Retail Trust to stage second, and bigger, wellbeing festival for retail workers

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 3, 2023

Staff from 200 of the biggest retail brands, including Next, H&M, Paul Smith, River Island and The White Company, are to attend the Together Fest wellbeing festival at the Truman Brewery in London on 25 May.

The event, which was launched by industry charity Retail Trust last year to unite workers from across the sector, will double in size for 2023 to accommodate an estimated 1,200 people.

Together Fest came about as Retail Trust research found that a third of people working for the UK’s biggest retailers wanted to quit the industry. It also found 80% of retail staff had experienced declining mental health due to financial concerns, abuse from customers, and post-pandemic fatigue.

The body said Together Fest aims to bring to life its ethos of “improving the hope, health and happiness of the UK’s three million workers with a full day of inspiring talks, masterclasses and interactive sessions”.  

It will also include a line-up of wellness champions and celebrities, including comedian Katherine Ryan, TV doctor Dr Alex George and former England footballer Stuart Pearce.

There will be talks on topics such as preventing burnout, making healthier lifestyle decisions and raising awareness of domestic abuse, masterclasses where attendees can learn how to improve their sleep, banish imposter syndrome and tackle life’s ‘tiny traumas’, and workshops and performances including a live poetry recital by mental health activist Charly Cox, laughter yoga, and healthy cookery demos.

Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust said: “Together Fest represents everything that the Retail Trust has always stood for, both by equipping people with the essential tools to improve their wellbeing and by fostering a real sense of pride in working for the retail industry.

“We’ve built on the success of last year's event and all the amazing feedback we received from the hundreds of retail workers who attended to make this year’s Together Fest even bigger and better.”