eBay chooses Wolverhampton for big conference
Global online retailer eBay chose Wolverhampton to host its first UK seller council to be held outside London.
Molineux Stadium was chosen as the venue and eBay’s UK vice president Rob Hattrell was among nearly 100 of the company's national team that took part.
The seller council has been running in the UK for eight years and offers a chance for businesses using eBay to sell online to engage with the business.
Wolverhampton was selected because of the success of the city's Retail Revival programme that eBay has been running in the city for the last six months with Wolverhampton Council.
The 64 participating small businesses have seen sales of more than £2 million since the start of the project.
Mr Hattrell said: "We have had more than 60 sellers from all around the country, including from as far as Devon, here today as well as people from Wolverhampton."
He said the council was an opportunity to engage with sellers to find out how best to help them.
"It is a two-way process and enables us to explain how the online platform is evolving," he explained.
The entire UK eBay leadership team attended the conference at Molineux
eBay also recently signed up as the 2019 Black Country Business Festival headline partner.
The second annual festival, which runs from May 13 to 24, will feature 113 events this year.
Retail Revival is a growth initiative for smaller, traditional retail enterprises which are offered training in running an online business, marketing and customer services.
They are given step-by-step help to get them trading online with eBay, enabling them to reach new audiences and attract customers from virtually anywhere in the world.
Businesses subscribed to the Retail Revival partnership, which has been live for six months, say their average year-on-year sales are up by 36 per cent.
Councillor Roger Lawrence, the leader of Wolverhampton council, has described the impact the scheme has had on city retailers as "truly remarkable".
