Wharton & XRC Labs launch the Retail Innovation Summit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHARTON’S JAY H. BAKER RETAILING CENTER AND XRC LABS LAUNCH RETAIL INNOVATION SUMMIT
Featured Panelists to Include Senior Executives from Alibaba, H&M Group, Shopify, and more
New York, NY – January 27, 2021 – The Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of Business and XRC Labs, an accelerator focused on the retail technology and consumer packaged goods sectors, today announced they have partnered to launch their first Retail Innovation Summit, a series of virtual events that will take place between February and May 2021. The inaugural summit will feature executives and expert panelists from Alibaba, H&M Group, Shopify, ShopShops, Fillogic, and others, who will discuss some of the timeliest topics in retail technology and innovation, including the rise of livestreamed selling, transformations in logistics, the future of wellness, and global retail innovations.
“The retail industry is rapidly transforming and digitizing in response to shifting market forces, the pandemic, and consumer demand,” said Thomas S. Robertson, Joshua J. Harris Professor and Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. “With so much change occurring in such a short time in the industry, we’re proud to partner with XRC Labs to create an event that gives retailers a way to understand and sort out new technologies, so they can make optimal decisions that will help their businesses grow.”
“There’s a real industry need for an event that brings together expert voices and content covering the opportunities and challenges retailers face today,” said Pano Anthos, Founder and Managing Director at XRC Labs. “This summit will give visionary operators who are driving innovation in their own organizations a way to share their insights and predictions for the benefit of the entire industry.”
The first session in the Retail Innovation Summit series will take place from noon to 1 p.m., EST, on Thursday, February 11, 2021, and will cover the rise of live commerce in retail. Pano Anthos will moderate the discussion featuring panelists Alan Boehme, Chief Technology Officer, H&M Group; Liyia Wu, Founder and CEO, ShopShops; and Fatima Yusuf, Director of Partnerships, Shopify.
The Retail Innovation Summit is open to brand and retail technology executives, press, and members of the academic and startup communities. Dates and times for the remaining sessions of the 2021 summit are to be announced. For more details and to register, visit xrclabs.com/retail-innovation-summit.
About the Baker Retailing Center
The Jay H. Baker Retailing Center, an interdisciplinary industry research center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was established in 2002 through a generous gift by Jay and Patty Baker. In 2010, the Bakers endowed the Center permanently. Jay Baker, former president and director of the Kohl’s Corporation, is a graduate of the Wharton School, class of 1956. Learn more about the Baker Retailing Center at bakerretail.wharton.upenn.edu.
About The Wharton School
Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 99,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. For more information, visit wharton.upenn.edu.
About XRC Labs
XRC Labs is a startup accelerator dedicated to fostering the next generation of disruptors in the retail tech and consumer goods sectors. XRC Labs launched in New York City with founding sponsors Parsons School of Design at The New School and Kurt Salmon, a part of Accenture Strategy. With more than 80 accelerated startups in its portfolio, eight corporate sponsors, including Mastercard, The Estée Lauder Companies and CVS, and more than 250 business mentors, the team at XRC Labs has built a world-class ecosystem. For more information on XRC Labs or its portfolio companies, please visit xrclabs.com. To follow, visit @XRCLabs on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.