7 & 8 March 2011 – Hong Kong
Advisory Board
 |
Rare reviews
Partners
 |
Key Partners
 |
Industry Poll
What is the most effective way to reach your customers?
Knowledge Centre
Arc Worldwide, Leo Burnett Group report
Financial Times World Retailing Report
IBM The Performance Manager
WPP - Retailing in the Recession
Global Retail 250 Website Index Report
WGSN Berlin City Guide
A Demandtec eBook: nextGEN of Merchandising & Marketing Customer Insights at the Point of Decision
IBM Smarter Consumer Report
WGSN Think Tank Consumer Forecast: Consumer Attitudes 2011
WGSN What’s In Store Visual Merchandising Analysis: VM Overview March 2010
GfK free reports
Follow this link to read reports supplied by GfK!
Hall of Fame Biographies
Crate & Barrel Gordon and Carole Segal opened the first store in 1962 at an abandoned elevator factory on Wells Street in the then-bohemian Old Town neighborhood of Chicago. Today there are over 145 stores in the United States. Crate & Barrel has two sister stores: CB2 is geared toward young people who are on the move and The Land of Nod is for children. Armed with $17,000 to open the first store, which cost $7,000, they took the step in response to a flourishing of world trade in home furnishings due to the 1962 Kennedy Agreements. The Segals sought out small European companies that were not represented in America and negotiated direct purchases from these factories that could be sold to the consumer while avoiding a wholesaler's markup. To this day, a majority of Crate & Barrel's products are direct imports from Europe; though Thai, Mexican and Indian glass and textiles can also be found in its stores. The Segals derived the company name by the materials that they originally used to display items in their Chicago store: they turned over the crates and barrels that the merchandise came in and stacked up the china and glass on top of them. This helped emphasise their strongest selling point that their products were direct imports. About a third of its merchandise is unique to the chain and Crate & Barrel has never lost focus on delivering great products in environments that are at once both homey and sophisticated. The store became a tourist destination of sorts. Young people started living in the style they were becoming accustomed to and by 1971 there were several Chicago area Crate and Barrel stores including a first suburban mall store. The company opened in Boston, Dallas, San Francisco and in 1990 its flagship store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Early on, the couple decided that Crate and Barrel would not only endeavour to be unique in finding great product but also in how it displayed quality merchandise. That means every cup handle is turned to the right and every glass is sparkling, for example. The couple has long held the philosophy that good design should be practical and functional so that Crate and Barrel products don’t sit in a cupboard locked away. Whether it was a nice platter or a beautiful vase, the product was purchased for the express purpose of being used. Although locally managed, the controlling stake of Crate & Barrel's stock is now owned by Germany’s Otto although Gordon Segal maintains operational control. The partners plan to take Crate & Barrel to Canada and long-awaited European entry via the UK is also in the offing. |
||||
Back to Hall of Fame LIMITED PLACES - BOOK TODAY!
Final edition programme available – download today!
Digital Newsletter - Issue 2
Audience Profile 2010
Latest download of the sample delegate list!
Specialist Briefings at the Congress
Download post 2009 event report
WRC Overview Video
Only 2 exhibitor places left! Download floor plan today.
Book Accommodation
follow us on Twitter