GMDC|Retail Tomorrow’s GM20, SS20 conferences go virtual

7/14/2020

GMDC|Retail Tomorrow is taking its General Merchandise Conference, GM20, and Selfcare Summit, SS20, virtual.

Both events will take place over a three-week period, running from Oct. 5 to 23.

This year’s events were reimagined by the organization in order to expand member opportunities and enable product discovery in a virtual format, while also protecting the health and safety of members and employees as the COVID-19 pandemic continues throughout the nation.

“As an association born out of industry disruption, GMDC|Retail Tomorrow has delivered industry-first opportunities for the past 50 years, from 'speed-networking' meetings to a virtual meeting platform for members to Mic-Drop quick-pitch presentations. Now is a perfect time to leverage this expertise and scale it for the benefit of our members who are seeking new ways to connect,” said Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC|Retail Tomorrow. “While we all work through a changing retail landscape, we look forward to exploring new and innovative solutions for our members to network and enable product discovery as we transition to a virtual format this year.”

Through these virtual member-only events, the organization said it expects to bring together more than 80 retail and wholesale companies, as well as 250 supplier companies across North America.

Events will be hosted on the GMDC Connect video conferencing platform. The Strategic Executive Connection meetings are scheduled to take place the week of Oct. 5, while the Buyer’s Choice meetings will occur from Oct. 12 to 23.

“We know this has been an extraordinarily challenging year, and we are committed to all our members as we operate within the current climate. We recently published an open letter to the industry to extend our support to nonessential suppliers that are getting left behind amid the consumer’s focus on essential products. Now, we enter a new phase to further support the industry by enabling strategic continuity as we reimagine our event program to deliver what the industry needs from us at this time,” Spear said.

“We are grateful for the full support of our retail board to reinvent our events both now, and in the future. Retailers and wholesalers like Wegmans, Kroger, Southeastern Grocers, UNFI, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Wakefern, and many more, are committed to attend and eager to meet with our supplier members. We welcome you to join us in October as we navigate what is undoubtedly a changed retail landscape.”

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