HBS Retail & Luxury Goods Club (RLGC)

We were so happy to bring back our annual Retail Trek for the first time since pausing during the pandemic. 18 of our members travelled to New York City to meet with industry leaders, and learn more about career opportunities in the Retail and Luxury Goods industry. A huge thank you to the teams at LVMH, Nike, Richemont, and PVH Corp. who hosted us and shared their insight. And thank you to our wonderful Community VPs Lindsey Barrison and Polina Skladneva, as well as their team of directors, who are responsible for the success of this trek. It was a fantastic way to kick off what promises to be an exciting semester, with many more Speaker events, Career panels, and Community socials to come!

Chief Brand Officer Nabil Aliffi recently spoke to Harvard Business School MBA candidates on the “Retail in the Modern Age” panel at the Retail & Luxury Goods Conference. Alongside other industry executives, Nabil discussed balancing interactive content for digitally native audiences with curated and storytelling-driven experiences for luxury customers. He also shared Neiman Marcus’ ‘Retail-tainment’ strategy of customer engagement, exploring how we connect with our customers through personalized experiences and exclusive offerings.

Proud moment for Anthropologie as our Global Chief Executive Officer, Tricia Smith, took the stage at the Harvard Business School HBS Retail & Luxury Goods Club (RLGC) conference this past weekend. In the opening keynote, moderated by industry leader, Chip Bergh, they discussed everything from retail trends to omnichannel opportunities, personal stories, and leadership values. It was an energizing experience, fostering a sense of collaboration and innovation among the next generation of leaders in the room!

Last month, students from Harvard Business School and top retail clubs engaged in a thought-provoking panel on re-commerce featuring The RealReal's Chief Merchandising Officer, Samantha Porter McCandless, alongside leaders from StockX, Archive, Beni, and Pickle. The discussion focused on the future of re-commerce—projected to reach $245 billion by 2025—highlighting a shift towards sustainable shopping and the vital role of resale in the circular fashion movement. Sam emphasized our partnerships with brands like Stella McCartney, Gucci, and Burberry, as well as our robust authentication process, which has kept over 250,000 counterfeit items off the market since 2011. Since our founding, we've authenticated more than 40 million items, and we're excited to keep playing a key role in shaping the future of sustainable fashion.

Our 19th Annual Conference is just around the corner and we are excited to share our full agenda for the day. We have an incredible lineup of speakers & sponsors and we hope to see you there! Buy tickets here: https://lnkd.in/g42ZEbQQ Evolving the Customer Experience: A Conversation with Tricia Smith, Global CEO of Anthropologie moderated by Chip Bergh Beauty Redefined featuring Mazdack and Zanna Roberts Rassi (Milk Makeup), Kate Foster Lengyel (The Outset), Lach Hall (Vacation Inc.), Jennifer Sullivan (Fat Mascara) Investing in the Consumer Landscape featuring Dawn Dobras (Capital F), Kathryn Cavanaugh (Capstar Ventures), Pano Anthos (XRC Ventures), Brendan Hanrahan (Bain Capital), David Paresky (Advent International) Recommerce: Rewriting the Way Consumers Shop featuring Samantha Porter McCandless (The RealReal), Julia O’Mara (Pickle), Peter Curran (StockX), Alex Kremer (Archive), Kate Sanner (Beni) The Founder Journey featuring Melissa Mash (Dagne Dover), Sam Abrahart (The Mayfair Group ), Jen Batchelor (Kin Euphorics), Charif Debs (Gemmyo), Tiffany Lopinsky (ShopMy), Estelle Palandjian (CAKE) Retail in the Modern Age featuring Jemma Cassidy (Banana Republic), Divya Mathur (REVOLVE), Lisa Greenwald (J.Crew), Nabil Aliffi (Neiman Marcus Group), Charisma Glassman (Capgemini) Building a Beauty Brand: A Conversation with Patrick Ta Beauty moderated by Faith Xue

We are excited to announce our opening keynote speaker for our 19th Annual Conference, Tricia Smith, Global CEO of Anthropologie. Tricia Smith is the Global Chief Executive Officer of Anthropologie Group, a global lifestyle brand which operates over 220 stores and specializes in apparel, accessories, intimates, home furniture and decor, beauty, bridal, and garden. Tricia joined the Senior Leadership Team at URBN in April of 2021, and her responsibilities include the Anthropologie, AnthroLiving, Anthropologie Weddings, and Terrain brands across North America, Canada, and the EU. ? Prior to URBN, Tricia was the Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer at Tilly’s and spent 25 years at Nordstrom in a variety of significant merchandise management roles. To learn from Tricia and many other inspiring leaders in the industry, please buy tickets here: https://lnkd.in/g42ZEbQQ

?????????The Retail & Luxury Goods Club (a Student Club at Harvard Business School) is excited to announce that our anticipated annual conference will take place on Sunday, Oct 20 (from 10am-5pm) in Klarman Hall. Tickets are now live and available HERE: https://lnkd.in/evcPJaSw We have an exciting line-up of keynote speakers and panelists -- encompassing industry leaders, founders, investors and experts. A sneak peek below! ??CEO of Anthropologie, Tricia Smith ??Founders of Milk Makeup, Zanna Roberts Rassi and Mazdack Rassi ??Founder & CEO of Dagne Dover, Melissa Mash ??Chief Merchandising Officer of REVOLVE, Divya Mathur ??Chief Merchandising Officer of The RealReal, Samantha Porter McCandless ??Partner at Prelude Growth Partners, William Quartner We’ll also be giving goodie bags to the first 400 attendees and raffling off door prizes throughout the day from our sponsors???? We promise you don’t want to miss it!