Sharing Ideas at the GCA / PG Retailer Forum
I was really pleased to take part in the GCA / PG Retailer Forum in August 2025, alongside other independent retailers, publishers and industry figures, with PG Buzz later covering the event and the conversations that came out of it.
What I valued most about the forum was that it focused on something the independent retail world genuinely needs more of: practical, collaborative conversations rooted in real experience rather than theory.
Independent shopkeepers face a unique set of challenges. We are constantly balancing creativity with commercial reality, responding to changing customer behaviour, managing rising costs and trying to keep physical retail spaces vibrant and relevant in increasingly difficult conditions.
And yet despite those challenges, there is still an enormous amount of passion, resilience and innovation within the independent retail sector.
The discussion explored ways the industry could better support retailers through campaigns, clearer communication and more customer-facing initiatives that genuinely help drive engagement and sales rather than simply creating noise.
That’s something I care very deeply about. I strongly believe that campaigns work best when they make life easier for busy retailers and simpler for customers to emotionally connect with. Independent shops do not need more complexity or endless “initiatives” that look good on paper but create little real-world impact. They need ideas that are practical, adaptable and rooted in how shops actually operate day to day.
One of the things I always try to bring to these conversations is the perspective of someone actively standing on a shop floor every single week, observing real customer behaviour in real time. There can sometimes be a disconnect between how people imagine customers behave and what actually happens in practice inside independent shops.
Forums like this are incredibly valuable because they help bridge that gap. They create space for honest conversations between retailers, publishers and industry organisations, all working towards the same goal: helping independent retail remain strong, relevant and sustainable long into the future.
I was very grateful to be invited to contribute and to PG Buzz for covering the event and helping continue those conversations across the wider industry.
