There are only a couple of days left to register for IRI’s highly anticipated annual State of the Industry Event, with the event scheduled for Wednesday 9 November.
The virtual event is predicted to be one of the largest that IRI has held in the region, bringing together a range of industry professionals in the FMCG sector from across Australia and New Zealand.
Paul Hinds, Managing Director for APAC at IRI, said the company chose to make the event virtual so as many people as possible could tune in.
“This year’s State of the Industry event will be one of the largest events IRI has ever held in the region, signifying the importance of the initiative for everyone involved in the FMCG sector. Some 3,000 people are expected to take part. The number of people across industry seeking help and guidance is at an all-time high,” Hinds said.
Always a popular event for FMCG retailers and manufacturers, IRI’s 2022 State of the Industry event will by led by Hinds and a panel of experts of the Australian and New Zealand markets. They will cover topics such as:
- Macro trends impacting the FMCG sector.
- Retail resilience despite patchy performance, real income declines and higher interest rates.
- Inflationary indecision and resultant market uncertainty.
- Volatility due to ongoing pandemic hangover and cost of living pressures.
- Evolution of sustainability imperative and its economic benefits.
- Beyond the hype – unpacking mixed momentum for categories, channels and products.
- Looking forward, how to stay ahead of the curve.
Speaking of the importance of this content, Hinds said: “Australia and New Zealand have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of one of the most significant catastrophic world events in modern history. While we are now coming out the other side of the pandemic, we are walking straight into another unique set of challenging circumstances that require equally careful navigation. Inflation, weather events, continuing supply chain issues and labour shortages are impacting our day-to-day life as well as our ability to plan and invest with confidence into the future.
“Despite this, we know the future holds immense scope for innovation and growth for the FMCG sector provided we understand how to translate the macro and micro challenges and consumer sentiment and changing behaviours into opportunities.
“The IRI State of the Industry event will not only clarify the priorities and key areas of focus for our industry, it will also provide important information, insights, guidance and strategies for the sector to drive growth. We will drill down on specifics for each country to ensure optimum relevance for both markets.”
Craig Irwin, Managing Director IRI in New Zealand, is another expert that will be presenting insights at the event. He reaffirmed that while most pandemic restrictions have eased, these are still unparalleled times of change for the industry and it’s imperative businesses can stay resilient. IRI’s event will help communicate ways to do this, by being prepared to tackle any challenge and seek out any opportunity as they arise.
“Drawing on our in-depth analyses, we will review the economic outlook, update retail market performance and evaluate the impacts of inflation and macro-trends to arm industry players with the right intelligence to inform their strategy for the year ahead,” Irwin explained.
“The retail sector played a key role in supporting people and communities through the pandemic and together as an ecosystem situated at the front line of the economy we will continue to work together and power ahead providing leadership and a pathway forward as we move through the next phase of the post pandemic recovery.”
Along with Hinds and Irwin, other experts that will present in the IRI State of the Industry event include Debbie Simpson-Pudney, Head of Retail and S&I, IRI, New Zealand; Daniel Bone, Insights Director, APAC, IRI; Nick Tuffley, Chief Economist, ASB Bank; and Professor Rachel Kennedy, Associate Director (Product Development), Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science.
The 2022 IRI State of the Industry virtual event will take place this Wednesday 9 November, from 9am to 11:30am, AEST. It’s free to register here, with limited spaces available.