The National Retail Federation (NRF) held its annual Retail’s Big Show event last week in-person at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. In 2021, the conference took place virtually. This yearly conference and expo bring together the retail industry with informative sessions, product and services trends and ample networking opportunities.
Other highlights from the conference included:
- Zach Freeze, senior director of strategic initiatives-sustainability at Walmart, and Saskia van Gendt, head of sustainability at Rothy’s, discussed the future status of environmental sustainability in retail.
- Chewy CEO Sumit Singh shared about the company’s vision, strategy and future goals after another year of incredible growth. In the past three years, Chewy has tripled revenues to over $9 billion.
- Ralph Lauren recently moved into on-demand production and custom manufacturing markets, and Jason Berns, senior vice president of product and manufacturing innovation, discussed the motivation behind the expansion.
- Company leaders from YUM! Brands, The Vitamin Shoppe and Saks OFF 5th spoke on fostering more inclusive workplace cultures and making meaningful progress in DEI efforts. Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of Pymetrics, led another DEI panel discussion. Executives from Best Buy, Albertsons, Savage X Fenty and Marjani Beauty spoke on training, conversations and policies that make a difference.
- IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna spoke with Jon Fortt, co-anchor of CNBC’s “TechCheck”, about all things technology and retail. Topics included inventory optimization, blockchain, digital currencies, supply chain and clean energy.
- Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison shared how the company kept pace with the pandemic and the needs of consumers to turn their homes into places for work, school, recreation and entertainment.
Photo credit: National Retail Federation
