Keynote and Presenter Lineup Announced for Aberdeen Group 2012 Retail and Consumer Markets Summit

J. Christopher Burch, Founder and CEO of Apparel, Accessories and Home Decor Retailer C. Wonder to Deliver Keynote


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Mar 7, 2012) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), today announced the keynote speaker and presenter lineup for its 2012 Retail and Consumer Markets Summit being held May 1-2, 2012 at the Millennium Hotel in New York. The theme of this year's Summit is "Retail on Broadway: Game-Changing Retail Technologies - Creating a Winning Game Plan."

The keynote address, State of Retail and Consumer Markets 2012 & Beyond, will be delivered by J. Christopher Burch, founder and CEO of the new apparel, accessories and home decor retailer C. Wonder. C. Wonder currently operates four stores in the New York metropolitan area and recently announced the September 2012 opening of its 8,000 square-foot flagship store in The Shops at Columbus Circle, located in the Time Warner Center, with plans to open 12 additional stores in 2012. Mr. Burch is an active investor and entrepreneur who has participated in the rise of many recognized brands including Aliph (Jawbone), the Faena Hotel + Universe, NextJump, PowerMat, Tory Burch, and Voss Water. He is developing several additional brands ranging from retail and apparel to hospitality and home furnishings. He is a former board member of Guggenheim Capital and The Continuum Group.

Aberdeen's Retail and Consumer Markets Summit -- Retail on Broadway: Game-Changing Retail Technologies - Creating a Winning Game Plan -- will feature thought-provoking, insightful presentations by leading brand executives from retail and consumer goods industries. Session topics will show how successful technology implementations can facilitate alignment between operations, merchandising, marketing and branding, and deliver improved customer engagement, customer retention, return on net assets, and gross margin return-on-inventory investment.

"Today's successful brands and retailers know that the scope of retail and consumer market technologies range far beyond store formats, a functioning ecommerce site, and supply chain," said Sahir Anand, Vice President and Research Group Director for the Aberdeen Group Retail and Banking research practice. "Aberdeen research indicates that the most successful retail and consumer market organizations understand the role technology serves to integrate all aspects of the retail enterprise to derive the greatest efficiencies at all levels from operations to customer service and sales. Effective application of technology is a critical component to success in today's competitive, global marketplace."

Featured presenters at the Retail and Consumer Markets Summit will include:

  • Michael Moseman, Director, Customer Contact Center, Brooks Brothers

  • David Minster, Chief Operating Officer, David Yurman

  • Veronica Katz, CSA Head of Retail Marketing, Strategy, and Alliances, eBay / PayPal

  • Nihad Aytaman, Director of Software Development, Elie Tahari, Ltd

  • Michael Relich, Chief Information Officer, Guess, Inc.

  • Katherine Bahamonde, Vice President, Ecommerce, Juicy Couture

  • Elle Thompson, Vice President, PLM and Special Project Operations, Marc by Marc Jacobs

For additional information and updates on featured Retail Summit presenters, please visit the 2012 Retail and Consumer Markets Summit speakers page.

To learn more about the upcoming HCM Summit, please visit the 2012 Retail and Consumer Markets Summit Overview page.

Complimentary VIP passes are available for qualified retail executives. To apply for a pass, please visit our Summit Registration page.

2012 Retail and Consumer Markets Summit Sponsors and Partners include: HCL Technologies, Tomax, and 4R Systems

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Amy McLellan, Summits Sales Manager, at 617-854-5268 or amy.mclellan@aberdeen.com.

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) 2012 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