Subject: The web isn't just another retailing channel and the Internet Retailer 2007 Conference & Exhibition isn't just another e-retailing show.

Dear E-Retailer:

The image on the home page of the Internet Retailer 2007 Conference & Exhibition web site communicates our bedrock belief that the web is not just another retailing channel but a revolutionary new approach to retailing, one that will reshape other retail channels and change the way retailers connect to their customers. Our third annual conference will explore the innovations in e-retailing that promise to make modern web-based retailing as different from conventional multi-channel retailing as commercial spaceflight is from conventional air travel. (See "About the Cover Image.")

Cutting Edge Agenda
The Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition is now the largest show in e-retailing—nearly double the size of the next largest event. But that is not its most important distinction. Its cutting edge agenda is what sets our conference apart from other e-retailing shows. No other conference organizer in this market has the editorial resources that we have—eight full-time editors who report and write solely on e-retailing for our monthly Internet Retailer magazine, daily IRNewsLink e-mail newsletter, annual Top 500 Guide and Guide to E-Commerce Technology, and InternetRetailer.com—the highest trafficked information site in retailing. These editors are in constant contact with the leaders on the web and they stay abreast of the innovations in e-retailing and who's making them. We rely on their contacts and knowledge to put together a conference faculty that is unsurpassed in its expertise.

The Reinvention Theme
This year's theme bespeaks our philosophy that web-based retailing consists of nothing less than a re-invention of retailing, as significant as the revolution that occurred a hundred years ago, when A&P, W.T. Grant and Woolworth invented the retail chain. Come to IR2007 and you'll hear 100 expert speakers reveal how the web redefines the way retailers:

  • Market their branded services
  • Make better merchandising choices
  • Process payments more efficiently
  • Order from suppliers online
  • Integrate their multi-channel operations
  • Create a web site design that sells
  • Respond to changes in the market faster
  • Connect with and learn from shoppers
  • Display merchandise more effectively
  • Manage inventories in real time

As important, the web is changing who the leaders in retailing are, because those who master its strategies and best practices will own the future of retailing.

E-Retailing's Largest Technology Display
Because of its compelling agenda, we are confident that IR2007's total attendance will grow at least 25% from 2006 to more than 4,300. That in turn explains why we have already signed up every major e-retail vendor to display their solutions in the 340 exhibit booths that comprise the 100,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall at IR2007. In surveys, attendees at IR2006 praised its agenda content, but they also told us they learned as much from visiting its massive exhibit hall. Since the Exhibit Hall at IR2007 will be 50% larger—three times larger than any competing show—this exhibition learning experience will be richer than ever.

If you attended last year's show, you'll find this year's event even more rewarding. If you've never attended the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, ask someone who has, look at what we have in store for IR2007, and take the leap to attend. Then, get ready for the most informative, stimulating and provocative industry show you've ever attended.

Sincerely,

Jack Love
Publisher