Foreword to the ERA Global News, Winter 2020

Dear ERA Global Members, Dear Colleagues, Friends and all Readers of the ERA Global Newsletter Winter Edition 2020

We hope you have come back refreshed from your end of year break and are ready to tackle all the challenges and opportunities of the new decade ahead.

Even though we are all fully energised, please let us pause for a moment and read the article “Honoring Joe Segel 1931 – 2019” by Budd Margolis, to remember one of the greatest entrepreneurs and visionaries of our industry, Joseph Segel.

New opportunities for our ERA Global members are coming up shortly. Registration for our ERA Global Summer Conference in Amsterdam (June 9th - 11th) will open at the end of January. On February 6th our Annual Membership Meeting will take place in Frankfurt, the date and location of which were specifically chosen so that our members can combine the membership meeting with a visit to the Ambiente show in Frankfurt.

If you did not have a chance to attend the ERA GLOBAL panel sessions in Budapest, you will enjoy the article 'Retail Paradise India: Challenges and Opportunities' by Manuj Goyal, who was one of our speakers at the conference. Manuj is the owner of Pink City, and Co-Founder and Managing Director of Indology (formerly known as Gemporia), one of India’s live shopping channels. His article will give you some insights into this fascinating subcontinent and market. As a part of our strategy to bring the world together and form a global alliance, ERA GLOBAL also had the opportunity to visit some of the other industry players in India which Neeraj Dhingra and myself report on here.

You may also want to have a look at our Public Affairs Bulletin. ERA has formed a task force defining its position regarding the liability of intermediary platforms which allow the sale of counterfeit goods (a 100 million€ business) and provide a means for traders to avoid paying VAT. These illegal activities result in very unfair competition for our members who play by the rules.

As always, you will also find the latest industry news and exciting interviews and articles in our newsletter, so please enjoy our Winter Edition. We are convinced that you will find the articles of interest and a source of inspiration. We would like to gratefully thank all the contributors to this newsletter.

Best regards,

Dr. Julian Oberndörfer

Chief Executive Officer/ Administrateur Delegués

ERA Global