Women in Retail Media

What Women in Retail Media does

Women in Retail Media (WIRM) is a UK-based community organization founded in 2025 by Ellie Prendergast, headquartered in Manchester. It serves women professionals working across the retail media ecosystem, spanning verticals including FMCG, hospitality, tech, fashion, home improvement, and health and beauty, and stakeholder types including retailers, brands, agencies, and vendors. The organization addresses the absence of dedicated networking, visibility, and career advancement resources for women in the male-dominated retail media industry.

WIRM delivers its value through a three-pillar service portfolio. The networking pillar encompasses the annual WIRM Awards, the invitation-only Cannes Women in Retail Media Brunch held during Cannes Lions, and regional events including the North Networking Event and Summer Networking Event. The speaker opportunities pillar supports women in building professional profiles through industry speaking engagements with guidance from seasoned speakers. The career support pillar provides mentorship for women entering, advancing within, or leading in retail media, plus talent identification for employers. WIRM has no proprietary technology platform; its digital infrastructure consists of a website (womeninretailmedia.co.uk) and a LinkedIn community, with events ticketed through Eventbrite.

The business model is community-led and event-driven. Revenue is generated from two streams: event sponsorships (advertising-based, with Moloco confirmed as Headline Sponsor for the WIRM Awards 2026) and membership services (subscription/recurring, accessed primarily through the LinkedIn community). An ambassador program with representatives across multiple verticals drives organic referral growth. WIRM is founder-owned with no evidence of venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment, and no public pricing is disclosed. The organization is led by Founder Ellie Prendergast and Partnerships Lead Suzy Knight (also a WIRM Ambassador, with prior experience at John Lewis Insights & Media and Screwfix Media Partnerships).

Name

Women in Retail Media

Legal name

Women in Retail Media

Website

https://womeninretailmedia.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women in Retail Media (WIRM) is a UK-based community organization founded in 2025 that connects and empowers women professionals in retail media through networking events, the annual WIRM Awards, the Cannes Brunch, speaker opportunities, and career support across FMCG, tech, fashion, and other verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Media Community and Networking Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Professional networking community
• Retail media events
• Women in industry
• Industry awards programs
• Career support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Sponsorships: WIRM generates revenue through sponsorship packages for its events including the annual WIRM Awards, networking events, and the Cannes Brunch. Moloco is mentioned as Headline Sponsor for the 2026 WIRM Awards.
2. Membership Services: Community membership provides access to networking, speaking opportunities, and career support services. Revenue model appears to be membership-based with LinkedIn group as primary membership vehicle.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Women in Retail Media (WIRM) is a community organization that connects and empowers women professionals working in the UK retail media industry. It delivers networking events (including the Cannes Brunch and regional gatherings), an annual awards program (WIRM Awards), speaker opportunity matching, career support for individuals and employers, and a LinkedIn-based membership community spanning verticals such as FMCG, hospitality, tech, fashion, home improvement, and health and beauty.

Product overview

Women in Retail Media (WIRM) is a community organization offering a portfolio of services focused on empowering women in the retail media industry. The core offerings include: WIRM Awards (annual awards program recognizing industry talent), Cannes Women in Retail Media Brunch (exclusive networking event at Cannes Lions), Networking Events (regular gatherings across regions including North and Summer events), Speaker Opportunities (profile-building through speaking engagements), Career Support (guidance for entering, growing, or leading in retail media), and Community Membership (LinkedIn-based professional network). These services work together to fulfill WIRM's mission of connecting women, raising their profiles, and championing diversity and inclusion in retail media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WIRM Awards Annual awards ceremony celebrating remarkable talent in retail media, recognizing achievements such as Trailblazer of the Year, Rising Star Award, Creative Excellence, Tech & Data Pioneer, and Ally of the Year. Targeted at women professionals and allies across the UK retail media industry.
• Cannes Women in Retail Media Brunch Invitation-only networking brunch held during Cannes Lions for senior women in retail and commerce media to connect, share insights, and engage in panel discussions on industry trends and career development. Co-hosted with Moloco at the Moloco Penthouse.
• Networking Events Exclusive events designed to foster connection, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among women in retail media across multiple verticals including FMCG, tech, home improvement, fashion, and health and beauty. Includes the North Networking Event and Summer Networking Event.
• Speaker Opportunities Program Program supporting women in retail media to build their professional profile through speaking engagements at industry events, with guidance from seasoned speakers and access to high-profile opportunities.
• Career Support Service Career development services providing guidance from seasoned professionals to help women navigate their careers in retail media, including support for those entering the field, seeking advancement, or finding talent. Also supports employers seeking talent within the WIRM network.
• Community Membership A supportive community connecting women across the retail media industry spanning verticals including FMCG, hospitality, fashion, tech, and agencies, providing collaboration and growth opportunities. Accessed via the WIRM LinkedIn community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Community spans multiple verticals including FMCG, hospitality, tech, fashion, and health and beauty

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• MolocoflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Moloco serves as Headline Sponsor for the WIRM Awards 2026 and co-hosts the Cannes Women in Retail Media Brunch with WIRM at the Moloco Penthouse in Cannes. The partnership provides exclusive access to high-profile networking opportunities for senior women in retail media. Moloco's EMEA Lead for Retail & Commerce Media, Kim Ludlow, is also a WIRM Ambassador.
• MolocoflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Moloco is confirmed as Headline Sponsor for the WIRM Awards 2026, marking a continued partnership between the two organizations to support women in retail media.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Women Who: A women's professional networking community curating in-person events and content for ambitious women across industries; comparable community-led, event-anchored, ambassador-driven GTM motion.
• The Girls' Network: UK-based women's mentorship and career-development network pairing professionals with mentees — directly comparable career-support and community pillars, though oriented toward younger women than WIRM's retail-media leadership focus.
• Women in Marketing: The closest direct peer: a UK-based professional community and events organization for women in marketing, running networking events, awards, and career support — directly comparable mission, model, and geography to WIRM but in adjacent marketing (vs. retail media) vertical.
• Female Founders Network: Community and events platform for women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, offering networking, mentorship, and visibility — closely mirrors WIRM's networking/speaker/career-support three-pillar product mix.
• Women in Tech: Global 'Women in X' professional community with ambassador programs, networking events, awards, and career support — same women-in-vertical community-and-events model as WIRM, applied to the technology vertical rather than retail media.

Emerging players

• The Female Lead: Media and events platform focused on women in leadership and storytelling — comparable content-and-events format and DE&I positioning, though with a media-led rather than community-anchored model.

Broad incumbents

• RetailX (eTail): B2B events and content business focused on retail and eCommerce leaders (eTail, Digital Retail Innovation); comparable events-driven GTM and adjacent retail buyer audience, though broader than WIRM's women-only focus.
• The Drum: UK trade media and events business covering the advertising and marketing industry; broadly comparable as an industry media/events brand serving the same retail-media buyer universe but at much larger scale and with editorial breadth beyond WIRM's women-focused niche.
• Marketing Week (DoveTails): Long-running UK marketing media brand running industry awards and networking events for senior marketers; overlap with WIRM on awards/community infrastructure and on the senior-retail-media buyer audience.
• Advertising Week: Global large-scale advertising industry conference and content platform, with a New York flagship and regional editions; the broader festival inside which the Cannes Brunch sits and against which WIRM competes for senior-attendee mind share.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-in-retail-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women in Retail Media