British Retail Consortium sets out Manifesto for Retail
The British Retail Consortium has launched a Manifesto for Retail in which it lays out its vision for a “better retail future”.
This aims for a net zero, digitally transformed industry that provides higher skilled, better paid jobs and an improved shopping experience for customers.
With an election coming up, the BRC has called for fresh thinking from political parties as to how they will work with the retail industry to develop a policy, regulatory and tax environment which enables retailers to “go further, faster, and work with the industry to realise a shared vision for the future, to the benefit of consumers, the economy and the environment”.
The organisation said major fixes are required including a more coordinated approach to tax and regulation and new policies to support retailers’ investment in the tech needed to help them get to net zero. It has also recommended that skills policies should be evolved to enable the sector to train its workforce for today’s more digital and higher-skilled roles.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: “As political parties gear up for the next election, we need a different way of working with government so that we can use the industry’s size, scale and reach to deliver more.
“That means removing the blockages which hold the industry back, preventing it reaching its full potential. It’s time to support the upskilling of workers and accelerate our journey to net zero, while finding ways to address any unnecessary burdens on the industry and its sixty million customers.
“By delivering a more business-friendly approach to retail, the industry can deliver on its own vision – a net zero, digitally transformed industry which provides higher skilled, better paid jobs and more investment in local communities. It’s time to unleash the industry’s size, scale and reach to drive greater positive change.”
