BRC Retail Masters
The strategic leadership programme for senior retail leaders ready to lead at the very top. Four immersive days, built by retailers for retailers.
Who's the Retail Masters for?
This programme is for senior retail leaders who are already performing, and ready to lead at a higher level. It is the right fit if you:
- Have a sound strategy, but know yesterday's insight will not drive tomorrow's growth.
- Are leading an ambitious transformation and want proven frameworks to move faster.
- Own a strong customer experience but feel the pace of digital change closing in.
- Are growing in influence and want peers who understand the pressures you face.
- Have your team's respect, and know leading at the top demands more than what got you here.
What the programme covers
Navigating macro trends in retail
Lift your view above the day-to-day and look at the forces reshaping the sector.
- Cost pressure, growth, and what the economic picture means for your planning
- How consumer expectations are changing, and what that asks of retailers
- Spotting change early enough to position your organisation ahead of it
Driving performance across retail functions
Build a commercial view of the whole business, beyond your own function.
- Reading the numbers that drive performance, and making decisions with them
- Where customer experience, digital and AI are heading next
- Sustainability and talent strategy, and how they shape results
Understanding retail's broader impact
Look outward at the pressures shaping strategy from outside your business.
- How market shifts change the choices open to you
- What policy and regulation allow retailers to do
- Guest speakers from other sectors, to widen your view
Leading change with confidence
Build the strategic capability to lead transformation.
- Challenging how your organisation creates and captures value
- Culture and inclusion, and the conditions change needs to take hold
- Government relations, board-level persuasion, and where retail leadership is going
Applying insight to real-world strategy
Test what you learn against a real organisation of your choosing.
- A Business Strategy Review you build and refine across the four days
- Experiential sessions worked through with your learning team
- Peer challenge from leaders facing the same questions
Presenting vision and impact
Put your thinking in front of people who will challenge it.
- Present your Business Strategy Review to a senior BRC and industry panel
- Direct feedback on your thinking and how you make the case
- A closing fireside chat with a retail CEO
The calibre in the room
Definitely worth the time away from the office. It's eye-opening, intense and an opportunity to see the potential everywhere. I wish I could do it again.
The Retail Masters was an incredible experience—insightful, thought-provoking, and packed with real-world learning. From deep dives into AI, financial strategy, and customer experience to hands-on challenges like the Retail Safari, every session pushed me to think differently about the future of retail.
The programme is amazing. The content and exposure to senior business leaders who are investing their time to speak to you is invaluable. Throw yourself into the programme, leave your own work at the door every day, and realise, capitalise, and maximise the investment your business has given you as part of your development.
The programme will push you out of your comfort zone, challenge you with long days, and immerse you in more learning than you’ve likely experienced in four days. But you’ll come out standing taller and stronger than before!
What a great experience ! Come with an open mind and appetite to learn and this will be met. Inspiring leaders with diverse backgrounds and strategies open your mind to a world of opportunity in Retail.
The BRC Retail Masters won't only benefit the development of one individual - the insight they'll bring back to your business is priceless. With retail being so fast paced, it's easy to be solely focused on your own role or sector, and this course is an immersive opportunity to understand the bigger picture.
The programme, day by day
Delegates step back from their own function and look at the bigger picture.
An introduction to the programme and the Business Strategy Review that runs through all four days
Meeting your learning team and setting personal objectives
Expert perspectives on the economy, the future of retail and how technology is changing operations
A working session to test the day’s ideas against your own business
An evening networking reception with the cohort, faculty and alumni
A commercial view of the whole business, and the decisions shaping its future.
Reading the numbers strategically, from a senior finance perspective
How customer expectations and loyalty are changing
AI and digital, and what’s moving from horizon-scanning to board decisions
A live debate that tests your thinking on people and technology
Learning team time to build your Business Strategy Review
Senior leaders share how they’ve led their businesses through change, and delegates practise making the case for their own ideas.
Culture, transformation and inclusion, from people who’ve led them at the top
The commercial and leadership realities of sustainability
A practical session on influence and building a persuasive case
An evening with your learning team preparing your presentation
Teams put their thinking in front of a senior panel, and each delegate decides what they’ll take back to the business.
Presenting your Business Strategy Review to a senior BRC and industry panel
Feedback and discussion on what the reviews revealed
Personal reflection on what you’ll do differently back at work
A closing conversation with a CEO about leading at the top
Previous cohorts have learned from
Ben Fletcher
Digital Transformation and Finance Expert
Ben Fletcher, former CFO of The Very Group, draws on more than 25 years in finance at P&G, Boots and Clarks to explore “Financial dexterity”.
David Robinson
CEO | Dobbies Garden Centres
David Robinson, CEO of Dobbies, will be covering “Business transformation”.
Richard Cuthbertson
Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Dean for Accredited Education | Saïd Business School
Dr Richard Cuthbertson, Research Director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management at Saïd Business School, will be covering “Retail without friction”.
FAQ's
How much does it cost, and what is included?
Retail Masters is £3,395 per place for BRC members and £3,904 for non-members, excluding VAT.
That covers all four days of the programme, every session and speaker, all learning materials, and lunch and refreshments throughout. Travel and accommodation are not included.
Booking more than one place reduces the rate. Places are confirmed once payment or a purchase order is received.
Who is Retail Masters actually for?
Retail Masters is built for people already operating at or close to executive level: retail directors, heads of function, COOs, HRDs and senior leaders with cross-functional or national responsibility.
It is not an introduction to leadership. Delegates arrive with real strategic problems and use the four days to work on them alongside peers from other major retailers.
If your people are earlier in their leadership journey, BRC Leaders’ Summer School or BRC Leadership Essentials will fit them better.
How much time will my people be away from the business?
Four consecutive days, roughly 9am to 6pm each day, at The Form Rooms, Covent Garden, London.
There are two hours of pre-programme preparation before day one, and delegates complete a strategic business review during the programme. We design the programme so that the work sits inside the four days wherever possible.
Can I book several places, and is there a group rate?
Yes. Rates reduce as you book more places, starting from two, with the largest savings on bookings of six or more. You can also combine places across Retail Masters and the Leaders’ Summer School to reach a better rate, so a group made up of senior leaders and rising managers still counts as one booking.
Places are transferable to another colleague in your organisation, subject to notice. To discuss a group booking, complete the form below and we can discuss group bookings.
Place your most senior leaders in the right room
Enquire about the next cohort and we'll talk through fit, timing and places.