Over one hundred students attended the conference which was opened by Headteacher, Alison Woodhouse who welcomed them and the guest speakers to the Business & Enterprise specialist school. After listening to the speakers, the delegates from Warlingham and Oxted Schools and East Surrey College were able to ask them questions and take part in ‘reflection sessions’ during which they discussed and analysed the interesting and diverse talks.

 

The event was a great success as students gained a unique opportunity to listen and talk to four very different companies. The first talk on ‘Big is Better’, was given by Sainsbury’s Director of Group Finance, Richard Fleming. He spoke to the audience about the importance of giving value for money to the customer especially in light of the current economic climate and the use of promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘bogof’ as it is more widely known. Next on the stage was Pali Grewal, Director of the MSG Group and franchisee of Domino’s Pizza who gave a small business perspective on the theme ‘...But Small Is Beautiful’ focussing on how being a small business helps build teams and employee loyalty. He continued to explain how employees have to be multi-skilled to cover a host of roles and therefore can work their way through the business learning many different aspects and possibly going on to become a manager, area manager and even a franchisee owner.

 

After a reflection session, Managing Director of Ann Summers, Paula Minowa spoke about ‘You Can Grow When Times Are Hard’ and the importance of being relevant in difficult economic times by knowing what your customers want and changing to meet their needs. After the event, Ms Minowa said: "I was delighted to be asked to come and speak at the 'Survival of the Fittest' Business Economics conference. In our current climate it is extremely encouraging to see students taking an active interest in how businesses continue to grow and thrive during these times. I'm sure that days like this will help to prepare and encourage business men and women of the future. I wish I had experienced such practice and well thought through events when I was a student years ago!" The final topic, ‘...But You Must Manage Your Way Through Change’, was covered by Financial Director of The DesignPlan Group, Michael Cumper, he said: ‘It is important for students to be able to hear directly from those in industry and question them to further their understanding. It is also important for industry to promote itself to those who will be its future. This conference provided both.’