Decades ago, when modern retailing began, its success was built in part on stores that served as anchors in their local communities. Meanwhile, several of the early branded manufacturers served their local communities through their employment practices and philanthropy. But somewhere along the line, industry critics argue, these notions got diluted in the competitive race for growth and scale.

Nowadays, as purpose and responsibility come to the fore, many retailers and consumer brands are re-examining the role that they want to play in the world and how to ensure that they can continue to deliver what consumers want.

Sustainability in its many forms is now an integral part of many business strategies across the world – no longer just an addendum for the CSR report or the ESG pitch to investors. We’re beginning to appreciate that we underserve our customers if we think of them just as shoppers or as consumers, rather than as people. And that profit and purpose are no longer in conflict; indeed that environmental and social sustainability are increasingly essential to financial sustainability.

At the same time, many businesses are still struggling to adapt to the pace of change. Challenger brands and online businesses were much faster than most incumbents to grasp the power of purpose. Businesses that are encumbered with legacy systems often struggle to exploit promising new technologies that come – and in some cases go – at apparently lightning speed. And in just the last year, populism and geopolitical rivalries have accelerated, posing ever-greater threats to some existing business models.

At the London 2020 Global Summit, we will hear different perspectives on these wider contexts. We will explore opportunities for a new approach to business leadership – including putting purpose at the heart of the business, adopting a less consumerist mindset and using collaboration as well as competition to achieve business goals.

Our annual Global Summit is the CGF flagship event exclusively reserved for CEOs and C-level executives from our member companies. It is the place where retailers, manufacturers and their services providers come to discuss future business trends, network and share knowledge and best-practices for overcoming today’s most pressing challenges. It is:

• the essential destination for successful business leaders in our sector;
• where CEOs talk to CEOs, with additional input from experts and specialists;
• the forum to voice the key issues and challenges facing our industry now and in the future;
• the place where the global agenda for the consumer goods sector is set;
• where the responses to previously set challenges are shared; and
• the event you must attend if your future is in this vital and global industry.

The Global Summit is the must-attend event for any C-level executive from the CGF membership. It is the only C-level forum for business leaders who want to:

• be part of an exclusive worldwide consumer goods business network at top management level;
• gain exposure to new strategic concepts, companies and thought-leaders from both inside and outside the consumer goods industry;
• bring home actionable insights for operating your business in a changed and consumer-led world;
• exert your influence over the major new issues that are having an impact on the consumer goods business worldwide
• take advantage of a truly dynamic environment in which to do business; and
• receive the latest updates and actions on The Consumer Goods Forum’s strategic initiatives.