Key takeaways from the Future of Retail: Risk & Resilience Conference 2025

Our Future of Retail: Risk & Resilience Conference 2025 brought together leaders, innovators and changemakers from across the sector to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of retail and hospitality.

The day was designed to spark honest conversations, share practical insights and encourage collaboration across industries. Considering risk in many forms and the importance of preparedness, the conversation ranged from physical threats to the retail space like terrorist attacks and crime to digital transformation, brand protection, workforce wellbeing and crisis response. 

Each panel tackled the issues head-on, highlighting the resilience, creativity and adaptability that define the sector today. 

The following takeaways offer a glimpse into what’s next for the sector.

Jump to:

• Keynote speaker Figen Murray OBE on Martyn's Law.

Our three panel sessions: 

• Panel one — retail resilience.
• Panel two — workforce risks & opportunities.
• Panel three — tech & digital transformation.

Figen Murray OBE — Martyn’s Law

A central theme throughout the conference was the importance of understanding why regulations exist — particularly those designed to protect stakeholders and the public. This message was powerfully introduced by our keynote speaker, Figen Murray OBE, whose personal story and advocacy have shaped one of the most transformative pieces of counter terrorism legislation in recent years — Martyn’s Law.

Figen isn’t just Martyn’s mother — she is a counter-terrorism expert who holds a master’s degree in the field and is the pioneering force behind the legislation. Her son, Martyn Hett, was one of the 22 innocent victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack in 2017. Since then, Figen has channelled her grief into action, campaigning tirelessly to improve public safety.

Her campaign began with an online petition in January 2019 and included a 200-mile walk over 16 days from the place Martyn sadly lost his life to 10 Downing Street. Eight years after the tragedy, Martyn’s Law — officially known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — received Royal Assent in spring 2025.

Martyn’s Law introduces two tiers of duty:

• Standard duty — applies to venues with a capacity of 200 to 799 people and focuses on making sure that venues can respond effectively in the event of an attack.
• Enhanced duty — applies to venues with a capacity of 800 or more and includes proactive measures to prevent attacks in addition to the standard requirements.

In her keynote, Figen urged businesses to begin preparations ahead of the law’s full implementation. She emphasised that many of the necessary steps are low-cost or free. Resources such as Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) and See, Check and Notify (ScaN) offer free training, while simple actions like reviewing internal security protocols, removing detailed floor plans from websites and encouraging staff to positively engage with visitors can significantly deter potential threats.

She also highlighted the Martyn’s Law Forum and its newsletter as valuable, free tools to support businesses through the implementation process. 

Figen’s message was clear — understanding the ‘why’ behind these legislations is essential to applying them correctly. We must never think that such tragedies couldn’t happen to us. 

Panel one — retail resilience 

The opening panel of the conference centred on the critical themes of compliance, safety and crisis management. Chaired by Claire Burrows, a Partner in our regulatory team, the discussion featured perspectives from Andy Conway (Wilson James Limited), Tarah Gear (Milligan) and Fionula Scanlan (Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate).

Highlights from the discussion included:

Safety in public spaces & gender-based security

Tarah Gear — a strong advocate for women and girls’ safety in town centres — shared how Milligan prioritises public safety in regeneration projects, right down to simple but impactful measures like ensuring that spaces are well-lit. She also highlighted the importance of recognising data gaps, noting that effective analysis involves understanding not just what the data shows, but what it doesn’t.

Implementing Martyn’s Law

Andy Conway addressed the practical challenges venues face when implementing Martyn’s Law. Despite these hurdles, he urged businesses to be proactive, using existing health and safety frameworks to take meaningful first steps. His advice was to take a holistic approach and focus on practical actions that enhance safety.

Culture-centric compliance & crisis planning

Fionula Scanlan emphasised that “compliance must be culture-centric”. She warned against a tick-box mentality that can dilute the purpose of regulation and compromise protection. Fionula also championed effective crisis management, stressing that plans must be clear, practical and regularly rehearsed to be truly effective.

