenges and successes and being so open to contribute has kept our Retail Hive community active, engaged and alive in 2021! Topped off by the excitement of being able to see many of them in person when we returned back to Live sessions reminded me of how privileged we are to have such an amazing network of individuals supporting us, and each other. An absolute highlight and I cannot wait to build on this with each and every member and partner in 2022.</div> <div></div> <div>However, my greatest highlight is reserved for all my team members at The Hive Network. A passionate group of hard working and inspiring individuals that I am fortunate to be able to work with. They have worked tirelessly to bring our communities together in the most challenging of environments, they have had to adapt daily, whether that be working from home; unexpected last minute changes; cancellations; returning to in person and the list goes on. Throughout all of this, they have kept their spirits high, kept being inquisitive, kept thinking about our members and kept their belief real! It has not been easy and they deserve all the credit. They are the heartbeat of The Hive and I am incredibly proud of all of them. Thank you Team Hive, my highlight! </div> Noj Mather, Co-Founder and Director

I am now in my 5th year at The Hive and 2021 is the year I am most proud of simply because of the way everyone involved, from my fellow Hive colleagues to our amazing members and partners have come together and stood side by side through some of the most challenging & turbulent times in recent history… Everyone has played their part across 2021 and to collectively see such amazing sharing of ideas, insights, experiences (good and bad), opinions and solutions through so many high level discussions highlights how far we have all come as a retail community. It also highlights how important open discussion as a tool for positive change can be – roll on 2022 when once again we bring together our members & partners to tackle the important & urgent issues at hand! Paul Kehoe, Chief Commercial Officer

2021 is a year to remember for me, It was my first year at The Retail Hive in a relatively new role as partnerships director. The highlight for me has been getting to know and work with a great team who genuinely care about what they do. We work for our retailers who equally love our ethos and despite having to change formats and campaigns constantly throughout the year based on Covid etc. We have come out the other side stronger and having had our best year yet! 2022 will be a little different for me as I’ll be a first time Mumma to our new edition to The Retail Hive family. But from a work perspective I will be looking forward to hearing about the successes of my partners at the huge number of live and digital campaigns we are running next year and hopefully, like this year, hear about the converted business our network was able to facilitate between partner and retailer! Emily Summers, Partnerships Director

It is all about the people! Our members and partners – so generous and supportive of one another. But above all our incredible Hive team. Thank you everyone and looking forward to 2022 Sally Green, Co-Founder and Director

My 2021 highlight has to be seeing both our digital & fulfilment communities coming together face to face for the first time in over 12 months in September, it was amazing to see everyone together after so long spent sharing ideas and soundboarding over zoom. It really brought back that community feel that The Retail Hive and our members thrive off of so much! In 2022 I’m really looking forward to seeing the community grow in members and insight, and of course getting back to the Luton Hoo for our fourth Exchange, as well as the launch of our Fulfilment Exchange. Exciting times ahead! Jaydon Connolly-Graham, Key Account Director

2021 was the year that I joined The Retail Hive, and what a journey it’s been. Starting solely by meeting our members (and colleagues) through Zoom was very strange, but the two days we spent at Exchange, followed by Fulfilment Leaders in September were honestly game changing for me. Being able to put my touch into The Retail Hive in the form of growing our community and spreading our story far and wide has honestly been a pleasure. In 2022 I’m super excited for an abundance of in-person meetings globally, meeting our members and hearing the challenges and successes they face is something I’ve never experienced before, and I cant wait to continue growing the network and meeting more like-minded professionals with a passion for retail! Frankie Shand, Retail Marketing Manager

<div dir='auto'>My 2021 highlight has to be the opportunity I had to meet so many existing and new community members (in person and virtually). It was fantastic to curate, foster and in turn experience such frank and open exchanges which had such a positive impact at both a personal and business level.</div> <div dir='auto'>I’m excited for 2022 as we continue to grow and evolve The Retail Hive to continue the gold plated experiences from bespoke 1-to-1 interactions through to the evolution and update of the members only platform & app- watch this space!</div> <div dir='auto'></div> <div dir='auto'>A big thank you to all of community members and partners for their continued contributions and support of us The Retail Hive and each other! Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year!</div> Lydia Matthews, Global Managing Director

