Today professional services firm KPMG and retail research group SPSL jointly announce the formation of the KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank (RTT), the first of its kind in the UK, with members comprising the pre-eminent retail experts from all quarters associated with the retail sector.
The Retail Think Tank has been created because it is widely accepted that there are so many mixed messages from different data sources that it is difficult to establish with any certainty the true health and status of the sector. The aim of the RTT is to provide the authoritative, credible and most trusted window on what is really happening in retail and to develop thought leadership on the key areas influencing the future of retailing in the UK.
The RTT will provide, on a quarterly basis, a clear, balanced and authoritative assessment of the retail sector based on a review of all key influential data streams and open discussion by leading experts representing all major aspects of retailing.
The RTT held its first full meetings on Tuesday 25th April and Wednesday 14th June where it determined its outputs and the nature of the metric to measure the health of retail. Its first formal meeting is due to take place on Tuesday 11th July and outputs shall follow shortly afterwards. Its Members are all senior retail experts, all closely associated with the retail sector. They are:-
- Nick Bubb, Evolution Securities
- Paul Clarke, Barclays Retail & Wholesale Sectors
- Sian Davies, Henley Centre HeadlightVision.
- Prof. John Dawson, Universities of Edinburgh and Stirling
- Dr. Tim Denison, SPSL
- Helen Dickinson, KPMG
- Richard Hyman, Verdict Consulting
- Vicky Redwood, Capital Economics
- Mark Teale, CB Richard Ellis
The first meetings of the RTT discussed and determined the scope of its future outputs, the methodology and the constitution of the RTT. It was agreed that the RTT should serve to give a balanced, considered, and unbiased view on what the true state of affairs for the sector is, both looking back on the three month period just concluded and looking ahead to the next three months.
The KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank will meet quarterly, in private, and discuss current, predicted and ‘what if’ scenarios affecting retail in the UK. Next meetings of the RTT are set for 11th July 2006, 10th October 2006 and 9th January 2007. Outputs will follow shortly after each meeting. It is a deliberate policy of the RTT that no single member is directly employed by nor speaks on behalf of any individual retail business per se, thereby reinforcing the credibility and independence of its outputs which will include news releases and white papers.
According to Helen Dickinson, Partner, KPMG; “The KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank is something we at KPMG and SPSL have been planning and nurturing for several months. When Tim Denison and I came up with our provisional ‘dream team’ we had no idea that they would all say ‘yes’ to becoming a member. Now that we have had our first meetings I am confident that the nine of us will be able to produce some very meaningful metrics which will be of significance to everyone involved in retail.”
Dr. Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at SPSL, the company that produces the Retail Traffic Index of customer visits to retailers, added; “It is a testament to the basic concept behind the Retail Think Tank that everyone concerned is very excited by its formation and what it will deliver. I look forward to the KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank becoming a cornerstone of retail analysis and strategic commentary, providing both a clear perspective on the health of retailing and also leading the discussion on issues affecting the sector.”
Note to Editors:
- First mentions of the Retail Think Tank should be as follows: the KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank. The abbreviations Retail Think Tank and RTT are acceptable thereafter.
- The KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank was founded by KPMG and SPSL in February 2006. Its first full meetings were on 25th April 2006 and 14th June and it now meets quarterly to provide authoritative ‘thought leadership’ on matters affecting the retail industry. All outputs are consensual and arrived at by simple majority vote and moderated discussion. Quotes are individually credited.
- Its executive members have been rigorously selected from non-aligned disciplines to highlight issues, propose solutions, learn from the past, signpost the road ahead and put retail into its rightful context within the British social/economic matrix.
- Nick Bubb, Evolution Securities
- Paul Clarke, Barclays Retail & Wholesale Sectors
- Sian Davies, Henley Centre HeadlightVision
- Prof. John Dawson, Universities of Edinburgh and Stirling
- Dr. Tim Denison, SPSL
- Helen Dickinson, KPMG
- Richard Hyman, Verdict Consulting
- Vicky Redwood, Capital Economics
- Mark Teale, CB Richard Ellis
Members are:
- The KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank is free of any political, commercial or financial bias. It does not seek to be sensationalist, nor is it afraid to speak its collective mind. The KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank does not aim to ruffle feathers but it will not flinch from expressing its democratically-arrived-at opinion.
