Interview with Essential Retail editor, Ben Sillitoe

Spark recently caught up with Essential Retail’s editor, Ben Sillitoe, to provide us with an insight into the publication, how PR’s can best work with him, and his thoughts on the future of retail.  

What is the main purpose of Essential Retail **and how will the** title evolve over the next five years?

Essential Retail’s main purpose is to provide the retail community with up-to-date news, commentary, interviews and insights related to how technology is impacting their industry. We aim to keep vendors updated with news on their competitors and where retailers are directing their investment, while at the same time informing retailers about the latest solutions and industry trends that can improve, disrupt or transform their operations. As we grow, I expect Essential Retail to provide even more data, a greater injection of personality and more in-depth unique interviews with major retail technology players – in all likelihood with an increased focus on an international scale, reflecting the globalisation of retail.

For the PR community out there, can you provide some tips on how and when it is best to pitch stories to you?

I prefer to receive story pitches via email. If you’re going to call me, then please make sure it’s in the afternoon because, any earlier, and we will usually be focused on getting our morning newsletters prepared. We love a case study, so if you have some interesting technology to talk about, then I’d love to be able to talk to a retailer who is already putting it to good use.

What is your main gripe with the world of PR?

I think it’s important to have a positive working relationship with the PR world, so I do enjoy many of the connections I’ve formed with the so-called dark side! However, if there’s one thing that really annoys me, it’s receiving completely off-brief, speculative story pitches. I get hundreds of emails a day, but this deluge would be nicely streamlined if PRs took a closer look at the content we actually create.

Other than editorial stuff, what other opportunities can PRs get in touch with you about?

We’d love to be able to work with tech companies on roundtables, breakfast briefings or mini events. I’m also happy to chair panel discussions at industry events. Our parent company’s heritage is events, and we run a range of retail-related conferences and exhibitions throughout the year – none bigger than RBTE, every March.

What do you see as the most important developments in the retail space at the moment?

Retailers realising the importance of stores and ensuring they are upgraded to meet the demands of the modern shopper. Online and digital retailing isn’t going to make the physical store disappear, but retailers need to understand that success lies in connecting all the best and most relevant aspects of new technology with the traditional forms of retailing. A lot of this relates to the burgeoning mobile payments space, but there is huge potential in how retailers can further communicate and build loyalty with customers or would-be customers via their mobile devices.

To keep up-to-date with the news and views on Essential Retail visit www.essentialretail.com or follow them on Twitter @essretail