The Retail Hive Exchange was my highlight of 2021. The testimonials from this meeting speak for themselves, and really are testament to how much members value the opportunity to come together; they were so happy to be interacting with each other in person again. It was also great to be part of the raffle and see the buzz it created and the money it raised for such a good cause! In 2022 I’m most looking forward to the development and launch of the new platform, website and app—it will be great for members (and partners) to experience the new and streamlined technology, and it will also be interesting to see how the platform and app are incorporated into future meetings, or how these help to widen the reach of the Hive Recommended Partner Directory and generate a higher level of traffic going forward. Lorna Andrews, Platform Coordinator

2021, what a year! I’ve been with The Hive for 3 years now and it’s been a pleasure to see our communities continue to grow thanks to the expertise, passion and openness of our wonderful members and partners. This year has also seen us as a company scale and what an absolutely brilliant bunch of people we have. Cheers to 2022 adventures!! Many exciting developments ahead… Kate Rowney, Head of Marketing

What a year it is been at The Retail Hive, with the first part of the year delivering some fantastic digital weeks for D2C and Luxury and then back to live, which has to be the particular highlight for me. Seeing everyone back together again at The Luton Hoo, sharing tips, ideas and war stories from COVID and not forgetting the amazing amount that we raised with the raffle for Macmillan. Not forgetting Retail New York which was our first time of dipping our toe in the water and letting someone else run our meeting for us, what an experience, but made worthwhile with the fantastic feedback we received. What a year to look forward to in 2022 with our learning of this year just making us even better. Paula Richards, Operations Director

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>What our members had to say:</h3> “Superbly organised as ever – definitely the best retail community out there” – CEO, Watchshop “The Hive format is amazing at delivering quality conversations that really help with making business decisions” – Creative Director, Boden “Brilliant event, the only one I do each year and would not miss it.” – COO, Lovehoney following The Retail Hive Exchange 2021 “I would recommend the community to my peers and team as a way to open minds to shared initiatives.” – Commercial Director, Belstaff “Really engaging and thought-provoking two days. have made meaningful connections that I’ll follow-up on. Would definitely recommend” – Wholesale Director, PVH following The Retail Hive Exchange 2021 “Today was a wonderful day. I’ve been a member of Hive since earlier this year. Obviously the first in-person event. A great use of time and a spectacular learning experience.” – Senior Director of Sales & Analytics at Luxury Mens Apparel Group following US Retail Innovation

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>2021 in Numbers:</h3> 18 Cafés 32 Boardrooms 10 Digital Weeks 4 In-Person meetings (In 3 Countries) 224 Curated Group Discussions 900 Members

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>What our members had to say:</h3> <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-riQ-P1der0' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Ron Thurston, Author, Retail Pride – Being a Retail Hiver</a> <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJAqGqmr8n8' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Catherine Murphy, Global Head of Digital Technology, Edrington – A follow on from Digital Luxury</a> <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vktJUEp-wQ4' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Victoria Santoriello, Head of Global Merchandising Strategy and Consumer Insights, Kate Spade – My Retail Hive story</a>

<h3 style='text-align: center;'>A huge thank you to all of our recommended partners that have worked with us throughout 2021, we look forward to much more collaboration and success in 2022! <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail-hive-recommended-partner-directory/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>You can see all of our recommended partners here!</a></h3>

<h3>Future Store:</h3> <ul> <li style='text-align: center;'>Check out our <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/experiential-moments/'>Experiential Moments scribe</a>, it outlines some of the key factors to consider when future proofing your stores</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>At our September Exchange we hosted roundtable discussions on <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/the-role-of-the-store-in-the-future-of-shopping/'>The role of the store in the future of shopping.</a>.. The roundtable was Hosted by Gary Bott, Managing Director, Gentle Monster, who also<a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/the-role-of-the-store-in-the-future-of-shopping-2/'> shared his story with us</a> on how Gentle Monster are creating an immersive shopping experience for their customers.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>We also created a <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/retail-fulfilment/store-transformation-amidst-evolving-buyer-behaviour/'>store transformation amidst evolving buyer behaviour</a> scribe earlier in the year, showing some of the methods our community have been using to draw their customers into their stores, and keep them fully engaged with the best experience possible.</li> <li style='text-align: center;'>Is ship from store the future of fulfilment? We discussed this in a boardroom hosted by our recommended partners Fluent Commerce all around <a href='https://www.thehive-network.com/retail/sustainability/the-heroic-role-of-ship-from-store/'>The heroic role of ship from store</a>… this was a massive initiative for many brands during the pandemic, but with increased efficiencies , it’s here to stay for many.</li> </ul>