Retail Reimagined: Resilience in Uncertain Times (Fully booked!)
McGrathNicol - Melbourne
Thursday 26th October 2023
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
To help inspire and develop the next generation of turnaround and restructuring professionals, the Victorian NextGen Committee is hosting a panel of speakers to discuss both the challenges and opportunities for Australian retail businesses in 2023, and the outlook for retailers going forward.
Retailers are facing tough operating conditions, with many feeling the impact of:
- the prolonged contraction in retail spending;
- relatively high interest rates and inflation;
- increased labour costs following rises in award wages; and
- low consumer and business confidence.
The panel will be guided through a series of key questions and will share insights into their professional backgrounds and experiences within the retail sector, comment on the prevailing industry conditions and consider the outlook and opportunities for retailers moving forward.
The panel session will then be followed by networking drinks and canapes.
Emma Boucher
Director, McGrathNicol
Emma Boucher is a Director of McGrathNicol.
Emma has more than 15 years’ experience in restructuring, turnaround and business improvement strategies and has worked across a broad range of industries including infrastructure, renewables, financial services, retail and asset management. Emma is passionate about developing and delivering business improvement strategies and has led significant cost reduction and earnings improvement projects for clients including Afterpay, Barwon Water and Melbourne Airport, as well as organisation wide integration projects.
Emma has completed secondments with several ASX listed entities, including roles such as interim CFO and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, developing board reporting and delivering content to executives. Emma is also a qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of ARITA.
Lewis McMenamin
Director, Hilco Capital Investment
Lewis is a Director at Hilco Capital, a prominent financial investor and lender, specialising in dealing with businesses which are underperforming, non-core subsidiaries, retirement sales or distressed.
Lewis works closely with management teams to add value and improve performance and has had extensive exposure to the retail sector as an advisor, lender and investor. He specialises in business analytics, financial modelling and turnaround planning and has gained experience advising on financial and operational turnarounds in various sectors.
Lewis has over 10 years of turnaround and restructuring experience in the UK and Australia, having previously worked for Deloitte and KordaMentha in Australia, and is a former member of the Victorian TMA NextGen committee.
Richard Ansell
Senior Director, Gordon Brothers
Richard Ansell is Senior Director, Retail at Gordon Brothers. Richard leads the firm’s retail advisory business and drives retail projects in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.
He has over 25 years of experience building and repositioning global retail brands and businesses, including buying and planning, store development and operations, marketing and customer relationship management, e-commerce, food and beverage, and customer service.
Prior to joining Gordon Brothers, Richard was a country commercial manager for IKEA. He was previously general manager of Radio Rentals and general manager of sales and customer experience at Freedom Furniture.
Richard has a business studies degree from the University of Huddersfield and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Stirling. He is based in Sydney.
Thursday 26th October 2023
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm