STOCKPORT’S fresh GROUP WORKING WITH DFS

Furniture retailer DFS has appointed full service communications agency The fresh Group to deliver its annual Company Conference after a nationwide competitive pitch process. Andrew Stephenson, DFS HR Director, said: “People are the lynchpin of any successful business, particularly in the highly competitive world of retail.

As an organisation, we are extremely proud of our track record when it comes to investing in our people and I passionately believe a huge part of our continued success is down to our people focused culture.

He continued: “Our annual conference is a key moment in the year that works to feed that culture and bring our business together, not only to celebrate our success but to look ahead to the future.

In their pitch, fresh demonstrated a clear understanding of the brief and the importance of creating a truly engaging experience for our people that reflects their value to our organisation.

We were impressed by both their passion and creativity and we look forward to working with them to deliver our best ever company conference later this year.

The event, which will see over 500 DFS employees gather for a one day conference and evening event later this year will involve every division of fresh from concept, design, strategy, content and delivery coming together to deliver a truly joined up event.

In other developments, internal promotions see Philippa Cassidy promoted to Account Director and Rebecca Dewhurst and Laura Taylor elevated into the dual role of Group Account Directors, responsible for 30 of fresh’s 80-strong team. Dewhurst, who received her promotion in November, and Taylor more recently in May are also appointed to fresh’s Senior Management Team in recognition of their positive dedication to the fresh ‘joined up’ strategy and the importance the client account teams play in the overall performance of the business.

Patrick Howells, Managing Director of The fresh Group, commented; “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Becky and Laura to the SMT. They bring their blend of full-service experience, client focus and attention to detail to the on-going strategy for the development of our business. We have an exciting future ahead and Becky and Laura – along with the other SMT representatives from digital, video, creative and exhibitions – present a powerful joined up team.”