Yarn & Materials Developer

Phorest Summit 2027 confirms first speakers as event moves to Killarney. 2 September 2026 Phorest announces first speakers for January 2027 Summit in Kerry, with early bird pricing closing 30 September 2026. Phorest has named the first speakers for the Phorest Summit 2027, running at the Gleneagle Arena in Killarney, Ireland on Sunday 24th and Monday 25th January 2027. Formerly the Salon Owner's Summit, the new name of the event reflects reflect the hair, beauty and medi-aesthetic businesses it now serves. The 2027 Summit marks the first edition held outside Dublin, with Kerry's lakes and mountains providing space for genuine retreat and reflection rather than conference logistics. Beyond: What the Future Holds. The theme is Beyond: What the Future Holds in Its Industry. Sessions explore how salons, spas and clinics can respond to change as it happens, and put emerging technology, including AI, to work without compromising the human relationships their businesses are built upon. Owners spend two days removed from daily operations, gaining room to think strategically about the next three years rather than next week's rota. Confirmed speakers. The first wave of speakers includes: * Jon Petz - Hall of Fame keynote speaker and "Amazement Artist" covering performance, team presence and the small moments that determine whether clients remember their visit. * Stefanie Sword-Williams - Founder of F*ck Being Humble and TEDx speaker; Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree teaching teams how to articulate and substantiate their professional value. * Elfried Samba - Former Global Head of Social Content at Gymshark; founder of creative house Butterly 3ffect speaking on building brands without traditional media budgets. The experience. Owners leave with immediately actionable material as well as two evenings of music, food and entertainment delivered in genuine Irish style. Attendees join more than 750 owners, managers and industry professionals whilst accessing first hands-on engagement with new Phorest AI tools and product releases before general availability. Ronan Perceval, founder and CEO of Phorest, notes: "Owners spend the year solving problems for everyone else. Two days in Killarney gives them the room, and the people, to work on their own business." Further speakers will be announced over the coming months. Early bird pricing ends 30 September 2026; tickets for both days are available now at www.phorestsummit.com

Gymshark names new chief supply chain officer. Matt Rogers joined the fitness apparel brand in 2023 and previously held the role of global supply chain director. Published Aug. 5, 2026 Gymshark named Matt Rogers as its chief supply chain officer, effective Aug. 1, Rogers told Supply Chain Dive in an email. "Matt has consistently demonstrated the leadership, judgement and ambition needed to build a supply chain that's ready for the next chapter of Gymshark," Ben Francis said in a LinkedIn post last week. Rogers first joined Gymshark in 2023 as supply chain director, according to his LinkedIn profile. Per Francis' LinkedIn post, Rogers has been leading the function as interim general manager for sourcing and supply chain. With Rogers leading Gymshark's supply chain functions, the company has reduced its logistics and distribution costs by several millions per year, while making faster deliveries in the U.S. and the U.K, Rogers said. Prior to Gymshark, Rogers worked at Asos as group supply chain director, per his LinkedIn. He also has experience working for House of Fraser, DHL and NYK Logistics. Laurent Madelaine served as Gymshark's chief product and supply chain officer for nearly 4 years before recently announcing his departure in a LinkedIn post. Rogers' new role comes as Gymshark aims to build an omnichannel brand with physical locations across the globe, and has modified and scaled its operation to support such growth, Rogers said. Last year, the company opened its first brick-and-mortar store in the U.S. and also formed its first U.S. wholesale partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods. "It's no secret that our CEO Ben Francis' ambition for Gymshark is to make it a 100-year brand that outlives all of us. As we continue to grow, especially in the US, we need to ensure our supply chain grows with us and fulfils the needs of our amazing, but expectant community," Rogers said.

