Foreword to the ERA Europe News, Spring Edition 2018

Dear ERA Europe Members,

As usual, our Spring edition is the pre-conference edition of our newsletter. We are between two ERA Europe events: the ERA Europe Annual Membership Meeting which took place in Budapest in January and our fast approaching Multi-Channel Home Shopping Conference in Seville in June.

During the membership meetings in Budapest, we studied the progress of streamlining the self-regulation procedures such as simplifying the questionnaire, as well as the licensing of the consumer seal. We further discussed the most recent developments in Brussels, especially with regards to data privacy and consumer rights. The final 2017 financial statement again showed that we are in a good position and all new 2018 members were approved at the membership meeting.

So what can we expect in Seville? For sure it is going to be warm and sunny – but this is not really in our hands. We are hosting our conference this year in a very modern and futuristic design hotel in Seville, the Hotel Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento. The registration process is well underway as I write this with some options currently selling out or in some cases already sold out, so please contact our team soon to make sure your preferred package is still available.

We will start a cooperation for the MCMS Congress 2018 with the Medientage München, the biggest discussion forum in Europe on multi-channel media topics. The focus will be on the new business opportunities provided by the quickly evolving digital world and there will be a unique chance to see what we can learn from Asia.

The 2017 EMMAs in Venice was an unforgettable event, located directly by the canal looking out across the city. Now we are preparing the 2018 EMMA Awards in Seville for which we have incorporated some new ideas. First of all, in the category BEST INNOVATION, we now invite ALL employees of ERA Europe member companies to participate by casting their vote. To do so, we have implemented a simple digital registration process - please encourage all your colleagues to participate. And for the first time we are offering the option to invite your business partners to the EMMA night. So why not have your business dinner at the EMMAs? Invite your business partners / friends to your company table. Contact Sandra for more information on this.

Meanwhile we are already looking around Europe to find the best location for the 2019 summer conference. But as usual, we will not disclose the venue here.

So please enjoy reading this edition. Again we have interesting interviews and articles and the latest industry news. We would like to gratefully thank all our contributors who helped us create this newsletter and encourage you to follow us on LinkedIn.

Best regards,

Dr. Julian Oberndörfer

Chief Executive Officer/ Administrateur Delegués

Electronic Retailing Association Europe