It was a week full of learning, insights and enlightening conversations held amongst some of Australia's leading fashion brands and leaders.
As we take time to reflect on Ragtrader's five-part Retail Reinvented series, we have narrowed down our top three favourite bits.
1. The importance of branding
Across day one and two, a clear message was echoed amongst the retailers: the pandemic has driven a focus on creating a long-term brand.
"The quality of the creative is more important than the algorithms, more important than the pixels and more important than any of the optimisations," Facebook's Phil Bonanno said.
The retailers delved into the importance of having a strong brand offering in the space, especially as consumers shopped online during lockdowns and usual channels of interaction - namely bricks-and-mortar stores, PR events and out-of-home billboards - were offline.
This was especially important for Seafolly, as it redefines what it stands for as a brand following its relaunch, and for Kathmandu, who has undertaken an entire brand transformation this year.
Additionally, trust in brands was key for the retailers during the height of the disruption during lockdowns.
"Consumers are unlikely to search for 'cheap t-shirt', rather they'll search for their favourite brand," APG and CO. CEO Martin Matthews said.
2. Retail is an industry full of opportunity
Advice from this year's Ragtrader Fashion Industry Award winners encouraged the next generation of retail leaders to not be afraid to take the opportunities available to them in the industry.
The winners encouraged the next gen to immerse themselves in sustainable fashion practices, be open to learning and feedback opportunities and be willing to work hard to achieve their goals.
The importance of listening to others in the industry and having a mentor was also highlighted as a key way to further a career in the retail sector.
"Dont' be afraid of change. Embrace it," Technology Award winner Mitul Lakhani said.
3. Customer centricity is at the heart of good retailing
Whether 80% of your customers like shopping in a bricks-and-mortar store, as Country Road's do, or whether you're taking your investment into digital personalisation and services to the next level, as PAS Group is, customer centricity has to be at the heart of what a retail operation does.
The retailer has to be able to provide a seamless experience in-store, online and between both - even if it means reverting back to "old school" technologies - like sales phone calls.
"How can we serve her better, in the best, most personalised way?" PAS Group's Anna Samkova put it nicely.
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