Spring Fair, the UK's most diverse, vibrant, and exciting wholesale marketplace for home, gift, fashion, and sourcing, taking place from 6 – 9 February 2022 at NEC Birmingham, has revealed that its manifesto for 2022 is Empowering Change. The manifesto will set the agenda for the live show’s Inspiring Retail Stage as well as a year-round content programme.

Outlining the Empowering Change manifesto, Suzanne Ellingham, Head of Content, Hyve Group plc says: “Retail is in a state of incredible transformation. Technology enables customers to shop anywhere, any time, and in any way that they want. The competitive landscape has changed, and even online retailers are now facing increasing costs and hostile marketing conditions. In a time when staying the same means you are moving backwards, expecting different results from the same tactics doesn’t make sense. I am really excited about this year’s Empowering Change editorial theme. The schedule will be packed full of incredible speakers and participants, helpful and inspiring insights, newness as well as the essential trends for 2022 and beyond.”

Created as a platform to champion retail, the Inspiring Retail Stage’s full schedule of live content from experts in their field will provided exclusive insights, trend reports, keynote conversations, and panel discussions on the key topics facing retail. Each of the four days of the show will cover a dedicated theme correlated to the Empowering Change manifesto.

Sunday 6 February: Future of retail is collaborative

At a time of incredible change, we are seeing more and more examples of highstreets and retailer groups working together to entice people back onto the high street, to improve the shopper experience, and to support each other. Pre-Covid everyone was competition, now the competition are online giants who can race to the bottom on price and deliver tomorrow. Has UK retail realised that there is enough room for everyone in the high street and by working together as retailers, retail districts, and local authorities, can they recreate the magic of the high street and connect even more with their local community? Is the future of retail success collaboration?

Monday 7 February: Sustainability and Innovation now

Consumers have never cared more about where their products come from, what they are made from, who makes them and what makes you different as a retailer or brand. What are your values, do you live them, and can you prove that? This day is all about retailers and global organisations sharing their journey, both the highs and the lows with each session packed with practical take away’s to give you the confidence to continue to do things differently because it’s the right thing to do, and how you let your customers know that so that they know you are who you say you are.

Tuesday 8 February: Changing mindsets – being comfortable with the unknown in order to thrive

For many of us change is difficult and a step into the unknown. For those who own businesses it can also be a leap of faith and stressful. In the current business environment asking ourselves (and the people around us) to change the way that they think and do things is incredibly difficult. But it is necessary to change when retail is transforming more each year than in the last 5 or 10. Today’s schedule is packed full of insight into how to change mindsets in order to thrive, how to build that culture within your business and learn from other business leaders as they share how they have navigated unprecedented change in order to grow. Each session is insightful, practical and geared towards helping give retailers the tools to succeed in an ever-changing world.

Wednesday 9 February: The way we do things

Often change isn’t overhauling your business but taking small steps towards a better future. During the final day, Spring Fair collaborates with its wellbeing and charity partner The Retail Trust to deliver a host of meaningful and useful business workshops and tools to help guide us towards better business.

The full Inspiring Retail Stage line-up will be announced in the next few weeks. For further information please visit www.springfair.com