Theresa Schleicher is a retail expert, futurologist, author and consultant. In her workshops and keynotes she deals with the development of retail. in the context of digitalization, neo-ecology, increasing mobility and changing consumer behavior. She is the author of the Retail Report series, in which she regularly reports on current trends and developments in retail. In workshops and keynotes, she conveys her view of the future, always sifting through the construct of large societal contexts.
Theresa Schleicher in an interview:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
The speeches are an outlook of the future retail industry. About changes of our humankind, social structures, urban concepts, forms of mobility and shopping behaviour. Imagine living in the year 2040 – in a world where sea levels have risen significantly compared to today and where people risk having less access to drinking water; a world where we have to deal with wildfires 10 times more often than today, we have concentrated urban concepts, are redefining consumption and reinventing ourselves in the deep desert. In the end, nothing can be derived so clearly from our basic social state and state of mind as consumer behaviour. Therefore, nothing is as changeable as trade. And that is precisely why many other trade forecasts – based on past developments – are often not accurate.
2. Which audiance or which branch do you reach with your speech?
Retailers, chain stores as well as small independent manufacturers in Europe. Entrepreneurs, managers, pragmatists and visionaries, urban planners, architects, politicians and people who want to participate or are interested in our economy and society.
The audience is diverse and yet all agree in one thing, to want to learn something, to achieve something. It doesn’t help anyone if large corporations hear what already exists from competitors and small retailers only hear the new trends from the metropolises in Tokyo, New York or Seoul. It’s all about new ideas and innovations – and always tailored for the region.
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
I accompany companies and people into the future – as a futurologist and trade expert. Sometimes nothing helps more than – instead of in the conference room – to show new ideas in a large audience, with all employees and in public, to make developments comprehensible and to enter into discourse together.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
Time is just a working tool for all of us. The latest crises have shown that some developments that have continued steadily are no longer relevant, and some – such as sustainability or a connected society – have skyrocketed with compelling speed and the industry needs to come up with something to keep up.
Therefore, time is more a measure to assess and to prioritize for oneself: what from all the things, that needs to be done for the future demands, I need to do first and what comes next? “Time” – i.e. speeds – is something, and we always underestimate this, that we can influence on our own. Everything else is either zeitgeisty (in the now) or timeless for now.
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
I approach the world and life with an inquiring mind. Being curious, sensitive to people and change and looking positively at the now and the future will get us through any crisis. Which rather leads to a current attitude: we all need another word for crisis.