- The intellectual property within the KPMG/SPSL Retail Think Tank is jointly owned by KPMG (www.kpmg.co.uk) and SPSL (www.customercounting.com).
Date Published: 6/4/2006 5:40 PM
Note to Editors:
The RTT panellists rely on their depth of personal experience, sector knowledge and review an exhaustive bank of industry and government datasets including the following:
Members of the RTT are:
- Nick Bubb – Independent Retail Analyst
- Dr. Tim Denison – Ipsos Retail Performance
- Jonathan De Mello – Harper Dennis Hobbs
- Martin Hayward – Hayward Strategy and Futures
- Maureen Hinton – Conlumino
- James Knightley – ING
- Richard Lowe – Barclays Retail & Wholesale Sectors
- David McCorquodale – KPMG
- Martin Newman – Practicology
- Mike Watkins – Nielsen
The intellectual property within the RTT is jointly owned by KPMG (www.kpmg.co.uk) and Ipsos Retail Performance (www.ipsos-retailperformance.com).
First mentions of the Retail Think Tank should be as follows: the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank. The abbreviations Retail Think Tank and RTT are acceptable thereafter.
The RTT was founded in February 2006. It now meets quarterly to provide authoritative ‘thought leadership’ on matters affecting the retail industry. All outputs are consensual and arrived at by simple majority vote and moderated discussion. Quotes are individually credited. The Retail Think Tank has been created because it is widely accepted that there are so many mixed messages from different data sources that it is difficult to establish with any certainty the true health and status of the sector. The aim of the RTT is to provide the authoritative, credible and most trusted window on what is really happening in retail and to develop thought leadership on the key areas influencing the future of retailing in the UK. Its executive members have been rigorously selected from non-aligned disciplines to highlight issues, propose solutions, learn from the past, signpost the road ahead and put retail into its rightful context within the British social/economic matrix.
Definitions: The RTT assesses the state of health of the UK retail sector by considering the factors which influence its three key drivers.
1. Demand – Demand for retail goods and services. From a retro-perspective, retail sales, volumes and prices are the primary indicators. When considering future prospects, economic factors such as interest rates, employment levels and house prices as well as others such as consumer confidence, footfall and preferences are used
2. Margin (Gross) – Sales less cost of sales; the buying margin less markdowns and shrinkage. Cost of sales include product purchase costs, associated costs of indirect taxes and duty and discounts
3. Costs – All other costs associated with the retail operations, including freight and logistics, marketing, property and people
The Retail Health Index – how is it assessed?
Every quarter each member of the RTT makes quantitative assessments of the impact on retail health of demand, margins and costs for the quarter just completed and a forecast of the quarter ahead. These scores are submitted individually, collated and aggregated in time for the RTT’s quarterly meeting. The individual judgements on what to score are ultimately a combination of objective and subjective ones, drawing upon a wide range of hard datasets and softer qualitative material available to each member. The framework follows the example of The Bank of England Agents’ scoring system on economic intelligence provided to the Monetary Policy Committee.
The aggregate scores are combined to form the Retail Health Index (‘RHI’) which is reviewed at that meeting and occasionally revised after debate if members feel it appropriate. The RHI tracks quarter on quarter changes in the health of the UK retail sector and as such provides a useful and unique measured indicator of retail health. The index ‘base’ of 100 was set on 1 April 2006. Each quarter, it assesses whether the state of health has improved or deteriorated since the previous quarter. An improvement will lead to a higher RHI score than that recorded in the previous quarter, and with a deterioration leading to a lower score. The larger the index movement, the more marked the shift in the state of health.
The RHI has two main benefits. Firstly, it aims to quantify the knowledge of the RTT members in a systematic way. Secondly, it assesses the overall state of health of the UK retail sector for which there is no official data.
For media enquiries please contact:
Max Bevis, Tank PR
Tel: +44 (0)1159 589 840
Email: max@tankpr.co.uk