CHICAGO – Oct. 20, 2005 – Building on its reputation for addressing and tackling the industry’s most pressing issues, Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) announced today that it is hosting the third annual Reinventing CPG and Retail Summit 2006. The world-class global conference, which attracts visionaries and passionate leaders in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, will take place Feb. 27-March 1, 2006, at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel.
IRI, the world’s leading provider of enterprise market information solutions and services, will lead the broad-based, high-level forum and take a closer look at the major issues facing CPG via the application of cutting-edge content, technologies and best practices. To deliver these insightful, real-world perspectives on a myriad of critical industry trends and issues, IRI has lined up an impressive list of distinguished leaders from their respective industries, including:
- Bob McDonald — Vice Chairman, Procter & Gamble
- Brian Cornell — Chief Marketing Officer, Safeway
- Tom Hernquist — President of U.S. Confections, The Hershey Company
- Bill Pecoriello — Industry Analyst, Morgan Stanley
- Don Quigley — President NA, Kimberly-Clark
- Jennifer Barrett — Chief Privacy Officer, Acxiom
- Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. — President of AgeWav
- Jan Hall — President, Neutrogena
- Geoffrey Moore — Managing Director, TCG Advisors and author of “Crossing the Chasm,” a best-seller that examines how companies can affect change in a highly dynamic marketplace
- Scott W. Klein — President and CEO, IRI
- Dr. Romesh Wadhwani — Chairman, IRI, and Founder and Managing Partner, Symphony Technology Group
These key authorities will explore such critical business transformation topics as:
- How companies grow profits and revenue in the current slow-growth or no-growth environment
- How manufacturers can maintain margins with the increasing commoditization brought on by discount retailers
- How manufacturers and retailers can work together to increase customer loyalty
- Should CPG and retail companies consider using different metrics to run their business (i.e. consumption-to-revenue rather than order-to-cash)
- The various approaches to measuring and anticipating demand cycles
- How companies can achieve better visibility into the levers that drive profitability and growth
“In today’s complex marketplace, profits are getting harder to come by every single day,” said IRI President and Chief Executive Officer Scott W. Klein. “That’s why it’s imperative for industry leaders to see new opportunities in the market that others have missed. The 2006 Summit is the perfect arena for participants to discover these new opportunities, so that they can act with confidence and win at the shelf.”
In addition to the world-class lineup of general session speakers, the 2006 Summit will also feature more than 20 breakout sessions hosted by the industry’s foremost domain experts, including a discussion led by The Economist: “Global Outlook for 2006.”
Additional sessions that will also focus on today’s most critical retail and manufacturing topics, include “Transforming the Threat: Best Practices for Information Security,” “Seeing What You’re Missing: Transforming Analytics in CPG,” “Acting Faster: Technologies for Transforming the CPG Enterprise,” and “Winning at the Shelf: Reinventing Category Management.”
IRI will also assemble its industry leading team of experts to address IRI’s new market information, advanced analytics, and enterprise software solutions through an additional 20 IRI Solutions sessions.
For more information about the 2006 CPG and Retail Summit and to register, visit www.cpgsummit.com or contact Shelley Hughes, public relations manager, IRI, at shelley.hughes@infores.com or 312-474-3675.
About Information Resources, Inc.
Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) is the world’s leading provider of enterprise market information solutions and services, empowering its clients to grow their business profitably in a complex marketplace. Driving the transformation of the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and healthcare industries, only IRI provides a unique combination of real-time market content, advanced analytics, enterprise performance management software, and professional services. The company’s portfolio of services, solutions, and technology enable leading retailers and their suppliers around the globe to see what they are missing, act faster with greater confidence and win at the shelf. Ninety-five percent of the FORTUNE Global 500 in CPG and retail leverage IRI to power their business. For more information, visit www.infores.com.