William Reed has acquired Retail Week and World Retail Congress, to complement its fast-growing business in digital content, insight, events and exhibitions.
The brands will become part of William Reed’s Retail and Manufacturing business unit, which includes British Baker, The Grocer, Convenience Store, Forecourt Trader, and Food Manufacture.
The move follows William Reed’s recent acquisitions of The London Coffee Festival and subsequently Rethink, an events business focused on the agri-tech and food-tech sectors.
The acquisitions strengthen William Reed’s global and local reach in key chosen markets.
“We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues from Retail Week and World Retail Congress,” said William Reed CEO Charles Reed.
“Retail Week is a very strong well-established brand, with a combination of reader revenue, excellent events, and a marketing solutions business that overall delivers great value to the retail community. World Retail Congress has been shaping the future of retail since 2007 and complements our strategy of owning market leading global brands.”
The Retail Week and World Retail Congress teams will operate as a standalone team under managing director Hanna Jackson, who will report into William Reed managing director of Retail, Manufacturing and Hospitality, Lorraine Hendle.
Jackson described the sale as “the start of a great new chapter” for the brands.
“William Reed’s market and core customer groups are closely aligned to ours and with the retail industry facing unprecedented change, this combination of two great businesses and their respective services and capabilities represents a really positive move for the sector as a whole. Retail Week and World Retail Congress is a great business, and William Reed is the best environment to provide the support and focus that the business needs,” she added.
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