Foreword to the ERA Europe News, Summer Edition 2018

Dear ERA Europe Members, Dear Readers of the ERA Europe News, Summer edition.

We are living in interesting times. I am even excited if my words here will still reflect reality when this newsletter is sent out.

It appears that now our global structure is caught in the midst of digital transition. Usually we would reflect in the time between conferences, look back at our magnificent Seville conference and give an outlook regarding the upcoming show in Las Vegas. To cut a long story short, ERA (U.S.) and the D2C are history – but since then, in Seville, not only the European board but the whole global industry present there, committed itself to be in Las Vegas during the originally planned dates 24th - 27th September.

ERA Europe has organised communication in an equation with many unknown variables. While writing these lines it is already clear that former U.S. industry leaders will organise a venue somewhere.

To cite the famous saying 'THE SHOW MUST GO ON', we can clearly state IT WILL GO ON!. The global network will be restructured so that business can be conducted.

So, back to daily business...

In this edition you will find a full retrospective of the 2018 European Multi-Channel Home Shopping Conference in Seville.

We never had so many events. On Tuesday 19th, we had a very successful first timer Business Speed Dating Event which adjourned with a strategic outlook on modern multi-channel home shopping strategies. We also discussed the future of the global industry after the collapse of ERA (U.S.). On Wednesday 20th, the 2018 MCMS Congress gave us great insights on digital media marketing, blockchain, big data, influencer marketing, European regulation and how Alibaba became so successful. The social and emotional highlight of the conference was again our EMMA Awards ceremony where we celebrated our industry champions and networked the night away in the gardens of the hotel.

I would also like to encourage our readers to have a look at our Public Affairs Bulletin. It might not be the most popular section amongst our readers as the value of public affairs is in many cases not obvious and needs time and patience, but the EU initiative intermediary platform is more than important. Platforms like Amazon earn hundreds of millions of dollars with counterfeits being sold, while we are seriously harmed.

The above mentioned incidents regarding ERA (U.S.) and our perspective on how the future structure of a global home shopping network could be, are also an 'essential reading' part of this edition.

As usual, you will also find the latest industry news and exciting viewpoints and interviews.

So please enjoy the latest edition of this newsletter. We are convinced that you will find interesting articles and even more inspiration. We would like to gratefully thank all our contributors to this newsletter.

Best regards,

Dr. Julian Oberndörfer

Chief Executive Officer/ Administrateur Delegués

Electronic Retailing Association Europe