At the beginning of this month Hammer visited Prague Congress Center along with roughly a thousand other leaders from the retail sector. On the main stage and in the breakout sessions there were 80 local and foreign speakers who spoke on various topics but the main theme was sustainability.
Leaders and expert consultants in the retail industry talked about topics such as consumers’ carbon footprint, climate, and how things like reducing packaging, plastic, label sizes, and dyes in plastic packaging are begin driven by environmental concerns coming from both consumers and from within the industry itself.
"The way we have lived is unsustainable in the long run and postponing solutions will cost us more and more money. At the same time, companies are beginning to realize that if they do not behave responsibly, regulations will come."
Tomáš Prouza
President, Confederation of Commerce and Tourism of the Czech Republic.
“Environmental concerns will completely exceed the economic and social ones in the horizon of 5 to 10 years”
Raúl García-Rodríguez
Risk management expert at Deloitte.
Another theme was consumer interest in personal health and how this, too, is affecting products. The head of Lidl showed how over the past few years 130 of their Czech producers and suppliers have been reducing sugar content and Lidl aims to reduce it by a further 20% by 2025.
"Every shopping decision has a choice for sustainability,"
Michal Farník
Managing Director, Lidl.
Some of last year’s ideas that stemmed from the pandemic resurfaced in the form of the continued trend or shift to online shopping and the innovations it has brought. There have been some real winners with this shift and the presentation by Rohlik together with their logistics consulting partner Logio, showed how the company is using innovations in software and robotic logistics centers to help speed up time to delivery. Rohlik is expanding rapidly both across Europe and in the Czech Republic where it is now used by over 25% of households in major cities.
Main speakers and partners:
Plzeňský Prazdroj, Salesforce, U&Sluno, Mastercard, NielsenIQ, Logio, Adastra, Deloitte, BCG, GS1 Czech Republic, Shopsys, Czech promotion, Behavio, GfK, H2 World Health & Beauty Company, Jakala, Quant, Wunderman Thompson, Kofola, O2 and other partners.
Nino Bergfeld of Salesforce noted that retailers loyalty programs must evolve with new technologies, to offer a more “personal and exclusive experience” and that some are already experimenting with, for example, blockchain technology, to this end.
Hammer Agency’s visit to the summit this year was a pleasure and we were happy to meet in person with some of our current clients and some new friends. Some of the key takeaways have already affected the way we approach advertising with some of our biggest clients. For example, when we pitch new ideas for label or product design we are now presenting concepts that take into account things like reduction in plastic, dyes and label sizing, in order to ensure more efficient recycling and appeal to both consumers’ and retailers’ sensibilities.