ECR Europe's 17th annual conference is to take place from 14-15 May in Brussels.
Titled 'The Future's Bright', the conference organizers believe that 'prospects for the consumer goods industry remain most definitely bright' and the popular retail conference aims to take a thorough examination of the European retail scene, with presentations from leaders in the industry, breakout sessions, an award ceremony and a marketplace event.Discussing the theme of 'The Future Is Bright' will be Thomas Hübner, executive director of Carrefour Europe, Jan Zijderveld, president of Unilever Europe and Dame Lucy Neville-Rolfe, president of EuroCommerce. Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of consumer and retailing specialist IGD will be discussing 'The Case for Optimism', and pointing to factors to consider such as changes in shopper needs, breakthrough technologies, the power of brands, global reputation and the skills base.
With the world's population set to grow by a further two bullion by 2050, food manufacturers and retailers face huge challenges. Former Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who now leads the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, comprising many of the biggest companies in the Netherlands will make the case for sustainable growth based on economic profitability combined with environmental and social progress. Following this plenary session, Dominique Reiniche will give Coca-Cola's take on major FMCG industry issues such as innovation, consumer communication and sustainability.
The conference will also feature heavy-hitters such as Joaquín Almunia, Vice-President of the European Commission, Veronique Hombroekx, vice president of Mondel?z International global customer, Léandre Boulez, supply chain & quality director at Auchan and Georges Plassat, chairman and chief executive officer at Carrefour.
