It’s been a huge week in retail, and it was an important time to bring our retail community together for the annual ARA Leaders Forum.
This year the industry-leading event spanned over two days, with exclusive agenda-setting conversations to help our leaders navigate the year ahead. The feedback and buzz around the event has been outstanding – with such high quality on-stage conversations. Highlights included our President, Nicole Sheffield, Managing Director – Wesfarmers OneDigital, Coles CEO Leah Weckert and exclusive fireside chats with Bunnings Managing Director Michael Schneider, Chemist Warehouse Chairman & Co-Founder Jack Gance, Kmart Managing Director Ian Bailey, Craveable Brands Group CEO Karen Bozic and Amazon Country Manager Janet Menzies to name just a few.
We also heard an important opening address from influential Independent Member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender MP which outlined her political vision and support for our sector. You can find a copy of her address here.
For those who couldn’t make it in person, stay tuned for highlights – and be sure to save the date for next year’s event on Wednesday 19 February – Thursday 20 February 2025. It’s sure to be a sell-out, and we will be releasing pre-sales of tickets in the coming weeks so do get in early.
The event wouldn’t be possible without our partners; presenting partner American Express, event partners and exhibitors, our speakers who did a fantastic job and of course all our members. We sincerely thank everybody who attended and presented this year and hope you enjoyed the event as much as we enjoyed hosting it.
Speaking of saving the date, during the event, we announced the inaugural ARA Awards, celebrating excellence and innovation within the Australian retail sector.
The ARA Awards 2024, sponsored by principal partner American Express, culminates in a ceremony revealing the winners at Crown Casino in Melbourne on 19 September 2024. You can read more about the event here.
Our next event on the calendar is the ARA International Women’s Day Lunch in Melbourne on 8 March.
Our stellar line-up of speakers is headlined by esteemed Australian author, Nicole Haddow who will lead an inspiring conversation on accelerating gender equality through financial literacy.
The event will also feature an expert panel, including Ms Haddow, Katrina Konstas, Executive Vice President, Country Manager & Head of Sales APAC, Afterpay, Jeremy Meltzer, Founder and CEO, i=Change and Virginia Leaf, General Manager – Finance, Wesfarmers OneDigital, and winner of the Women Leaders in Retail CEW Scholarship. You can secure your spot now, here.
