Who we are

Since 1862, we've been committed to creating impactful connections that inspire and empower our clients, harnessing the latest technology along the way.

Today, we're recognised for outstanding multi-platform digital and print media, compelling research, powerful insights, innovative exhibitions and events, prestigious awards and informative conferences. We've been owned and led by the same family since the beginning, providing us with a unique long-term perspective and commitment to our industry that permeates our company. That's why our passionate and authoritative specialists are deeply engaged in their markets and seen as the most trusted professionals in their field.

Leadership

Corporate responsibility

Our purpose goes beyond outstanding media and events. We have a responsibility towards each other, the wider community, our customers and the environment. This drives us to invest in initiatives that contribute to improving ourselves, our society and our planet.

Diversity, equity and inclusion at William Reed

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DE&I at William Reed

Our internal Friends & Allies Group works proactively to ensure inclusion and value diversity. Our work has resulted in a broad range of DE&I initiatives including harassment training, dyslexia awareness and more.

Diversity, equity and inclusion beyond William Reed

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Driving DE&I in our markets

We recognise the power of the leading role we have in our industry. We therefore actively participate in the PPA’s new industry-wide diversity survey and we are partners of the Diversity In Grocery programme.

GroceryAid

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GroceryAid

We are a gold award supporter of GroceryAid, a charity that since 1857 has provided emotional, practical and financial support for grocery people. GroceryAid has played a vital part in supporting grocery people during the pandemic.

Sussex Community Foundation

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Sussex Community Foundation

We work with Sussex Community Foundation to support community organisations in the local area of our head office, choosing which to support through a committee and a staff vote.

Charitable Links

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Charitable Links

We share our expertise, time and financial support with a range of charities. For instance, we partner with Farm Africa Food for Good and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, using our expertise to contribute to sustainable giving and industry awareness.

Planet

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Planet

We are committed to focusing on sustainability by reducing our carbon footprint and by promoting the sustainability agenda through our market-leading brands. We have a number of initiatives in place, including using sustainable electricity and installing electric car charging ports.

Our History

We've spent 160 years innovating to deliver the information that our clients need, when they need it. Join us in looking back at key moments in our journey.

Begin journey

Entrepreneurial beginnings

Yorkshire sugar merchant William Reed starts his publishing business and within 40 years launches six publications including The Grocer and Brewers Journal.

1862

Multi-channel expansion

Leveraging our trusted brands, we move into events and exhibitions, enabling us to connect with audiences in a new way, and to connect audience members with each other.

1979

Big data

Driven by the growth of digital, we launch our first venture into big data with The Knowledge Store – now of course data is at the heart of everything we do.

1998

Television

We expand with a short-lived experiment into the world of multimedia, trialling GrocerTV on Sky Digital, to give us another channel for reaching audiences with news, insights and inspiration.

2000

Email newsletters

Recognising the power of digital communication, we launch a state-of-the-art email service, starting with The Grocer Today.

2001

The first websites

Our digital journey gains pace as we launch websites for our brands, starting with our flagship publication The Grocer.

2002

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

Building on our audience’s trust for our outstanding industry news and insights, we launch The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

2002

Integrated multimedia

At the start of the 21st century we create, acquire and digitalise over 20 brands, adding channels such as eLearning and conferencing through which we connect with audiences.

2010

Global reach

We open our US office, consolidating our global reach.

2011

Intelligent expansion

We expand into research with the acquisition of the hugely successful agency him!, bringing a dedicated insights service into the William Reed portfolio of trusted brands.

2012