Main RMI Number
408-554-4960
SCU - St. Joseph's Hall
Room # 108
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Retail Management Institute Newsletter - Spring '07
96th Annual NRF Conference in New York
by Kate Katri '07
Visiting Saks Fifth Avenue while in New York City at NRF conference are (L - R) Kate Katri '07, Yvonne Yip, associate buyer - European Couture '03 and Juliana Cummings '08.
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Juliana and I would first like to express our gratitude to the Curran Family and RMI for providing us with this incredible opportunity. Experiences like these make Santa Clara’s RMI program one of the best in the country. Overall our trip was a perfect mix of fun and business.
At the National Retail Federation
96th Annual Convention and Expo: Retail’s BIG show was held at the Javits Center in New York City this year. The “super session” held on Sunday afternoon was the first session we attended and it was a really great introduction to the whole conference. Kenneth Cole gave an inspiring, interesting, and memorable speech about how he got his start and how he continues to be a strong retailer.
We also saw other prominent figures from the retail industry speak, such as Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft), Kay Krill (CEO of Ann Taylor), and Philip Schoonover (president and CEO of Circuit City). Each speaker offered the attendees an intimate look into their successes and shared new information and technologies to help the diverse crowd.
One of the reoccurring themes throughout the conference was the impact technology is currently having on the retail industry and will have in the future. Circuit City demonstrated a new high-tech gadget they will be using in their stores to increase efficiency and really ‘wow’ the shopper. The expo floor was covered in businesses selling their surveillance cameras, credit card swipers, phone systems, Internet-enabled dressing rooms, and other cutting-edge technology items.
The sessions we attended during the trip were very interesting and informative. We couldn’t help but feel that our Santa Clara RMI classes prepared us to comprehend and appreciate these lectures to the fullest. At first we were a little intimidated about being surrounded by CEO’s, presidents, and store managers, but once they started talking and we actually understood what they were talking about, we felt much more at ease.
RMI Alumni in New York
A large portion of our trip included meeting with RMI alumni and contacts currently working in New York. We talked to Yvonne Yip at Saks, Melanie Alcantar at Maybelline/ Garnier, and representatives from Coach and Harve Bernard. Seeing these alumni on the job gave us a better understanding of what types of positions RMI alumni gain upon graduation and made us excited for our future internships and careers in the retail industry. We were amazed by all of the success they had achieved just a few years after graduating from SCU.
Networking & Exploring
What business meeting would be complete without some socializing and networking? We spent time networking with retail’s finest by attending a cocktail reception hosted by NRF near Times Square as well as a party at the Tavern on the Green hosted by IBM.
Free time was a luxury on this short trip, but we used it well. We ate dinner at an authentic Cuban restaurant before seeing “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway, experienced the Carnegie Deli, visited Ground Zero, and looked in the American Girl store. Exploring the up and coming areas for retailers, like the Meat Packing district, as well as high traffic areas, like Times Square, was an essential, educational, and fun part of our trip.
Again, we feel so lucky to have had this opportunity. It was a very unique, real-world look into the retail field and we are incredibly grateful
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Back to Newsletter - Spring '07
Retail Management Institute - Santa Clara University
rmi.scu.edu
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