Santa Monica, California – Licensing Expo, the world's largest and most influential licensing industry event, today announced Rachel Shechtman, Macy’s Brand Experience Officer and founder of STORY, will take the stage for the Licensing Expo keynote address on Wednesday, June 5 at 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., which is part of Licensing University, produced by International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA).
The keynote presentation, “Agility at Scale: Rachel Shechtman Shares Insights from the Launch of STORY at Macy’s,” will explain how the STORY retail model has come to life at Macy’s and explore innovations that address evolving consumer expectations while driving foot traffic.
Licensing Expo 2019 takes place June 4 - 6 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Rachel’s proven brand experience expertise will be well-received by our audience,” said Jessica Blue, Senior Vice President, Global Licensing Group, Informa. "Licensing is playing a crucial role in today’s seismic shift toward experiential retail, offering retailers and brands a competitive advantage and establishing deeper connections with consumers."
With brick and mortar accounting for over $206.4 billion in sales of licensed consumer merchandise, or 76 percent of all sales, according to the 2018 LIMA Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey, innovation is key to continuing retail’s success as consumer shopping habits continue to realign. Entrepreneur Rachel Shechtman recognized this eight years ago, when she launched the retail concept STORY in Manhattan in 2011, focusing as much on customer experience and engagement as it did on sales. Now, those innovations are rolling out across the nation following Macy’s acquisition of STORY last year, and Shechtman being named as Macy’s Brand Experience Officer.
“Rachel truly is one of the most creative and innovative minds in retail today, so we are honored to be able to hear from her as she embarks on the next chapter of STORY at Macy’s,” says Maura Regan, President, LIMA. “I look forward to the insight and inspiration she will share with us at Licensing Expo, as we all look for ways to adapt and thrive in this new retail era.”
The Licensing Expo Keynote is free to all attendees. To attend Licensing Expo for free, please visit: www.licensingexpo.com/register.
###
Media Contacts:
Lauren Lloyd, [email protected], +1 (310) 266-4792
Audrey Uchimoto, [email protected], +1 (310) 496-9423
Tam Nguyen, [email protected], +1 (424) 410-9797
About Rachel Shechtman
Rachel Shechtman joined Macy's, Inc. as brand experience officer and founder of STORY in May 2018. With more than 15 years of entrepreneurial and brand consulting experience, Shechtman brings her passion for integrating marketing and merchandising to life through new innovative in-store experience strategies.
In December 2011, Shechtman launched STORY a rotating concept shop in New York City that changes out its entire store around different themes, including Beauty, Home for the Holidays and Wellness. STORY is often referred to as a living magazine and has received international attention for being the first retailer to launch its signature model 'Retail Media' - a unique blend of brand sponsorships and ever-changing assortments and event programming.
Prior to STORY, Shechtman founded Cube Ventures, a retail and marketing consultancy. In 2016, Shechtman was named to the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation; in 2017 the AAF inducted Shechtman into its Advertising Hall of Achievement; in 2018 Shechtman was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute.
Shechtman holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Colorado College.
About STORY (www.macys.com/social/story)
STORY is a new retail concept that changes every few months to bring a new narrative experience to life through curated merchandise and event programming. The ever-changing experience began in 2010 in New York City, where STORY operated as an independent small business for 7 years and pioneered a retail as media business model that changed every 8-weeks to open a new theme while engaging brands as sponsors for each themed STORY. Macy’s acquired STORY in 2018 and its founder Rachel Shechtman now serves as Macy’s Brand Experience Officer. STORY at Macy’s recently launched its discovery-led concept at 36 Macy’s stores in 15 states. Visit macys.com/STORY for more information.
About Licensing Expo (www.licensingexpo.com)
Launched in 1980, Licensing Expo is the world’s largest and most influential annual tradeshow dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Every year, more than 5,000 brands and 16,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers, distributors and licensing agents attend Licensing Expo from more than 67 countries. Licensing Expo is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa, the licensing industry's leading trade show organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.
About the Global Licensing Group (www.thegloballicensinggroup.com)
The Global Licensing Group is the licensing industry’s leading trade show organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Japan, Licensing Expo China, the Licensing Leadership Summit, License Global magazine and License Global Daily eNews. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA).
The Global Licensing Group is organized by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.informa.com and www.licensingexpo.com.
FUTURE GLOBAL LICENSING GROUP EVENTS:
Licensing Leadership Summit: New York, New York (March 16 - 17, 2020) | Licensing Expo: Las Vegas, Nevada (June 4 - 6, 2019)
Licensing Expo China: Shanghai, China (July 24 - 26, 2019) | Licensing Expo Japan: Tokyo, Japan (September 3 - 6, 2019)
Brand Licensing Europe: London, United Kingdom (October 1 - 3, 2019)
Official Publication
Official Sponsor
