Welcome to the 10th edition of Service Worx e-newsletter.

Industry leaders on show at Retail Expo

Now in the 10th year, Retail Expo and National Retail Forum 2009, Australia's most definitive event for retailers, will bring together every segment of the retail sector over three days all under one roof.

Industry heavyweights have also recognized the importance of Retail Expo 2009 with major corporations including Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Pronto Software and NCR and Partners confirmed to exhibit.

Not surprisingly, early registrations for the event are up 300%, a sign that retailers across Australia are eager for ideas and information that will not only assist them through the downturn, but also provide them with a strong platform and the tools to maximize the upswing. This is truly a challenging and exciting time to be in retail and the Retail Expo is harnessing that energy.

New at Retail Expo 2009 is Retail 2020 - Store of the Future. This amazing feature will take visitors on a shopping journey to the future. This futuristic store will showcase the latest in fit-out and design, retail technology and on-line innovation.

The ARA is supporting the Retail Expo and is conference partner to the National Retail Forum, which will be running concurrently with the expo.

Venue:
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Dates:
2009 Retail Expo Australasia 11-13 August 2009
2009 National Retail Forum 11-12 August 2009

Catalogue Central announces partnership with ninemsn

Online catalogue business Catalogue Central has partnered with ninemsn to integrate syndicated catalogue content within ninemsn shopping. The partnership launching 1 July, will allow ninemsn visitors' access to Catalogue Central's online catalogues during the critical pre-purchase browsing period.

A range of Catalogue Central's largest retail clients in the grocery, travel, clothing and telecommunications sectors will have their catalogues showcased across ninemsn shopping. Visitors can click through to browse catalogues and sign up to Catalogue Central's e-newsletter to receive exclusive offers from retailers.

Matt Berriman, Catalogue Central's General Manager, says this partnership presents retailers with an exciting opportunity to access Catalogue Central's 300,000 subscriber database as well as the eight million plus visitors who visit ninemsn each month.

"We've already proven to retailers that we can provide them with strong ROI through our guaranteed reads within Catalogue Central's portal. This partnership further extends our audience through ninemsn's reach of 70 per cent of Australia's online audience. We know that 88 per cent of Australians compare goods online before purchase and Catalogue Central now has the ability to communicate to consumers at this critical time," said Berriman.

Catalogues featured on Catalogue Central's site already experience a high level of guaranteed catalogue reads for retailers, equivalent to more than 10 million print catalogues in three months.