Source Home & Gift, the leading international sourcing platform for home and gift, continued its journey on to become a catalyst for positive change in the retail industry during its second day, providing a place where new connections, ideas, and possibilities come to life. Key visitors to the show today include ALDI, B&Q, Lucy & Yak, Ocado, Sue Ryder, House of Marbles, Widdop & Co, Cardology, RSPCA, National Trust, Amazon, Blue Diamond, Tik Tok, Card Factory, and many more.
Suzanne Ellingham, Event Director for Source Home & Gift says, “The definition of Source is ‘where things originate, and we believe that creating beautiful, well made, products begin in partnership with the people you source from. Our purpose is to bring good, reliable, manufacturers and makers from around the world to the NEC Birmingham, to make it one step easier for the retail industry to create beautiful, responsibly made, products. We champion ethical and sustainable manufacturing, elevating exhibitors who embody these principles and share their unique stories. This is a place where doing good business goes hand in hand with creating exceptional quality products.
“Our mission is to connect the global sourcing community, bringing together innovative makers and artisans, with extraordinary uniqueness and craftsmanship, and manufacturers who care about how products are made, under one roof. And connecting them to brands and retailers looking to buy and source better products and want to work with businesses whose values align with their own. Source Home & Gift is where responsibility meets style, connections turn into collaborations, and where your imagination and ideas can be brought to life.”
The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) represents over 400,000 independent retailers throughout the UK ranging from small pet shops to independent department stores. Its CEO, Andrew Goodacre attended and said, “We know that customers want to be more conscious and more responsible in their purchasing, and they also expect the businesses they use to lead by example, and so we want to help those businesses. Source Home & Gift really brings together the suppliers and retailers, and helps everyone understand what that journey is. I’ve wandered around the halls and I’m so impressed by the gifts available – the creativity, the wonderful craftsmanship. I would say to any retailer looking to find something to differentiate themselves from the competition – a trip to Source Home & Gift is absolutely crucial! I’ve had some brilliant discussions and met bags of ethical producers who are brilliant at what they do. I know that I’ll leave here and think I could have learned more, could have done more. So that’s why I will come back next year.’’
Lesley Kennedy, Retail Development Manager at RSPCA & Fran Vallely, Shop Manager at RSPCA attend Source Home & Gift as their ethos are so aligned, ‘’We sell new goods in our charity shops to raise funds for the RSPCA. Coming to Source Home & Gift is so important to us as we’re always looking to find new and exciting products and meet new suppliers to meet the demand of our customers. It’s really important that we’re trying to be environmentally friendly and that we’re sourcing things that aren’t going to harm the planet. As a charity we’re really part of the green and circular economy – that’s an important part of who we are and our ethos. So to be able to find new suppliers who align with that here is really great.’’
Feedback from the show floor throughout the day remained positive. Proudly produced in Portugal, Bioneurodesign debuted at Source Home & Gift with creations that embody the rich heritage and craftsmanship of the region. Julio Felix, CEO at Bioneurodesign said, “We decided to come to Source Home & Gift as we wanted to showcase our new range of products to the UK market, and we knew this provided an excellent opportunity to do that. We’ve established some great leads already and still have more of the exhibition to go!’’
The Responsible Sourcing Stage continued to present seminars designed to spark creativity and conversation. Retail Consultant, Ian Scott opened Source Home & Gift’s Responsible Retail Stage Seminar programme with ‘The Merging Roles of Technology & Humans in Retail’. Exploring the evolvement of physical stores post-COVID and the unique attributes of face-to-face retail as a fulcrum of retail ecosystems offering experiences digital cannot provide. Ian highlighted how humans and tech can work together to deliver the most effective retail solutions; “90% of retail is understanding human behaviours and 10% is product,” opened Scott, “the Intention Action Gap of what we say, and what we actually end up doing has never been more prevalent in retail. Emotion will always be a driver in consumer purchasing.”