How to build an exit-ready business (even if you're not planning to sell yet). Exit readiness is not just for owners planning a sale. Learn how the qualities buyers value most also make a business stronger to own and run today. Most owners treat exit readiness as something to think about when a sale is on the horizon. Until then, it sits on the someday list, behind the demands of customers, staff, and day-to-day trading. Yet plans have a habit of moving faster than expected: research by Evelyn Partners in late 2024 found that 29% of UK owners of businesses turning over £5m or more had accelerated their exit plans in the previous twelve months, up from 23% only eighteen months earlier. In practice, the qualities that make a business easy to sell are the same qualities that make it more resilient, more profitable, and less stressful to run. Building them early means you are never forced to choose between accepting an approach unprepared and turning it away. 1. Reduce the Business's Reliance on You Founder dependence is one of the most common reasons buyers hesitate. If key relationships, decisions, and knowledge all sit with one person, a buyer sees risk where the owner sees dedication. Few founders have demonstrated this more visibly than Gymshark's Ben Francis, who handed the chief executive role to experienced operator Steve Hewitt while still in his twenties, and spent the following years leading brand, product, and technology before returning as CEO in 2021. On his return he reflected: "I'm well aware of the fact that I've got so much more yet to learn, but equally I do feel like everything has led me to this point has put me in such an amazing position to do this role." Stepping back was not stepping away; it was building a business that no longer depended on him. Delegating authority, documenting how things work, and letting the team own client relationships takes time. Started early, it happens gradually and naturally rather than in a rushed and unconvincing way just before a process begins. 2. Keep Your Financial Reporting Clean and Current Buyers place more trust in a business whose numbers are timely, consistent, and easy to reconcile. Messy or backward-looking reporting invites questions, and questions slow deals down. Good management information is not just a diligence asset. It helps you run the business better in the meantime, which is exactly why buyers value it. 3. Broaden Your Customer Base Heavy reliance on one or two customers is a value drag that takes years, not months, to fix. Buyers look closely at what would happen if the largest relationship walked away. Widening the customer mix, securing longer-term agreements where they suit the business, and deepening relationships beyond a single contact all reduce that perceived fragility. 4. Build a Second Tier of Management A capable team beneath the owner reassures buyers that the business will keep performing through and after a transition. It also gives you options: to step back, to grow, or to sell on your own timetable. It is no coincidence that when General Atlantic invested in Gymshark in August 2020, taking a 21% stake at a valuation above £1 billion, the business had a professional leadership team well established around its founder. Announcing the deal, Francis paid tribute to that team directly: "They've helped develop this business into what we see today, and I'm proud to work alongside such an incredibly ambitious, dynamic and humble group of people." Institutional capital arrived once the business demonstrably ran on more than one person. Developing that layer is slow work. Recruiting, trusting, and retaining good people is far easier to do over years than under the pressure of a live process. 5. Understand What Drives Your Value Every sector has characteristics that buyers consistently pay for: recurring revenue, specialist capability, strong margins, a defensible position. Knowing which of these apply to your business tells you where to invest your effort. The sports nutrition brand Grenade is a striking example of value built deliberately over time. Founded by Alan and Juliet Barratt in 2010, the business took private equity investment from Grovepoint, was acquired by Lion Capital in 2017, and was then bought by Mondelez International in March 2021 in a deal widely reported at around £200m, with the founders retaining a minority stake. As Alan Barratt put it at completion: "When Jules and I founded Grenade from our spare bedroom with a budget of US$700, we dreamt of building an iconic brand available globally." Each stage strengthened the platform for the next, and each new investor paid for value the previous stage had built. An occasional, honest review of how a buyer would see your business keeps you focused on the improvements that matter, whether a sale is two years away or ten. In summary An exit-ready business is one that runs without depending on its owner, reports its numbers well, spreads its customer risk, has depth in its team, and knows where its value comes from. None of this requires a decision to sell, and as Gymshark and Grenade show in their different ways, the businesses that command the strongest interest are those that built these foundations long before any transaction. All of it makes the business better today. At La Salle, La Salle Corporate International work with owners well before any transaction, helping them see their business as a buyer would and prioritise the changes that build value. When the right moment does arrive, prepared owners move with confidence rather than scrambling to catch up. If you have questions regarding any stage of the sales process, reach out in confidence and La Salle Corporate International'll be happy to talk you through the process.