Top Drawer A/W26 adds expert-led retail talks and business clinics

Specific sessions include Natasha Colk on smarter buying for independents, Lisa Paasche on building businesses people want to join, and Nicole Higgins on what makes a brand retail-ready. Wilfred and Alexander Emmanuel-Jones will talk about building a brand worth standing for. Graeme Sharp will discuss protecting what you have built. Andrea Rainsford will present on the psychology of buyer behaviour. Charnelle Merritt will address making influencer marketing work. Michelle Ojulah will cover AI for creative brands. Steph Briggs will talk about getting noticed and chosen. Bilen Zeremariam will discuss reinvention in retail. Chris Wickson will explore closing the trust gap online. Kim Hulse will connect high street insight to action. Laura Sawyer will look at building brand loyalty beyond the scroll.

The programme in the Business Hub goes beyond stage talks. Each day, a leading retail expert will curate and host the space, running live clinics, mentoring sessions, roundtables and workshops. Catherine Erdly, founder of the Resilient Retail Club, will take over with a day on profitability, stock management and sustainable growth. Buying and Beyond will launch The Buyers Club, offering direct access to experienced buyers and wholesale advice. Further takeovers will be announced in the coming weeks, organisers said.

Simone Ward, curator and host of Retail Revealed, said the programme was built around one question: “What will genuinely help an independent retailer when they go back to work.” She added that every session and Hub takeover was shaped to be actionable.

The timing reflects what many independents are dealing with. Margins are tight. AI is rewriting how customers find products. The line between physical and online retail keeps blurring. A show that delivers practical buying skills, buyer psychology frameworks and hands-on clinics addresses those pressures differently from a standard trade show keynote circuit.

Top Drawer runs alongside Fashion Britain, announced earlier this month by the British Fashion Council. Both events are at Olympia London. Registration is open on the Top Drawer website.