“Human interaction is on our DNA, we know that Touching Points assist sales, periphery vision and the physical store has a much stronger appeal to customers whereas online is very linear and binary. Traditional retail are seeing staff as an unnecessary overhead in lots of business, but essentially your people are the living embodiment of your brand. The future is intertwining tech with the face-to-face aspect of retail to create a seamless shopping experience. One tech advancement which we’ve been talking about a lot is Retail Media networks, where retailers like Walmart and Tesco are leveraging screens in stores for advertising. Early projections are that the money from this could equal the money they spend on their own advertising. However, this isn’t a no-brainer, attention span here is in the seconds, we on average absorb 50,000 messages a day, we’re in deselection mode so the content here is as important as proximity.” Elsewhere, Scott touched on Shrinkage and how technology isn’t being used to combat theft in stores; “The average shrink rate in FY 2022 is 1.6%. We will see AI and facial recognition more-and-more to tackle this problem.”
Sara Allbright, Co-Founder and Director at Retail 100 Consulting hosted the session ‘Retail 100’s Regional Intelligence: How to source in new regions and optimise your sourcing strategy’. She said, “In order to build a profitable sourcing strategy, there are multiple considerations and decisions to make, if you’re just starting out on your sourcing journey, this can be an overwhelming task, especially if you want to make more ethical and sustainable business decisions. Things to consider for profitability include blended margin, cross costing between factories, container fills, exchange rates, QC and effective communication. Source Home & Gift is a great place to start; research is key, particularly when evaluating near shore vs far shore regional nuances. If we look at Near Source countries located in Europe and Turkey there are some invaluable pro’s, for example accommodating smaller volumes, quicker lead times and more flexible freight options. Cons include that some fabrications can be more specialised, meaning certain materials and embellishments come with higher costs. Far Source countries, typically located across Asia feature factories set up to run on higher volumes, with cheaper labour and material costs, however this incurs longer lead times with a focus on sea freight.”
“You must also consider exit strategies, what happens at the end of the product lifecycle, or even worse what if it doesn’t prove to be a good seller? Is your intake margin good enough to support a markdown and remain profitable? If you try to cancel out of stick with factories, what are the implications, or if you need to buy more is that even possible with the lead time.”
During the Fireside Chat: Transparency and traceability – ensuring sustainable practices across the whole supply chain with Andrew Goodacre, CEO of BIRA and Smruti Sriram CEO of Bags of Ethics discussed how brands and suppliers can work together. The session opened with an insight into what the supply chain transparency encompasses, “Everyone here has entrepreneurial dream, they want to make money and they want to bring a product to market. We can’t cramp that – how do we mix growth with buying responsibly? Essentially, it’s in every single element of the chain, from farmers, weavers, transportation, retail delivery, how a product is displayed in store, how it’s displayed online, how is it handed over the customer, and what does a customer do with it? When it’s at end of its life, what happens to it? There are thousands of people involved in a supply chain and every aspect needs to be scrutinised,” explained Sriram. “The true answer to transparency and traceability is boots on the ground. Lots of larger retailers are now trying to automate this process but this can divorce you from the reality of the people behind the supply chain, it’s only when you enter a factory or enter a farm that you gain this knowledge – it’s the human interaction that brokers trust and fosters positive relationships. For independents this may seem easier said than done, but you’d be amazed at what regular video calls can do – ask your suppliers to give you a walk-about of the factory online and do your due diligence. Having this trust on a basic level is extremely important to ensure sustainable practices.”
Goodacre went on to query the myriad of language and overwhelming legislation, “How can brands and consumers cut through what sustainability means?”, Sriram elaborated, “Never feel technically mesmerised by lots of terms, don’t be afraid to ask the basic questions, be inquisitive – being educated is not offensive.”
She continued, “In sustainability circles, this is all such common language but we’re the lack of education in consumers result in retailers ‘green-hushing’ where they’re keeping quiet about the good work that they’re doing. This is where marketing becomes key – celebrate great practices. Ultimately buying less is free but there is innovation coming that will make sustainability more consumer friendly at every price-point; the new EU Digital Product Passport is in-action legislation making traceability more apparent.”
Today, the Responsible Sourcing Stage welcomes Anna Berry from Retail 100 for ‘How to source and range new product categories – toys, candles, ceramics, home textiles’. Berry will share tips for sourcing for specific items, understanding the supply chain, the risks, the best place to find the items you need, and how to build your strategies. For all you need to know about the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, attend the session with UK FCDO policy makers on how you can take advantage of new legislation that removes or reduces import duties from 65 developing countries.
There’s still time to attend, register at www.source-homeandgift.com