Women in Retail Media
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersNot specified, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
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).
Women in Retail Media firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Women in Retail Media industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Women in Retail Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Not specified
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Women in Retail Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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
Women in Retail Media product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Women in Retail Media
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Women in Retail Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Women in Retail Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.
- MolocoflagshipMoloco 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.
- MolocoflagshipMoloco 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
Women in Retail Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
Women in Retail Media social profiles
Digital presenceWomen in Retail Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Women in Retail Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Women in Retail Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Women in Retail Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Women in Retail Media
What does Women in Retail Media do?
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.
Is Women in Retail Media a public or private company?
Women in Retail Media is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Women in Retail Media founded?
Women in Retail Media was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Women in Retail Media based?
Women in Retail Media is headquartered in Not specified, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Women in Retail Media make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Event Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are membership Services.
Who are Women in Retail Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Women Who, The Girls' Network, Women in Marketing, Female Founders Network and Women in Tech. The Female Lead is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are RetailX (eTail), The Drum, Marketing Week (DoveTails) and Advertising Week.
Does Women in Retail Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Women in Retail Media.
What industry is Women in Retail Media in?
Women in Retail Media's product category is Retail Media Community and Networking Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAGAB, Professional & Association Conferences, with a secondary code of MPAGAGAK, Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7311.