We are excited to announce the relaunch of our ‘RLI Talks’ Podcast and in the first episode of this new series, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) speaks to Giovanni Dolci, Global Chief Sales Officer, IMAX Corporation to discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the ‘Future of Cinema’ and ‘immersive entertainment’ following a long and challenging journey over the course of the global Coronavirus pandemic.  Where there’s challenges lie opportunities and we take a look at how IMAX are continuing to create unforgettable movie going experiences, in the midst of adversity, whil ..read more

In this week's episode of RLI Talks, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) speaks to John Hoyle, the Founder and CEO of Sook, to take a look at how small businesses can make a success of pop-up shops in the post-COVID recovery. Sook offers brands the opportunity to create a physical pop up shop by providing them with adaptive retail spaces in a number of different locations across the country - at a time that suits them, for however long they feel it suits them for.    John talks about how expensive the traditional retail shop model can be due to the overheads that come with a permanent lo ..read more

In this episode of RLI Talks, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) speaks to Richard Hurd-Wood, CEO of Virgin Experience Days. Of course, the last twelve months has presented its challenges to Richard and his team as most of the partners they work with have had to close their doors - however, it has also presented new opportunities and Richard talks about how the Virgin team have worked with their suppliers to establish new digital or at home experiences throughout the pandemic. He also talks about the future, and how this summer could be the busiest summer yet for his brand and for those who of ..read more

In this episode of RLI Talks, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) speaks to Matt Turner, Founder and CEO of tastecard. Matt founded tastecard (originally tastelondon) in 2006 with just £20,000 - fifteen years later it is now the UK's largest dining club with over 3 million members.   Of course, the last twelve months have proved challenging for tastecard as most of its partner restaurants have been closed and members asked to stay at home, but with challenges come opportunities and Matt talks about how the business has pivoted, giving an insight in to some of the other projects they're worki ..read more

In this episode of RLI Talks, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) speaks to Jace Tyrell, CEO of the New West End Company. The New West End Company is a business partnership of 600 UK & international retailers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and property owners in the world's top shopping and leisure destination, anchored by Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street. They work across 80 streets, representing 150,000 employees. Jace grew up on the Gold Coast in Australia and says he has always been around real estate, regeneration and retail, and moved to London after working on the Olympics in S ..read more

In this special episode of the RLI Talks Podcast, Jayne Rafter (Publisher of RLI) is joined by Brian Wilkinson (Head of Retail & Leisure) and Astley Shields (Air Care Expert) from phs Group, the hygiene specialists. The last year has been difficult for everyone, but now we're all looking forward to the world reopening again. However, when it comes to the retail and leisure sectors, confidence will play a huge part in how quickly things can get back to normal - especially when it comes to being indoors. Brian and Astley discuss how COVID-19 is transmitted and what measures retail and leis ..read more

In our final episode of ‘RLI Talks’ for 2020, I am joined by Connie Nam, Founder of the contemporary London-based jewellery brand Astrid & Miyu.  Connie talks about how she founded the business with the mission to revolutionise the jewellery experience. Astrid & Miyu started as an e-commerce brand but has now expanded to four permanent stores in London and two concessions in Selfridges, one in London and one in Manchester - with national and international expansion on the horizon, following three successful Pop-Ups in New York.  Connie also discusses the importance of creat ..read more

In this episode of ‘RLI Talks’, Jayne speaks to Ali Rubinstein, the Co-CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf creates immersive experiences and art installations, and Ali discusses the new exhibitions opening in Las Vegas and Denver next year - their most ambitious to date. With a background of working at Disney in the Far East, Ali also talks about which markets excite her the most when it comes to further expansion.  Stories are at the heart of what they do and Ali talks about how this desire to lead with narrative also sits at the heart of their new Omega Mart concept ..read more

In this episode of ‘RLI Talks’, Jayne speaks to Facebook Director Vincent DeSantis, who heads up Facebook’s Retail vertical looking after large enterprises to help them solve their biggest challenges and to grow their businesses through the Facebook platform.  2020 has of course been a difficult year for many retailers, but the holiday period now offers them a good opportunity to make up for potential losses, especially with events like Black Friday on the horizon. Vincent talks about the logistical challenges that this year has presented retailers, and how the industry in the USA (the ..read more

In this episode of RLI Talks Jayne speaks to João Cepeda, the Founder, President & Creative Director of Time Out Market.  João describes himself as a journalist and it was whilst he was Editor of ‘Time Out Magazine’ in Portugal that he created the ‘Time Out Market’: a food hall concept based in one of Lisbon's beautiful landmarks, the Mercado da Ribiera.  João talks about how the Market concept grew from the events that the magazine would put on in various venues around the city, and how it felt natural for the brand to find a more permanent home. By bringing some of Lisbon's m ..read more