Aug 2, 2011 0
LIMA Announces Retail & Branding Conference on Sept. 13
The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) recently announced its inaugural Retail & Branding Conference: Driving Brand Impact Through Consumer Touchpoints. The half-day event, which will explore transformations in branding, collaboration and shopper-centric strategies, will be held Tuesday, September 13 at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City. With participation limited to a maximum of 100 attendees, the conference is designed to encourage interactive discussion and dialogue about the future of retailing and branding. Each presentation will leave ample time for questions and answers.
Executives from HSN, Sears Holdings, Iconix Brand Group and newmarketbuilders will share their insights, including:
• Bill Brand, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, HSN, who will present a look at how HSN creates dynamic content and experiences to build sales. He will detail how a brand is developed and launched on HSN’s interactive platforms. Brand oversees HSN’s programming and marketing teams, direct strategy for the network’s lineup, and develops programming opportunities around HSN’s key merchandising initiatives.
• Jeff Fagel, Director of Brand Development at Sears Holdings, who will discuss how a legacy brand, Kmart, worked to change the way people perceive its own brand and those of its products. Fagel is responsible for strategic leadership across the Kmart brand and private label portfolio with a focus on customer, digital, social media and private label strategy.
• Yehuda Shmidman, Chief Operating Officer, Iconix Brand Group (presentation title and description to be announced). Shmidman heads global business development for Iconix which owns, manages and markets a diverse collection of more than 25 consumer brands including Peanuts, Rocawwear, Bagley Mischka, Material Girl, Fieldcrest, and Joe Boxer.
• Carol Spieckerman, President of retail consulting group newmarketbuilders, who will give insights into how retailers have transformed themselves from mere “boxes with brands” into brands in their own right—and bricks and clicks are only part of their ever-expanding brand territory. She will delve into the new realities that will drive retail brand environments, decision-making processes, and opportunities in 2012 and beyond. Spieckerman is a recognized retail thought leader, strategist, and author and helps Fortune 500 brand, licensor, agency and retail supplier clients retool for retail’s new realities.
“With the LIMA Retail & Branding Conference we are creating an interactive forum in which stakeholders can share strategies on how best to engage with consumers,” says Charles Riotto, LIMA President. “Today’s digital environment requires marketers and retailers to re-evaluate many aspects of their businesses, and this event brings together retailers and brand marketers to discuss and analyze how we will communicate and sell to consumers in the future.”
The LIMA Retail & Branding Conference will be held from 11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and includes lunch and a post-conference networking reception. Cost to attend is:
Early Bird Price through August 12:
$449 – LIMA members
$649 – Non-LIMA members
After August 12
$499 – LIMA members
$699 – Non-LIMA members
For more information or to register, click here.









