On 9 December 2020, Access Corporate Group held our annual Business Summit at Royal Randwick Racecourse, commemorating a year of resilience both within the company and around the world. With a theme of “The Golden Rule: Connections”, the Summit brought together industry leaders, business partners and resellers under the same roof, connecting with everyone in the ‘real world’. The event was also livestreamed to a much broader audience.

The Access Business Summit has always been about sharing fascinating ideas and insights from not only our business, but from around the world to learn and grow together. At this year’s Summit, we shared some insights, uncovered brand innovation, and examined some exciting brands that thrived in 2020. We also made sure to look forward to 2021 while identifying six key factors for success, while bringing together several industry experts for a panel discussion.

Our event began with Access’ Chief Strategy Officer Warren Liu. As a company we are always researching brands from across the globe and reflecting on the dynamics that make them successful. While 2020 has been tough for many, and especially for those in retail, Warren shared that the value of the top 100 global brands actually increased by 9%, and global e-commerce increased by 19%.  

Warren remarked that it used to take 10-15 years for new brands to become truly successful, but now it can be achieved in five years or less. He then gave a number of examples of brands that are thinking and behaving innovatively, using digital insights to deliver and connect with consumer needs.  To not just survive, but thrive, these brands have adapted many new strategies, including focusing on niche and emerging customer needs, building businesses around a complete digital journey, and focusing on value, rather than price.

Livia Wang, Chief Brand Officer at Access, followed by giving a deep dive into six distinct examples of ways brands need to connect better with consumers: appeal across generations, make packaging work harder than ever, deliver experiential content, cocreate with consumers, stretch into other territories, and ride on platform trends.

An industry panel was then facilitated by Livia, made up of Professor Hans Hendrischke from the University of Sydney, Robert McPherson, of Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and Shane Anderson, expert in business coaching and development. Despite the gloom of 2020, the panel presented an optimistic view of the next year and beyond, describing how many brands have learned how to adapt to new environments. This encompassed everything from product development to supply chains getting faster and more responsive to consumer needs. They spoke of the developments in technology to deliver deep consumer insights, shifting the nature of brand-to-consumer connections, and why sticking to your core values but continuing to innovate is critical for market longevity.

Of course, no Access Business Summit is complete without a big celebration! This time, at Royal Randwick, we utilised the world’s longest LED screen at a racetrack as the backdrop for our cocktail event, to showcase some of our brands and mark the end of a tumultuous but ultimately incredible year. 

Here’s to an even more successful 2021 with greater connections than ever.

To watch the Business Summit in full, please log on to: https://youtu.be/AAeM0RdfXU4.