Retail’s BIG Show to Feature Walmart, Whole Foods CEOs

This year’s Retail’s BIG Show, set to take place Jan. 13-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York will welcome CEOs from Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Starbucks and The Container Store, along with more than 490 exhibiting companies. More than 27,000 retail professionals are expected to attend the event, which plans to place special emphasis on upcoming retail leaders, as well as the effect of retail on careers, communities and innovation.

Shop.org, the digital division of Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation (NRF), will host its second annual First Look during the show, with educational content slated to include a look back and ahead at e-commerce trends, social media, social commerce, and mobile retailing.

Among the show’s scheduled super sessions (many of them to be live-streamed) are What Will It Take to Thrive in the Global Arena? (Sunday, Jan. 13, 3:15 p.m.), including Delhaize SVP, Affiliated Retail and New Markets Denis Knoops; NRF Update and Retail’s BIG Picture (Monday, Jan. 14, 8:30 a.m.), with NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay; Building Strong Nations: The Three Pillars to a Prosperous Society (Monday, Jan. 14, 8:45 a.m.; Conscious Leadership: A Call to Action for the Retail Industry and Beyond (Monday, Jan. 14, 10:15 a.m.), featuring Whole Foods Co-CEO Walter Robb; Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO Howard Schultz; and The Container Store Chairman and CEO Kip Tindell; and A Job to Do: Retail’s Role in an American Renewal (Tuesday, Jan. 15, 8:30 a.m.), including Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill S. Simon.

Also scheduled to take place during the event is the Annual Retail Industry Luncheon (ARIL) Awards, which recognize winners for their outstanding accomplishments and achievements:

As well as featured keynote speakers and super sessions, Retail’s BIG Show will offer a series of breakout sessions, receptions, luncheons and a unique expo floor highlighting hundreds of supplier and associate exhibitors.