It’s All About Business Sustainability – Arnold Dillon, Retail Ireland

It’s All About Business Sustainability

Sustainable Growth, Careers and Communities

Retail Ireland’s Director Arnold Dillon talks to IF&CR on the role of retail in stimulating economic growth, supporting employment and sustaining vibrant communities across the country.

“Businesses are trying to make sure they have sustainable business models, in the midst of a constant state of disruption. At the sharp end, we are engaged in policies around competitiveness” said Arnold. “Sometimes the focus is on all the negatives, but there is a lot to be positive about in retailing – in particular developing careers paths, skills and nurturing talent” said Arnold.

There’s no doubt that the cost-base of doing business has consumed Retail Ireland’s efforts and energy in recent times.

“There was a series of significant cost increases which has been challenging – labour market costs, pension auto-enrolment, changes to sick pay and other additional costs were being pushed forward on a political timeframe rather than doing what’s sustainable for businesses.

“That simply wasn’t sustainable, and we saw some recognition of that last year with a pause on some of these. There was a degree of recognition that businesses simply didn’t have the cost-base to cover all of these increases. While some of the changes were based on good intentions  – such as pension reform, the time frame was simply too difficult, providing significant challenges for businesses in terms of managing costs.

New Programme for Government

“However the new Programme for Government seems to recognise this to some extent, and there are some positives in terms of labour costs and the ‘big picture’ issues such as the retail crime. This has always been an issue, but it has certainly become more acute since Covid.

“It’s a real concern and something that needs managed. We are looking at ways to address this with both Government and the Gardai – but there’s a lot of work to do. It ranges from low level abuse to some retail workers being subjected to serious attacks.

“Staff welfare is crucial. New technologies can play a role. Our interaction with businesses and Gardai is ongoing, along with progressing what action the justice system can do.

“There are proposals in the Programme for Government – such as a new Retail Crime Strategy to include Exclusion Orders. This would mean perpetrators are excluded from retail premises. Repeat offenders have been a frustration for retailers in the past, and a change in the law would mean if a perpetrator is barred, then they would be immediately arrested if in breach of a Court Order. A Bill regarding Retail Defamation could also be forthcoming – so these are just some very positive developments.

“Another priority for the Government is to look at Gardai resources, along with some big policy developments around alcohol, labelling and so on.

Skills and Career Pathways

A major focus for Retail Ireland members is skills.

“An incredible amount of work has been done to improve career pathways in retailing, with some exciting developments to develop skills sets – to make a career in retailing appealing and attractive by providing professional development and leadership opportunities.

“Our team is working on the apprenticeship model in government. New technologies feature high in retailing – we can either resit or embrace these – but it’s definitely a feature in modern retail businesses – as is adapting to new competitors and market entries” explained Arnold.

“Established retail businesses can leverage these opportunities and reach new customers to provide a better customer experience. Retailing is becoming more sophisticated. There’s a shift from the traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses as originally conceived, toward retailers using different channels – for example changing the range of what’s available in-store, looking at the logistics involved, whereby for some sectors such as fashion, the ‘bricks and mortar’ store becomes more like a show case.

Changes

“Fundamentally, there is a lot of change – with more people working from home, city and town centres are changing – which in itself provides both challenges and opportunities.

Undoubtedly the forecourt sector is one of the strongest in Ireland.

“Yes, we are part of the Euro Retail Federation, and Irish forecourts are viewed as doing all the right things, and at the cutting edge. We have high calibre industry leaders like Brian Donaldson from Maxol, Ciara Foxton from Circle K and BWG’s John Moane on our Board.

Part of Ibec

Part of Ibec, Retail Ireland is the largest and most influential business organisation representing Ireland’s retail sector.

Retail Ireland is led by Arnold Dillon. The organisation represents and supports a broad and diverse mix of members from the Irish retail sector. The team keeps members informed on policy through in-house briefings, provides industry updates, research and regularly runs member networking forums and industry led training for the sector.

Arnold has been Director of Retail Ireland since 2020. He is also a Board Member of EuroCommerce, member of the DBEI Retail Consultation Forum and Enterprise Forum on Brexit and Global Challenges.

With extensive professional experience in strategic campaigns, public affairs and PR, including with the Confederation of British Industry, London and Ibec, Brussels, Albert completed his undergraduate and post-graduate education at UCD.

Major Events

“In recent years, a series of major events has shaped the retail and wider economic environment. Brexit, a global pandemic, and rapidly increasing costs, sparked by war in Ukraine, have forced businesses to adapt quickly” he told IF&CR.

“Against this evolving backdrop, Retail Ireland has worked to directly support its members and ensure the government’s response safeguards the key interests of the sector. Success, however, is not just about reacting well to rapidly changing events, we must also be proactive.

“Retail Ireland represents a broad mix of the Irish retail sector, from global multinationals to indigenous chains and independent operators.

“Our membership includes major grocery retailers, department stores, pharmacies, DIY home and electrical outlets, fashion and luxury goods, shopping centres, convenience stores, forecourt, specialist outlets and independent operators.

Expert Knowledge

“Through our expert knowledge, extensive connections and unrivalled influence, Retail Ireland aims to enhance the profile of our industry and promoting a more positive business environment for Irish retail.

“Through our Retail Ireland Skillnet and Apprenticeship teams, we are proud to deliver Ireland’s leading retail education and training programmes.”

Dedicated Unit within Ibec

Retail Ireland operates as a dedicated unit within Ibec, Ireland’s foremost business, enterprise and employers’ group. Ibec and its sector associations work with government and policy makers, both nationally and internationally, to shape business conditions and drive economic growth. Ibec also directly provides a wide range of professional services to members.

Retail Ireland is the Irish member of EuroCommerce, the principal European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector at EU level.

*

It’s All About …Strategy

The current strategy (2023-2026) is based around three core pillars:

Sustainable Growth

As a large employer embedded in every community across Ireland, economic growth for the retail industry positively impacts society as a whole and delivers quality, value and choice to the consumer. In this challenging operating environment, identifying opportunities to improve competitiveness and innovation, while also supporting long-term growth, is crucial. As part of this focus, Retail Ireland and its members will aim to advance initiatives and policies to promote retail investment and digitalisation, drive sustainable growth, and deliver an innovative, resilient and competitive retail environment.

In order to advance the sector’s growth and competitiveness, Retail Ireland aims to champion and drive campaigns and initiatives that showcase the critical role and contribution of retail in the wider economy, and highlight the role of a thriving, competitive retail sector in addressing cost-of-living concerns.

Sustainable Careers

The impact of the pandemic has changed the priorities and patterns of both customers and the workforce in Ireland. The now established hybrid-model has implications for how, where and when customers engage with retail. At the same time retailers are recognising and responding to the expectations of staff to provide more flexible work patterns. Moreover, as technology increasingly impacts customer behaviour, this fundamental transition in the industry is changing the nature of the skills required and roles available in retail, across a range of areas.

In the research conducted by Retail Ireland, people, skills and careers for the future were highlighted as a key priority by members, particularly given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the recruitment and retention of staff. Retail businesses are keen to promote progressive policies that support employees and ensure skills and training reflect business needs as well as careers for the future.

Sustainable Communities

Environmental sustainability will be a key focus of the sector over the coming years and Retail Ireland will support its members as the industry continues to transform how it operates. From improving energy efficiency, increasing the use of recycled materials, reducing the use of plastic to championing the wider circular economy, tackling environmental issues is now a both a social and commercial priority.