The National Retail Federation (NRF) hosted the Retail Experience and Retail Advocates Summit this past week in Washington DC. President & CEO, Renee Sunde and Retail Champion nominee, Blake Garfield with Seattle-based Bedrooms & More attended the exciting and not so typical D.C. fly-in event.
The Retail Experience included six immersive exhibits that demonstrated retail’s role in driving the economy, providing jobs, and impacting lives and communities in Washington State and across the country. More than 98% of retailers are small businesses and the exhibit showcased nearly 50 main street retailers from 26 states. Technology pushes the retail industry forward and several companies demonstrated their technological innovations.
Joining Sunde at the event were over a dozen State Retail Association Executives from across the country. Maryland Retailers Alliance, President & CEO Cailey Locklair was awarded as the first female recipient of NRF’s prestigious J. Thomas Weyant award. The award recognizes an outstanding retail association executive of the year.
NRF also honored 281 lawmakers with the “Hero of Main Street” award for their unwavering support of policies that bolster the retail sector. Among the recipients were Washington State U.S. Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Dan Newhouse. These representatives were recognized for their consistent advocacy of the NRF’s Retail Opportunity Index, which promotes a healthy and vibrant retail industry.
