James Hall & Co Ltd, the SPAR wholesaler for the North of England, has hosted this year’s SPAR International Future Leaders conference, welcoming 36 people from 11 SPAR countries to Preston.
Delegates from across the globe all had the unique opportunity to take part in a week-long conference at the start of July, and learn about all aspects of the business in a hugely motivating environment.
Participants looked at future trends in marketing, retail technology, strategy, sustainability, logistics, HR, management and educational workshops.
The programme, which aims to develop prospective SPAR leaders globally, offered a different key learning each day and focused on different aspects of the SPAR business including Strategy, Operations, Marketing & Merchandising and Human Resources.
There were also daily sessions on Leadership and Management, delivered in the form of workshops, presentations and role-plays.
Peter Dodding, James Hall & Co Ltd Retail Director, said: “The Future Leaders programme is a win-win for young people within the SPAR organisation, offering them the chance to benefit from learning both in theory and practice at one of SPAR UK’s wholesale businesses.
“Participants found the experience very rewarding in both personal development and professionally – and had lots of fun at the event!”
During the week, delegates also visited James Hall’s distribution center, and heard about the exciting news at Clayton Park where the SPAR wholesaler has recently seen huge success thanks to the opening of its new factory in Huncoat. The newly-converted unit has produced more than 500,000 packs of bread in the 10 weeks since its launch, and Clayton Park now represents more than 50% of all James Hall & Co’s bread production.
