In this post-pandemic period, the retail landscape is being impacted by various challenges, including slowing growth and ongoing inflation at the same time as workforce shortages and shifts in consumer spending. But there are opportunities too, such as the reopening of China and the mainstreaming of generative AI.
With this in mind, WWD presents its annual Apparel & Retail CEO Summit on Oct. 24 and 25 in New York City. This year’s theme is “Thriving in a Post-Boom World.” Executives taking the stage hail from companies such as Neiman Marcus Group, LVMH, Macy’s, Dior and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others. The two-day event includes insights from sponsors AlixPartners, Salesforce, BigCommerce, Predictive Commerce, Google and Impact Analytics. ShopRunner is sponsoring a lunch session and Amazon Fashion is sponsoring a cocktail moment. The event also includes numerous networking sessions and an evening WWD Honors dinner.
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To set the stage for this year’s summit, Jim Fallon, editorial director of WWD, penned a letter on WWD.com noting what led up to this year’s theme. He said April 2020 “was the month the world seemingly shut down and was in chaos. No one knew what was happening and everything around the globe seemed to be teetering on the brink — from our personal lives to our professions to businesses overall.”
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Fallon recalled how retail shuttered doors, save for essential ones such as drug chains and supermarkets. He said retailers and brands “wondered what to do with unsold spring merchandise, and whether there would even be a fall buying season beyond toilet paper, paper towels, canned goods and home testing kits.”
He then noted the shift and resulting boom of online shopping, which he said became “the go-to stress release for many people and what appeared to be a lost business year suddenly became a strong one as consumers continued to buy, and buy, and buy.”
The online shopping boom was heady times through to 2022 when e-commerce sales soared to nearly 50 percent from pre-pandemic levels for some brands. “But reality hit in this year’s first quarter,” he said. “Even as China reopened and American tourists continued to flock to Europe, business slowed rapidly, as if consumers had suddenly slammed their wallets shut when it came to fashion and beauty (although not travel and experiences).” Fallon said it is within this context that WWD presents the theme of thriving in the post-boom era.
Some of the themes and topics this year include:
The New Consumer: Luxury has soared over the last three years, but even the wealthiest are scaling back. Who will be the next wave and how do you reach them?
The Importance of Heritage and Storytelling: The buzz has been around “quiet luxury” — will it continue?
Next-gen Tech Shapes the Future of Fashion: From the store floor to the design studio, what impact will AI and Web3 have moving forward?
Home Is Where the Heart Is: With the conspicuous growth of brands catering to ideas related to “lifestyle,” what does this mean for the future as brands across industries introduce home collections and explore the hospitality space?
The Shifts in Mass — Discounters thrived during the pandemic — what’s next for the category? Is It Omnichannel Anymore?: As the lines between online and offline channels become increasingly blurred, how do you train your organization to thrive in today’s ecosystem?
To register for the event, CLICK HERE.