On Thursday 11 November, eXpression and the eXpression Future Retail Lab accelerators programme participated as key note speakers at the international conference Nordic Retail and Wholesale Conference. The conference was organised by the Umeå School of Business and Economics and was held for the seventh time. Around 100 researchers and representatives from retail organisations from Northern Europe attended the three-day conference with the aim of sharing knowledge in the field of retail.
Annakarin Nyberg, programme manager at eXpression Future Retail Lab, gave a presentation on Thursday on the Future Retail Lab business development programme. With a clear background on why the programme was developed, the purpose and objectives of participating companies, pedagogy and methodology, and content, conference participants were introduced to the different phases and results of the programme.
Simon Norberg, owner and founder of Childrenshouse.se, and one of the participants in the first round of the Future Retail Lab accelerator (2019-2020), also participated. Simon described how the programme has strengthened him as an entrepreneur and how he has gained important knowledge and experience that has helped him develop new business models and strategies. He believes that all businesses in retail should have an opportunity for business development similar to that offered in the Future Retail Lab advanced business development programme.
Future Retail Lab challenged me to push my boundaries as an entrepreneur and a human being. During the pandemic, for example, we dared to develop, market and sell new products at a faster pace than before and without the otherwise essential planning. There was simply no time for that," says Simon Norberg.
What Simon is talking about is a form of exploratory business development based on the simultaneous generation of ideas, verification, development and launch of goods and services. This places high demands on companies, and we can clearly see how companies in the retail sector that have worked in this way have fared better through what for many has been a difficult time," says Annakarin Nyberg.
The Accelerator Programme started in 2019 and is currently being implemented for the third and final time with 16 heterogeneous companies at the business incubator eXpression Umeå. The programme is funded by the Swedish Trade Foundation The merchants' association, Umeå municipality and EU structural funds. A total of 44 companies have been part of the programme, where knowledge sharing and business development have been in focus. The primary objectives have been to create growth, develop new or refine existing business models and find new forms of collaboration.
LINKS:
Read more about the Future Retail Lab programme.
Visit Nordic Retail and Wholesale Conference website.
