Square-Starbucks Deal in Motion; Wedbush’s Luria to Dissect M-Wallet

Aug. 9, 2012 - PRLog -- SAN DIEGO — The news that Starbucks teamed up with Square to push mobile payments on a broad scale signals a milestone for retail in embracing m-wallet.  

When it was announced this week that mobile payments startup Square partnered with Starbucks to power the chain’s U.S. debit and credit transactions, the implications were clear: “Wow. Wow. Wow. Square just arrived in mainstream,” wrote one online poster. In the spirit of adding a triple shot of espresso, Starbucks will invest in Square and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will join Square’s board.

For many retailers, though, the path forward with m-wallet is far from clear. Choosing the right technology remains a challenge.

Gil Luria, Managing Director, Equity Research, Wedbush Securities, will size up the m-wallet marketplace and share insights about the players, attributes and potential winners and losers in the space at the RetailConnections Fall Business Executive Summit, Sept. 23-25 at Hotel del Coronado, near San Diego.

Luria, who presented earlier this year at RetailConnections Mobile Impact Summit, is renowned for “following the money” as well as for his keen insights into how the m-wallet marketplace may shake out.

In his talk next month titled “Hottest Growth Sectors in Mobile,” Luria will also explore decision-making from a retail standpoint that includes issues like shifting promotional budgets toward mobile, leveraging internal development versus external services and tools, using retailer-owned devices versus shoppers’ handhelds, and NFC (near field communication) or cloud-based wallet.

The RetailConnections Business Executive Summit Sept. 23-25, 2012, is an intense interactive think-tank experience focusing on business-critical topics. In addition to m-wallet, presenters and attendees will delve into customer engagement, mobile marketing/commerce/payments, measuring ROI, branding, leadership and strategies to heighten the shopper experience across all channels. Among the speakers:

• Ed Jankowski, SVP, GM, North America, Godiva Chocolatier "Are You a Serial Communicator?"
• Dan Smith, former CIO, Hudson's Bay Company "Redefine ROI: Recapture Millions"
• Bill Bass, Co-President, CMO, Orchard Brands "Baby Boomer Opportunity"
• Tom DeCaro, EVP, Supply Chain, Michaels Stores "Rethinking Leadership: A Diverse Formula for Success"
• Leeann Fecho, Marketing Manager, Emerging Media, Loyalty Marketing, Follett Higher Education Group "Loyalty, Engagement & Other Omnichannel Challenges"
• Michael Cairnes, President, Artistree (division of Michaels Stores) "Innovate & Take Your Custom Business Global"
• Aashish Chandra, DVP, Application Modernization, Sears Holdings Corp. "Building an Agile Enterprise"
• "Retail Top Issues" Panel featuring Ed Jankowski, SVP, GM, North America, Godiva Chocolatier, Charlie Cole, VP, E-Commerce, Schiff Nutrition plus one more retail panelist
• Dave Remer, CEO, Creative Director, remerinc "What's Wrong with Retail & Branding?"
• Gil Luria, Managing Director, Equity Research, Wedbush Securities "Hottest Growth Sectors in Mobile"
• Gary Preston, Managing Partner, Preston | Reffett (former CAO, Ahold USA) "Retaining Critical Talent"
• Stuart Silverman, Founder, Impact Simulations "Staff Turnover: Problem to Fix? Or Baked into the System?"
• Bob Graham, VP, IT, BevMo! "Pricing, Promotions & Loyalty"

Complimentary attendance for the Fall RetailConnections Business Executive Summit is limited to qualified retail executives and registration is via http://www.retailconnections.com

For more information, contact Denise Power, (773) 573-3939 denise@retailconnections.com or Marc Millstein (914) 620-5947 marc@retailconnections.com or visit our web site. For sponsorship opportunities, contact LuAnn Hallberg, (814) 516-4965 luann@retailconnections.com.

RETAILCONNECTIONS serves senior retail executives by hosting events that provide exceptional learning and networking. We believe the value of establishing new business relationships in person far outweighs other forms of communication. In this era when knowledge from all retail departments is intertwined, events that bring together top-level management from every function area deliver the greatest business insights.