[January 23, 2013]

University of Arizona Conference to Help Retailers Accelerate Their Brands and Stay Ahead of Shoppers

The Global Retailing Conference (GRC) of the University of Arizona's Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing today announced its 2013 lineup of presenters. They will focus on new ways that leading retail and fashion brands are engaging customers and encouraging advocacy. Among the speakers are senior executives from Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Clarins, Costco, Facebook (News - Alert), The Hudson's Bay Company, Iconix Brands, SonyPlaystation, Tory Burch and Walmart.

The conference will be held April 11-12 at Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson, AZ. The annual event serves as a forum and think tank for emerging ideas in a setting that fuses business and academia. Presentations in 2013 will include discussion of retail innovation, digital advancement, marketing strategies and consumer behavior.

Speakers for the event include:

• Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Macy's, Inc.
• Ira Kalish, Director of Global Economics, Deloitte (News - Alert) Consulting
• Jonathan Zrihen, President & CEO, Clarins Groupe North America
• Bonnie Brooks, President, The Hudson's Bay Company
• Matthew Shay, President & CEO, National Retail Federation
• Jim Sinegal, Co-Founder and Former CEO, Costco
• Neil Cole, President & CEO, ICONIX Brand Group, Inc.
• Doug Mack, CEO, One Kings Lane
• Kevin Sterneckert, Vice President, Research, Gartner
• Rob Garf, Vice President, Product and Solutions Marketing, Demandware
• Anita D. Bhappu, PetSmart Associate Professor of Retailing and Consumer Sciences, The University of Arizona
• Tony Spring, President & CO, Bloomingdale's
• Gary Talarico, President & CEO, Gordon Brothers
• Scott Hardy, President & CEO, Polaroid
• Joe Bona, President, Branded Environments, CBX
• Wanda Young, Vice President, Media and Digital Marketing, Walmart
• Kerry Lakin, Senior Account Manager, Facebook
• Jack Tretton, CEO, SonyPlaystation
• Tory Burch, Fashion Designer & CEO, Tory Burch LLC.

"Retailing continues to evolve rapidly, with new techniques, processes and technologies emerging virtually every day - all being driven by our customer's changing habits and preferences. We all must be diligent in understanding what our customers want today, and what they will want tomorrow," said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc., who will deliver opening remarks. "That's what makes the University of Arizona's Global Retailing Conference so valuable. We will have the opportunity to see and hear the latest thinking from some of the best minds available on a wide range of topics that relate directly to our industry - all within a day and a half. It is a very efficient way to stay abreast of what's new, and to do so within the collaborative context of an academic institution that is educating the next generation of our industry's leaders."

Registrations for a limited number of attendees are currently being accepted.

The GRC is presented through the support of sponsors that include Macy's, Airwatch, Deloitte, Demandware, ICONIX Brand Group, The Parker Avery Group, Predictix, Revionics, Supima Cotton, American Express (News - Alert), Avnet, CBX, Dick's Sporting Goods, Green Mountain Consulting, The Home Depot, Hudson River Group, Monetate, PetSmart, Point Inside, Saban Brands, SAP (News - Alert), Acento, Bridgestone/Firestone, Defero and Walmart.

For more information on attending the event, visit www.globalretailingconference.org and follow to the registration page. Or email Martha Van Gelder, director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing, at mvangelder@email.arizona.edu.

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 a shared goal of developing strong future retail professionals. It is considered one of the top retail business programs in the country. About 500 students currently are enrolled in classes and degree programs.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]