GMDC Retail Tomorrow Sets 2021 Virtual Event Series

Following the success of its virtual General Merchandise Conference and Selfcare Summit events last October, Global Market Development Center (GMDC) Retail Tomorrow has announced a series of virtual events for this year that will enhance business connectivity for members and trading partners as the industry continues to navigate the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, scheduled over several weeks throughout the year, will focus on general merchandise, self-care, housewares and holiday seasonal categories. Attendees will have the flexibility to schedule strategic and discovery meetings to more frequently engage with current and potential trading partners. Event dates are:

“Last October, we shifted our legacy GM Conference and Selfcare Summit events from in-person to a virtual setting in an effort to navigate the ongoing pandemic, while continuing to deliver opportunities for our members to conduct business despite the disruption caused by COVID-19,” said Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC Retail Tomorrow, a nonprofit trade association with more than 125,000 retail outlets.  “Following our successful pivot, we gathered feedback from and listened to our members, evaluating what worked well during our virtual events and identifying where we could improve. We quickly discovered that more frequent, category-specific events better position our members to conduct business and grow in the ever-evolving COVID-19 landscape, and our unique capabilities to facilitate strategic and meaningful connections position us to fulfill this industry need.”

In April, GMDC Retail Tomorrow and the International Housewares Association (IHA) will partner to offer their respective members the opportunity to connect and uniquely collaborate with members from each association, enabling IHA members to meet with GMDC Retail Tomorrow nonfood retailers and wholesalers and suppliers. Sessions include:

During the April event, attendees will have the opportunity to take part in 45-minute meetings via the GMDC Connect video conferencing platform, powered by Zoom, scheduled at the top of every hour from 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m. ET. GMDC Retail Tomorrow will build all meeting schedules to accommodate participants’ schedules and availability. Buyers will indicate their interest in meeting with specific sellers via a ranking system to express high interest, some interest, low interest or no interest, while sellers will indicate their interest in any meetings with buyers with a yes/no qualification. Participating companies are not limited in the number of colleagues they’re able to bring to each meeting.

“Nonfoods is an important and profitable category for grocery retailers, and until the industry can gather again in-person at The Inspired Home Show, this type of opportunity delivers the kind of new product and supplier discovery that retailers are craving right now,” said IHA President Derek Miller.

There is no registration fee for the April event. Participating suppliers will be invoiced for each meeting scheduled and accepted during the event but will also have the opportunity to register for all virtual events and meetings that will take place during the 2021 series, including the Preview Box program that delivers to retail and wholesale buyers a sneak peek of participating suppliers’ products prior to meeting.

“The nature of the retail experience and how we connect and conduct business is completely changed,” Spear said. “While our events will look and feel different in 2021, they will continue to deliver the same benefits expected by our members, only more frequently.”

For more information about GMDC Retail Tomorrow’s 2021 virtual event series, visit www.gmdc.org/gmdc-virtual-events. To register for the spring GM and Selfcare Event, visit www.gmdc.org/virtual-event-spring. Additional details on the summer and fall events will be available soon.