Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence launched at Leeds Metropolitan University
The Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence at Leeds Metropolitan uses expertise from across the university to help businesses improve the consumer experience and to help them make a real difference in the economy.
The launch event was held at the University's Rose Bowl and saw the Director of the Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence, Professor Cathy Barnes, give an inaugural lecture where she explored how rigorous and robust consumer research can be used as a platform to create and identify opportunities for retail innovation. The launch event also included presentations from Land Securities' Retail Portfolio Director, Gerald Jennings, and Nestlé's UK Head of Packaging, David Wiggins.
Director of the Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence Professor Cathy Barnes stated: "Our Centre is unique in the way we look at the whole retail supply chain and work with companies to innovate the customer experience at both the point of sale and during use. There are so many exciting opportunities in the retail sector currently. Over the coming months we are hoping to grow our footprint and make difference to businesses to how they innovate and how they present their products in a retail environment."
Nestlé's UK Head of Packaging, David Wiggins, added: "Leeds has for a long time been a big centre for UK packaging manufacturing and there are a lot of big brand owners, retailers and manufacturers based in the region. With the Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence now based at Leeds Metropolitan University, they are able to develop relationships between companies to facilitate innovation and stimulate growth."
The Faraday Centre was born 14 years ago, and has been used by many global retail and consumer goods companies to enhance innovation. The centre now looks to extend a supporting arm to Yorkshire businesses within the retail supply chain, offering exclusive access to new ideas and technologies.