To learn about connecting with customers in a digital age, attendees at the University of Arizona’s Global Retailing Conference in April can just ask Google.
Margo Georgiadis, the president of Americas for Google, will be among the speakers at the 19th annual conference hosted by the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the UA. Georgiadis works with Google clients in North America and Latin America.
The conference this year will challenge retailers to explore how they can be “Everywhere at Once” — online, on mobile devices and in physical stores.
“I think in this distracted world, it’s, ‘How do you stay connected with the customer?’” said Kimberley Brooke, who has worked on the conference since the beginning and is the associate director at the UA retailing center.
Hometown boy and Fox Restaurant Concepts founder Sam Fox will join Thalía Sodi, a Latin American entertainer and entrepreneur, Annie Young-Scrivner, the president of Teavana and executive vice president of Starbucks Corp., Brock Weatherup, senior vice president and chief digital officer for PetSmart Inc. and others.
The UA center’s namesake Terry J. Lundgren, the chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s Inc. and a UA alumnus, will give the opening as he does every year, Brooke said.
The conference will take place Thursday, April 23 to Friday, April 24 at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive.
Here are a few interesting facts pulled from speakers’ bios:
Jerry Stritzke, the president and CEO of outdoor retailer REI, joined the company after managing “daily operations of more than 1,000 stores, e-commerce, product development, supply chain and more” for Limited Brands Inc. and then serving as president and COO for Coach Inc.
Kip Tindell, the chairman and CEO of The Container Store, has led the company since its 1978 opening. A store is scheduled to open at the Tucson Mall in May.
Alli Web founded Drybar “after a lifelong quest for great blowouts.” It began as a mobile business in California and is now at 40 locations nationally. The salon also has a line of styling products sold at Drybar and Sephora stores.
Calvin McDonald, the president and CEO of Sephora Americas, will also be at the conference.
