More than 5,000 visitors and exhibitors were at the Retail 2011 Conference and Exhibition, which was held last week from 13-15 September.
The three day event, which was organised by Interpoint Events, coincided and co-located with POPAI’s Marketing at Retail Expo 2011, PrintCom 2011 and Visual Impact Image Expo 2011.
It was also where RetailBiz magazine was launched.
The national event for the retail industry delivered synergistic opportunities between the retail/marketing and display/print sides of the industry where it saw visitors from 13 countries, with 80 per cent of Australian visitors from outside Victoria.
Simon Cooper, managing director of Interpoint Events, said: "The attendance this year indicated the retail industry is exploring many new opportunities amidst a background of cautious optimism. Our conference program attracted 100 per cent increase in delegates and there was a great interest in how to integrate social media into marketing and online retailing into a shopping experience."
Retail 2011 was also the host of a two day conference where it gave retailers an insight into the current and future trends of the Australian retail industry. The conference addressed topics including retail design, visual merchandising, online retailing, branding and marketing.
Speakers of the conference included Google’s Andrew Eckford, Idea Works’ CEO Jon Bird, the owner of The Bowditch Group Nick Bowditch and director of The Templar Group Debra Templar.
The event provided an opportunity for both exhibitors and attendees including industry leaders to meet and greet and offer each other advice, particularly for such a sensitive period in the retail industry.
For a more in-depth coverage of the event, look out for the November 2011/January 2012 issue, which will be out November 25.