Aberdeen Announces Expert Speaker Line-Up for Inaugural Retail Summit in June

June 17-18 Event Will Convene Industry Experts, Business Executives and IT Leaders to Unravel the Strategies Needed to Revive the Customer Experience


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - April 8, 2010) -  Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), will convene industry experts and business and retail executives at the inaugural Retail Summit, June 17-18, 2010 at the Westin Hotel at Times Square, New York City. 

Featuring Aberdeen's Sahir Anand, Vice President and Principal Analyst, and its retail research analyst team, the Summit will address the pain-points of executives at a time when new thinking is required to understand what customers are desiring in products and services sold across retail sub-segments.

"Our research team will reveal Aberdeen's 2010 retail mantra based on synergistic retailing -- The Integrated Retail Enterprise. The summit will be a sounding board for new strategic ideas that can solve retail pain-points. Aberdeen analysts, industry association leaders, business leaders and IT leaders will convene to unravel the silver bullets for reviving the customer-centric retailing in 2010 and beyond," says Sahir Anand, Research Director, Aberdeen Retail and Hospitality Practice.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Association of Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) -- Richard Mader, Executive Director & Chairman
  • AutoZone -- Ken Brame, Former CIO
  • Crocs -- Chris Ladd, VP Global Retail
  • Family Dollar -- Scott Zucker, VP for Merchandise Operations
  • Hastens -- Dominic Luzi, CIO
  • Motorcycle Superstore -- Erick Barney, VP of Marketing
  • National Retail Federation (NRF) -- Dave Hogan, SVP & CIO
  • New York & Company -- Sherwin Socaransky, Vice President of IT (POS & Merchandising Systems)
  • Santa Clara University -- Dale Achabal, Executive Director, Retail Management Institute; Professor, L.J. Skaggs
  • Save Mart Supermarkets -- Aashish Chandra, Senior Director of IT & PMO
  • Swarovski -- Robert Grant, Vice President Supply Chain
  • Walgreens -- John Spina, VP Retail Integration & New Format Development
  • Wet Seal -- Jon Kubo, Chief Information Officer

Interactive sessions will cover key topics including: Retail 2015; Cross-Channel Integration Strategies; Business and Consumer Intelligence in the 21st Century; Merchandising Optimization; Retail Supply Chain; Retail IT and PCI Security; Store Transformational Strategies; and Customer Loyalty.

Summit Sponsors and Partners include CrossView; Epicor; 4R Systems; Retaligent; Direct Source; KeyNote; Microsoft; Sterling Commerce; Verizon Business; Retail Speak; Integrated Solutions for Retailers; RetailWire; and Apparel Magazine.

Complimentary passes available for qualified Retail executives. To apply for a pass, please visit: http://summits.aberdeen.com/index.php/Retail-Summit/2010-retail-summit-overview.html

For summit sponsorship opportunities, visit http://summits.aberdeen.com/index.php/Retail-Summit/2010-retail-summit-sponsors.html

Visit Research.Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Retail Research.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

(C) 2010 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com