RETAIL DAY.
2024-2025
​​Retail Day, hosted by the Queen’s Retail Forum (QRF) on November 30th, brought together 60 undergraduate students for a full-day conference on Queen’s University campus. The event featured dynamic sessions with industry leaders from Cartier, L’Oréal, Nike, Benny, Nestlé, and Aritzia, offering invaluable insights into marketing, partnerships, leadership, and career development.
Highlights included a recruitment workshop led by Nestlé’s Early Talent Team and engaging panels on strategy, operations, and finance. Delegates explored key themes like adaptability, resilience, and growth, leaving inspired to embrace challenges and seize opportunities in the retail world.
Special thanks to our headline sponsors, Quaffed and Mulvihill Drug Mart, and our delegate gift bag partners, including Milk Makeup, Lululemon, Poppi, Liquid IV, and Red Bull, for their generous support.
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OTHER EVENTS.
2023-2024
Retail Day
On November 25th, QRF hosted its annual Retail Day in the Rose Innovation Hub uniting students and industry leaders for a day of inspiration and networking. The event featured Lesley Hawkins, Vice President of Retail at Adidas Canada; Matt Carr, Vice President of Operations and Merchandising at Sport Chek; and KC Shendelman, Vice President of Marketing at Longos, who shared their expertise on navigating the retail industry. Representatives from Uniqlo, Holt Renfrew, GAP, and Wake Water also provided insights into customer relationships, financial planning, strategy, and operations.
Special thanks to Aritzia, the headline sponsor, whose support enabled the event's success and included a workshop by their strategy and operations team, Allyson Goodman and Jake Koszczewski. Delegates also enjoyed gift bag goodies from Aritzia, Milk Makeup, WakeWater, and Red Bull.
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Ground Up Speaker
On November 20th, QRF and CREO Solutions hosted Brian Hill, Founder and Executive Chair of Aritzia, for a fireside conversation at Goodes Hall. Students from all faculties joined to hear Brian’s insights on entrepreneurship and building a global brand. Part of the Ground Up series, this event continued its tradition of featuring top business leaders, with past speakers from Shopify, Lululemon, and more.
Aritzia Distribution Center Visit
On March 5th, the QRF hosted an exclusive visit to Aritzia’s state-of-the-art distribution center in Vaughan, Ontario. Participants toured the facility, gained hands-on experience by picking and packing real-time eCommerce orders, and learned about Aritzia’s supply chain strategy and operations from Learning Leaders. This immersive experience provided students with a unique look into the logistics behind one of Canada’s leading retail brands.