Digital Retail Innovations report launch event

Retail Insider celebrated the launch of the Digital Retail Innovations Report 2016 with an evening event involving influential guest speakers and a tutored wine tasting along with a few additional surprises.

The event and report, both sponsored by Webloyalty, attracted senior executives from a variety of retailers who enjoyed a first view of the report, which lists the Top 50 UK and Ireland retail innovations and the Top 10 from overseas.

They also heard a panel discussion involving Tim Robinson, CEO of Doddle, and Eamon FitzGerald, MD of Naked Wines, who revealed how their businesses have been true innovators by creating new models that are disrupting their respective markets.

They continue to innovate as Robinson described the recently launched Doddle Neighbour service whereby individuals act as hubs in local communities for receiving and delivering goods ordered online for people within a certain radius.

FitzGerald revealed that Naked is testing a Virtual Reality solution that will enable new customers to virtually ‘meet winemakers in their vineyard’ through using Google Cardboard devices.

The panel was followed by a tutored wine tasting of bottles from five popular winemakers supplying Naked Wines, undertaken by FitzGerald and Ray O’Connor, Naked’s director of wines.

An addition to the event was a tasting of two bottles of artisanal cider by James Galbraith of L’Atypique, and a tasting of a rare bottle of US IPA by Andrew Morgan of The Bottle Shop.

The drinks were complemented by the cheeses and charcuterie served at the new Sourced Market eating and drinking concept in Marylebone that hosted the evening and is the brainchild of Ben O’Brien who attended the event.

Retail Insider would like to thank Eamon, Tim, Ray, James, and Andrew as well as Ben and his team for a very successful event. A particular thank-you to Naked for supplying the wines for the evening. And also much appreciated support from Oresa.

Finally it is a very big thanks to Webloyalty for their sponsorship of the Digital Retail Innovations report and the launch event.