Happy Easter

Its been a hectic few weeks since my last post as we have announced the shortlist for this years Global RLI Awards, congratulations to all our finalists and I look forward to welcoming you to another successful night on the 14th June at the Natural History Museum London. If you would like to view the shortlist or learn more about this must attend event then log onto www.rli.uk.com and click onto Awards.

The Global Retail Forum at the Retail Technology Expo was a great success and there were some very thought provoking and informative sessions.

Last week I attended Retail Connections the exclusive event dedicated to retail property leasing for shopping centre owners/developers, retailers and agents and I have to say it gets better each year. The smart guys at Abercrombie & Fitch more than doubled their representation at Retail Connections this year. Apple boosted numbers to be ahead of the game. Foot Locker’s leasing team were on the starting blocks and H&M were raring to do business. Inditex even took the family.

Media Saturn tuned in and turned up. Primark were looking to add to its 232 stores in seven countries. River Island sailed in and The Sting were in the tail. Mind The Gap – they were there too, and Osprey had it in the bag.

Other Retailers included Claires, Crew, Debenhams, Deichmann, Desigual, The Disney Store, Douglas, Diva from Poland, Esprit, Fossil, Gold Buyers International, Hervis or Mango. This year's event also attracted Many small, entrepreneurial and exciting new retailers all ready and waiting to do business. Lets see what 2013 brings...

Well thats it for now, I'm off skiing in Italy with the family on Good Friday and then its off to Berlin for ICSC Europe...Dont forget to sign up for my roundtable discussion: ‘Mapping International Trends to stay one step ahead of the competition' Thursday, 19 April 2012 at 12:20 table number 12.

I'll see you there!