I was delighted to be invited as a guest speaker to The British Display Society Network/Social Event on Monday 30th September in London. As well as sharing the story of my journey in retail to inspire the next generation of retail and VM talent, I was delighted to receive an honorary fellowship to The British Display for my work and continued support to the visual merchandising Industry. Many thanks to the Board of The British Display Society for recognising my contribution to the industry spanning the last 30 years with this prestigious award.

With physical retailers facing ever-increasing competition from online, Karl shared the story of innovative international retailers creating a new generation of more exciting store environments. He explored ideas to successfully reboot visual merchandising and deliver outstanding retail spaces, guaranteed to grab shoppers’ attention this autumn.

'Mega trends’ are often the result of cultural or technological change or social, economic and political events that leads to new opportunities. Some can strike a chord with people seeking something new, and indirectly stimulate change. Such developments can unleash highly disruptive forces that act to form powerful influences on consumers, creating new demands and changing their shopping behaviour and along the way, raise expectations. Others have the potential to alter the course of retail history.

While celebrating the new is headline-grabbing, it's also important to remember the old - the things that never go out of fashion. Britain is and has for a long time been referred to as a Nation of Shopkeepers, not a Nation of Distribution and Fulfilment Centre’s. Karl shares his views on stage at Spring Fair 2019 to help retailers and brands to think again about their business’s in an essential and engaging 'refocus session'.

The pressure to drive sales and profitability from physical stores is at an all-time high. This means that now more than ever you will be asked to think and work in new ways to deliver positive uplift in performance that many retailers currently crave. And to do so at pace.

Change is a word that often terrifies many people. But in the world of retail, change has always been a constant. "Congratulations to all the winners in this years VM Awards. Savour your success, you've earned it. Embrace the change we have ahead of us and have the optimism to seek out new opportunities. It's what will continue to set the best in UK VM apart, for years to come."

Along with Andy Street (MD of John Lewis) and Steven Bartlett (Social Chain CEO) Karl discusses maximising the customer journey through better instore experiences.