The World Retail Congress announced the shortlist of retailers for its prestigious World Retail Awards. Among the finalists, U.S. retailers JCPenney, Target Corporation, Saks Fifth Avenue, OfficeMax and Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) claimed finalist spots in several key categories. Winners will be selected by a Grand Jury, comprised of 14 top chief executives at the World Retail Congress (www.worldretailcongress.com) in Barcelona, April 2008.
U.S. retailers captured four of six finalist slots for ‘Marketing campaign of the year,’ which were JCPenney’s ‘Every Day Matters,’ OfficeMax for ‘ElfYourself Holiday,’ Saks Fifth Avenue’s ‘Want It!’ and Target Corporation, ‘Style for Less.’ In addition, JCPenney and REI were on the shortlist for ‘Employer of the year.’ Additional finalists included worldwide retail giants such as Tesco (England), Woolworths SA (South Africa), and Carrefour Group (France).
“The World Retail Awards is a chance for the global retail community to applaud brands with the most innovative concepts, campaigns and environments,” stated World Retail Congress Director Ian McGarrigle. “We are delighted that retailers from nearly 40 countries entered the Awards and that the finalists represent some of the very best global operators in retailing today.”
Additionally, The World Retail Congress will announce both its shortlist of nominees for ‘Retailer of the year,’ and ‘Multimarket retailer of the year,’ as well as three inductees to the World Retail Hall of Fame, by the end of this month.
Philip Green to Speak at World Retail Congress
The World Retail Congress also announced that Sir Philip Green, owner of Top Shop and Paul R. Charron, Chairman Emeritus of Liz Claiborne will be keynote speakers at the April 2008 event in Barcelona.
Other new U.S. industry leaders confirmed to speak at the event include Sally Jewell, President and CEO of REI; Matthew Rubel, President and CEO of Collective Brands, Inc.; and Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Additional confirmed U.S. speakers include Richard Baker, Chairman of Lord & Taylor; Joe Gromek, President and CEO of Warnaco; Brendan Hoffman, President of Neiman Marcus Direct; Alan G. Hassenfeld, Chairman of Hasbro, Inc; Christopher Lee, Senior Vice President of Forever 21; Myron E. (Mike) Ullman III, Chairman and CEO of JCPenney; Trudy F. Sullivan, President and CEO of The Talbots, Inc.; and Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group.
About The World Retail Congress
Created in direct response to the demands of retailers, and supported by major international players including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Carrefour, Ikea, Alshaya, and Best Buy, the World Retail Congress will again bring together the world’s retail leaders for high-level debate with international policy makers.
The aim is to drive growth in the global retail economy, promote the benefits of global retail excellence and gain sustainable, competitive edge in domestic and international markets. With over 100 speakers and thousands of key retail professionals and politicians expected to attend, the focus will be on discussing and influencing the issues for change. Further details are available at www.worldretailcongress.com
About The World Retail Awards
The World Retail Awards, sponsored by Oracle, forms an integral part of the World Retail Congress and was created to recognize and celebrate the world’s best retailers and retail best practices. Entries are invited from retailers of all sectors for a range of categories. Finalists are selected by panels of retail experts which then go forward to the Grand Jury who debate and select winners. The Grand Jury is made of senior retailers and industry figures representing a cross section of sectors and experience. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Barcelona on April 10th.