Retail Excellence Programme

Welcoming Our High-Growth Cohort!

We are now supporting 15 high-growth retailers who have completed the Retail Excellence Programme, continuing to strengthen Norfolk’s rural economy through collaboration and innovation.

Applications for the Retail Excellence Programme 2026 is now open.

More than 100 retailers and high street stakeholders took part in the Retail Excellence Programme in 2025 which included strategic planning, financial literacy, marketing and community impact. Everyone has seen improvements in their business and those who made major progress with their action plans are seeing increases in sales and customer engagement. Find out if you are eligible and what we have in store for you.

Retail Excellence Programme Leaflet

What is the purpose of the Retail Excellence Programme?

The Retail Excellence Programme is designed to:

Upskill high street retailers
Foster a stronger sense of community
Encourage innovation and future retail collaborations.

It’s tailored for Norfolk’s diverse towns, with a focus on:

Thoughtful workshop structure
Effective use of training hours
Practical, accessible content for all experience levels
Skilled delivery team
Expert guest speakers.

Who can take part in the programme?

The programme is inclusive of all high street stakeholders, including:

Traditional shop retailers
Market stall traders
Farm shops
Online retailers seeking physical premises
Estate agents, beauticians, hairdressers (for relevant sessions).

Email nhsm@norfolk.gov.uk to find out more and register your interest below. Tick ‘Retail Excellence‘ under ‘Reason for Enquiry‘.

Register Your Interest For 2026

The Retail Excellence Programme received 5-star ratings from participants on Google Reviews.

‘I found this programme very beneficial in many ways, taking the time out of my day-to-day to open my mind to where we could improve our business, what things aren’t working in our business and how we can invest in new ways to make our business grow.
‘I’ve been introduced to many great businesses that could help us in areas we struggle in and also hearing other small businesses’ struggles similar to ours and how they have/ plan to overcome this. From this course, we have decided what we need to do next to invest in our business to help it grow and achieve more sales.’

Fay Bunn, Noor Company5 stars (Retail Excellence Programme)

‘Completed Love Your High Street training which has been extremely valuable, thank you for such a comprehensive course.’

Little Movers5 stars (Retail Excellence Programme)

‘We attended the Retail Excellence Programme and it has been the most valuable and insightful course I’ve ever done. Alex and all of the speakers were incredibly knowledgeable, and generous with their time and advice. We’ve already received more online shop sales since we’ve started to implement what we’ve learnt. We massively recommend it to all businesses in Norfolk!’

The Wayward Adventurers Guild5 stars (Retail Excellence Programme)

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