SYDNEY: The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is a firm believer in having friends in high places.
ARA executive director Richard Evans will facilitate a high-profile networking luncheon as part of Sydney's fashionstate festival, a city-wide industry event running from March 7 to 12.
The luncheon, staged at Darling Harbour's Imax Theatre on March 10, is pitched at executives looking to keep in touch with the latest issues facing the retail sector.
Topics covered during the two hour session will include handling seasonality for Northern Hemisphere brands, recruiting and motivating Generation Y in a retail environment, autumn/winter 2008 forecasts and trends and ecologically sustainable retail practices.
Confirmed panellists for the event include Annemiek Ballesty, managing director of Fossil Group Australia and New Zealand, and Karen Mennie, merchandise director of Oroton Australia.
Ballesty has spent the last five years growing the Fossil Group's retail division to 16 stores, developing it from a distributor to a profitable $34 million US subsidiary.
Mennie boasts ten years of management experience in retail selling and operations, including several head office and regional roles for UK retailer Marks and Spencer.
For more on the networking luncheon, contact ARA representative Carmit Kantor on 02 9290 3766.