‘GLOBAL RETAILING CONFERENCE 2008’ FEATURES
INDUSTRY LUMINARIES WHOSE IDEAS ARE CHANGING THE FACE OF RETAIL
University of Arizona’s 13TH annual event
brings together international executives,
authors, students and economists to discuss
issues affecting global retail industry
TUCSON, Ariz. – The world’s top retailers,
technology experts, authors, economists, and
students from the Terry J. Lundgren Center for
Retailing at the University of Arizona, will
gather at Global Retailing Conference 2008, April
10 – 11 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, to
discuss issues impacting the future of the industry.
The theme of this year’s conference, the 13th
produced by the U of A’s Center for Retailing, is
“Brand New Thinking: The Innovation Leaders.” The
center has about 350 students pursuing retail
careers, and it is recognized as one of the top
five retail business programs in the country.
“Our goal is to provide attendees with access to
technology, marketing and business ideas that are
changing the face of retail worldwide,” said
Melinda Burke, executive director of the Terry J.
Lundgren Center for Retailing. “And, thanks to
the ongoing support of our many sponsors and
business partners, we have 15 A-list speakers who
will share stories about life in the trenches and
examples of how retailers of all sizes can
implement changes that will enable their companies to thrive.”
Highlight’s of the April 10 agenda include an
opening keynote by Terry J. Lundgren, chairman,
president and CEO of Macy’s Inc. Lundgren is a
graduate of the U of A, and the university
renamed the Center for Retailing in his honor in
2005. He will be followed by Carl E. Steidtmann,
chief economist with Deloitte Research, who is a
recognized expert on economic forecasting and
will discuss “The Consumer-Driven Recession.”
Other presenters will include: Inovis president
and CEO, Sean E. Feeney, whose topic is a look
“Beyond the Four Walls of Retail;” and an
examination of the impact of emerging
technologies on customers, by Jan de Jong,
Microsoft’s worldwide retail industry solutions
manager, and Christophe Heurtevent, marketing director, Microsoft France.
High-tech phenom and CEO of Zapppos.com, Tony
Hsieh, also is making an appearance at the
conference on Thursday. Hsieh will share the “Top
10 Lessons Learned in E-Commerce.” He co-founded
Venture Frogs, an incubator and investment firm
that helped launch Ask Jeeves, Tellme Networks,
and Zappos.com. Hsieh joined the online shoe
retailer when he was 26, and grew gross
merchandise sales from $1.6 million in 2000 to $597 million in 2006.
On April 11, Roger Farah, president and chief
operating officer of Polo Ralph Lauren, kicks off
the program with a discussion about “Development
of a Global Brand in Europe.” Other presenters
include: Dr. David Ginsberg, vice president, SAP
Industry Solutions, who will discuss “Balancing
Financial Performance with Shopper Needs;” and
Daria Myers, president of Origins Natural
Resources, will speak to “Walk the Walk.”
Marc Ecko, creator of a rhino logo that can be
found in almost every retail corner of the globe,
will be the closing speaker on Friday. From
humble beginnings as a high-school student
creating custom graphic designs in his parent’s
garage, Ecko parlayed his passion for youth into
unrivaled business success that today spans
publishing, multimedia, philanthropy and fashion.
He is chairman and chief creative officer for Marc Ecko Enterprises.
“Our smaller conference size and more intimate
resort setting will provide attendees with
unparalleled access to some of the greatest and
most creative minds in business today,” said Kim
Brooke, assistant director, Terry J. Lundgren
Center for Retailing. “We’re confident that all
attendees – students, new retail employees, and
executives – will walk away with ideas that will
help them successfully navigate today’s challenging retail environment.”
The Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing is
part of the University of Arizona’s John and
Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer
Sciences. It brings together the resources and
expertise of academia and the retail industry,
with the shared goal of developing strong future
retail professionals. To learn more about the
center, or to view the complete conference agenda
and speaker roster, please visit:
www.globalretailingconference.org
or
www.terryjlundgrencenter.org
If you are interested in covering the conference
and conducting on-site and/or advance interviews
with any of the speakers, please contact:
Nina Bondarook
nina@bondarook.com
650.533.3367
or
Kimberley A. Brooke
Assistant Director
Marketing & Program Development
Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing
kbrooke@u.arizona.edu
520.626.7952
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