One that accounts for 5% of the UK economy, contributed £97.1bn by gross value added, invested over £1bn in research and development and another £1.1bn in new technologies in the last year alone.

Our industry employs around 3 million people and has higher productivity growth than almost any other. We are an industry that serves, paying £17bn in business taxes – equivalent to funding our entire police and fire and rescue budgets.

But beneath this gloss lies a dramatic transformation. At one end we have seen tens of thousands of jobs losses each year, increasing store closures and declining footfall at shopping locations. At the other end lies an innovative and exciting industry that is expected to create £381bn in spending by 2024.