The panel closed with a strong statement — every business must have a crisis plan in place. These plans should be embedded into the organisation’s culture to ensure that, in the event of a crisis, every individual is protected and knows how to respond.

Panel two — workforce risks & opportunities

Led by employment Partner, Andrew Graham, the second panel brought together industry leaders to explore the evolving challenges that the sector is facing. Speakers Elaine Wrigley (American Golf), Steven Hesketh (Savvy Hotel Group) and Simon O’Mahony (Arne) shared valuable advice on employee wellbeing, safety, inclusion and workforce resilience.

Highlights from the discussion included:

Workplace culture & sexual harassment

Simon O’Mahony addressed the difficult but vital topic of sexual harassment in the workplace. He emphasised the need for leaders to be equipped to identify and act on inappropriate behaviour and to embed respect into everyday operations. He noted that the most effective safeguard against misconduct is a strong and value-led workplace culture.

Authenticity & human-centred leadership

Steven Hesketh built on Simon’s point, stressing that organisational culture must be rooted in authenticity and transparency. He champions a hands-on leadership style and open communication, believing that the human dimension is key to managing risk effectively.

Internal policies & visible representation

Elaine Wrigley explored American Golf’s ‘Fairway’ policy — an initiative promoting fairness, accessibility, inclusion, respect and belonging. She highlighted the importance of increasing visible female representation in stores as customers now expect brands to reflect the diversity of their communities.

The panel concluded that the risks faced by staff and those caused by them are inevitable, but the most effective way to manage them is through a human-centred approach. Embedding culture into decision-making and protection strategies is essential for building resilient and inclusive organisations.

Panel three — tech & digital transformation

The final panel of the conference delved into the dynamic intersection of technology, digital transformation and resilience in the sector and the threats and opportunities this presents. Chaired by Colin Bell, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property and Technology, the session brought together expert voices from across industries including Paul Dicken (Liverpool Football Club), Kavita Basi (Jardin Living), Steve Nolan (Very Group) and Matt Hull (NCC Group).

Highlights from the discussion included:

Brand protection & counterfeiting

Paul Dicken shared how Liverpool Football Club is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to combat counterfeiting. By identifying high-risk regions and pinpointing major operations, the club is tackling the growing ‘dupe culture’ driven by younger consumers and social media.

Cybersecurity as a core priority

Matt Hull emphasised that cybersecurity must be embedded into every organisation’s strategy. With increasing reliance on digital infrastructure, the risks of cyber-attacks pose serious threats to both business continuity and brand reputation.

Digital transformation & operational resilience

Steve Nolan discussed the importance of keeping pace with digital innovation while ensuring robust data protection and regulatory compliance. He stressed that operational resilience and data analysis are key when adopting new technologies.

Ethical use of AI in creative industries

Kavita Basi expressed caution around using AI in creative processes, citing concerns about energy consumption and the lack of regulation. However, she acknowledged AI’s potential to support small businesses in analysing consumer trends and improving decision-making.

The panel concluded with a shared belief that cross-sector collaboration, communication and education is vital in navigating the fast-evolving digital landscape. The experts agreed that withholding intelligence doesn’t create a competitive advantage — it hinders progress. Instead, sharing insights and best practices is key to protecting both consumers and businesses in an increasingly tech-driven world.

Closing summary — looking ahead

Our Head of Retail, Helena Davies, and General Counsel at Mamas & Papas, Veronica Shackleton, wrapped up the conference with their closing thoughts.

They reflected on the importance of crisis simulation and proactive planning. Veronica shared how Mamas & Papas transformed their product recall procedures into broader crisis response strategies using scenario-based training to ensure that the team is fully prepared. She praised the sector’s resilience through recent challenges and emphasised that retailers can continue to thrive by staying agile and leaning into the current pressures rather than resisting them.

Echoing Figen’s earlier message, Veronica encouraged businesses to take a human approach to both challenges and new legislation and consider the ‘why’ behind regulations to truly benefit from the protections they offer to retailers and their customers.

The conference closed on a high note, bringing together people who are not only ready to face challenges, but brave enough to tackle them head-on.

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