• Programme Overview
• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• World Retail Hall of Fame
• Retail Futures Challenge
• Retail Study Tours

Recognising retail legends at
World Retail Hall of Fame

Modern retailing has been created by teams of highly professional people working within their organisations. But retailing has also been driven by many individuals, often entrepreneurs or highly intuitive retailers, who have founded or built businesses that have become national or even international giants admired around the world.

The World Retail Hall of Fame was launched in 2007 to honour those individuals. Each year, opinions of leading retailers are canvassed for suggestions on which retailers should be honoured with this increasingly well respected award. Usually, three names are selected to represent the key areas of the world: the Americas, Europe and Middle East and Asia Pacific. In 2010 we honoured Michael Gould, Chairman of Bloomingdale's, Heinz Krogner, Chairman of Esprit and Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba. They attended the Congress and both Michael Gould and Heinz Krogner took part in plenary sessions talking about their careers and views on retailing today.

The 2011 recipients were:

• 
  Burt Tansky
  Chairman
  Neiman Marcus
• 
  Isidoro Álvarez
  Chairman & CEO
  El Corte Ingles
  
• 
  Tadashi Yanai
  Chairman & CEO, Fast Retailing / Uniqlo

 

I was overwhelmed to have learnt that I will be inaugurated into the World Retail Hall of Fame in Berlin this April. I am proud to accept this honor on behalf of my associates and partners, past and present, who working together have enabled each of us to be more than we thought we could be.

Michael Gould, Chairman & CEO, Bloomingdale's

 

Alibaba Group is proud to provide fuel to the dreams of millions of small businesses and entrepreneurs around the world by offering marketplaces that have helped improve sourcing while revolutionizing the distribution and retail of goods and services through e-commerce. I accept this recognition on behalf of our customers and our team, and we will use it as motivation to continue to innovate and support small businesses everywhere to better serve their customers around the world.

Jack Ma, Chairman and Founder, Alibaba

 

• View the full list of Hall of Fame members »

Jacques Levy: A Tribute

Sadly, Jacques Levy, the former president and chief executive officer of Sephora, died on 1st January 2012 after a long illness. He was 62. Jacques was widely respected within the industry and a true retail legend. In 2009, Jacques was inducted to the World Retail Hall of Fame.

Here are a few words of tribute from Concetta Lanciaux, CEO, Luxadvisory and former Special Advisor to Bernard Arnault, Chairman, LVMH:

I met Jacques Levy in 2005 while I was searching for the position of President and CEO of Sephora. Immediately he stood out as an exceptional talent. What struck me was his low-key style paired to brilliant incisive comments. His obvious leadership transmitted his care for you. We became friends and history not only confirmed but also added to my early perception of his talent given his outstanding development of Sephora as an operation and as a business model. The subsequent impact on the entire industry was evident. In 2009, as member of the Advisory Board of the World Retail Congress, I recommended him for the World Retail Hall of Fame. He was extremely grateful to receive this award and expressed to me his happiness for being recognised by the Retail World. I am thankful to this day to Ian McGarrigle who had immediately recognised that Jacques fully deserved to receive this outstanding recognition. Executives throughout the entire industry have responded en masse to hearing about Jacques passing away by recognising his achievements. These are best summarised by Bernard Arnault who greatly appreciated him and who has said, "Jacques Levy was a formidable Sephora executive - a charismatic figure, who developed this company, with success, to become the leader of its sector.”

Recognising retail legends

The World Retail Hall of Fame honours those who have created modern retailing. Made up of over 100 retail legends spanning many decades, these men and women made retail as we know it today.

Each year we honour three more retail greats from around the world for their contribution to the businesses they have been connected with and to the wider retail industry. The three individuals are nominated by their peers and the award is already recognised by past recipients to be one of the highest accolades of their careers.

 

• View the full list of Hall of Fame members »