02 Jan 2008


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Speakers line up for World Retail Conference

Source : World Retail Conference
Four out of the five top retailers in the world are confirmed as speakers at next year's World Retail Congress 2008 being held from 09 – 11 April 2008 at the CCIB International Conference Centre in Barcelona.

Almost one hundred of the world's leading retail decision makers will provide their unique and invaluable insight on critical areas in the dynamic and increasingly fast-changing world of retailing and consumers when they attend the World Retail Congress.

Issues ranging from the business of sustainability, to driving growth in international markets and the global customer revolution will be discussed at the Congress by such leading lights as Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Dr Eckhard Cordes, CEO and Chairman, Metro Group.

Also on board are Anders Dahlvig, President and CEO, Ikea; José Luis Duran, CEO, Carrefour; Dr William Fung, Group Managing Director, Li & Fung; Joe Gromek, President and CEO, Warnaco; Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson, CEO, Baugur Group; Dr Lev Khasis, CEO, X5; Michael Luscombe, CEO, Woolworths Australia.

Other speakers include Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman, Alliance Boots Limited; James Stanway, Senior Director, Global Supply Chain Initiatives, Wal-Mart; Trudy Sullivan, President, Talbots; and Wu Jiangzhong, Chairman, Wumart Stores Inc.

The World Retail Congress is very pleased to announce the first major address at an event by Dr Eckhard Cordes, CEO and Chairman of Metro Group. Dr Cordes was appointed as Chairman of the Metro Group Supervisory Board in February 2006, and has held the post of CEO and Chairman of the Management Board since 1 November 2007.

US retailers from across many sectors are backing the 2008 Congress with confirmed speakers from some of the leading retail groups including Wal-Mart; JC Penney; Brooks Brothers, Talbots; Forever 21; REI; Neiman Marcus Direct; Warnaco, Hasbro; Lord & Taylor; and Collective Brands.

Over fifty percent of confirmed speakers are either company Chairman or Chief Executives, with the remainder at President or Director level. The countries represented by speakers to date include Canada, China, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom and the United States.

The 2008 programme will be made up of five plenaries, plus one additional 'spot light session', with 20 focused business streams covering topics lasting between one to two hours. In many sessions the debate will be thrown open to the floor for discussion by an audience not only of retailers, but also policy makers and their influencers, providing a unique and comprehensive insight into many of the critical issues affecting the industry. Government Ministers from the emerging markets of Brazil and Turkey will equally be taking part, as will the Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, Georg Kell.

Ian McGarrigle of the World Retail Congress said: “World Retail Congress 2008 will be an unprecedented gathering of the world's leading retail executives, even surpassing last year's successful inaugural event. The calibre of our speaker line-up will undoubtedly complement the thousands of retail decision-makers and influencers that we are expecting to attend World Retail Congress 2008 next April.”

Key sponsors of the World Retail Congress include Visa, CBRE, Deloitte, Fujitsu and Oracle.

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