Webinars
UPCOMING EVENT
2023 Annual Meeting
Thursday, December 7, 2023
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. ET Annual Meeting
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. ET Guest Speakers
HFPA Members FREE
Non-members $25
Join us at 9:00 a.m. Eastern to hear what’s going on in the HFPA from President Charles Gaenslen, get the latest on legal issues facing the industry, and meet the HFPA Board of Directors.
Be sure to stay! At 9:30 a.m., two of our industry’s leading prognosticators talk about the state of retail today, from the post-Bed Bath & Beyond world to where department stores stand to e-commerce to all of those generational peculiarities…and just about everything in between. Join Robin Lewis, the founder and CEO of The Robin Report and industry editor Warren Shoulberg as names will be named and no prisoners will be taken in this lively conversation, complete with your questions, comments, and rebuttals.
Robin Lewis is the founder and CEO of The Robin Report. He is an author, speaker, and consultant for the retail and consumer products industries.
Previously, he was Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he developed and launched a global retail consulting practice. Prior to Goldman Sachs, as Vice President and Executive Editor of Women’s Wear Daily. Earlier in his career he held executive positions in strategic planning, business development, and brand and marketing management at DuPont, VF Corporation and Grey Advertising.
He is frequently requested by C-level management for advice, consultation and strategic presentations: among them are Bloomingdale’s, JC Penney, Macy’s, VF Corp., Kohl’s, Charming Shoppes, Estee Lauder, Iconix, Footlocker, and Ralph Lauren, as well as financial firms such as The Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs and others.
He is the co-author of The New Rules of Retail, and Retail’s Seismic Shift, and is often quoted in various trade and consumer publications such as Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Time Magazine, Chicago Sun Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Brand Week, and Advertising Age, as well as appearing on CNBC, ABC, CBS and Fox News.
He served on the Board of Directors for the Fashion Group International, and on the Advisory Board of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and has served on the Board of Governors for the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parson’s School of Design. He has also been an adjunct Professor for FIT’s Global Fashion Management Program
Warren Shoulberg knows the retail business. He has been a regular contributor to The Robin Report, Forbes.com and The Business of Home as well as his own blog WarrensReport.com.
As a former editor in chief for several leading business-to-business publications specializing in home furnishings retailing he has chronicled the good, the bad and the ugly of the business in a career spanning four decades.
His award-winning commentaries elicit both praise and complaints. He welcomes them both equally.
He has guest lectured at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and been honored by the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, ABC News and other media as an expert in the field.
He expects to be doing this for the duration.
PAST EVENT
Mapping Consumer Loyalty in Home Fashion Products
Wednesday, August 23
12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Speaker: Paul Bragan
Wakefield Research
Join us for HFPA’s next virtual education webinar, on Wednesday, August 23 – Mapping Consumer Loyalty in Home Fashion Products.
Paul Bragan, Senior Partner at Wakefield Research, will present results from their recent survey to understand consumer sentiment right now – and how it is impacting brand and product loyalty towards the furnishings and accessories consumers purchase for their homes. The research will explore themes such as:
- What are the key purchase drivers or barriers that motivate consumers right now?
- What do producers in this space need to know as they head into Q4?
Paul will take participants through Wakefield’s survey results to understand what is most important to buyers in the current market when they shop for bedding, bath and table linens, accessories, and other items for their homes.
One of the country’s leading research experts in the field of understanding respondent priorities and unmet needs, Paul Bragan is Wakefield’s Senior Partner and brings more than a decade of research experience with some of the country’s most recognizable brands – from Microsoft to MasterCard and from Procter & Gamble to Pfizer. His research is regularly featured in top-tier national and global media – both online and print.
Paul has developed unique methodologies for understanding key decision-drivers and for testing new product concepts among Gen-X, Millennials, and Boomers to discover what’s resonating at both the functional and emotional levels.
Paul Bragan has led over 100 qualitative research sessions worldwide – from focus groups to in-home interviews. He has moderated focus groups and in-depth interviews for over 15 years. He has designed and executed quantitative studies in over 80 countries.
Before Wakefield, Paul was Director of Research at Ntercept, Vice President at Penn Schoen, and EVP at Kelton. Paul received much of his training at DC polling firms like PSB and Luntz Research – where he developed expertise in a wide range of survey tactics including segmentation, enhanced qualitative techniques, loyalty research, concept testing, tracking, message architecture, and customer expansion research. Paul is a graduate of Georgetown University.
PAST EVENT
Unraveling Opportunities: Home Textiles Industry Update on NYC's Commercial Real Estate Market
Wednesday, June 28
12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Panelists Charles Gaenslen, CEO at Loftex Home-USA and Jeff Kambak, CEO, US Operations at Trident Group, host a discussion with Evan Margolin, Vice Chairman, JLL and Michael Rudder, Principal of Rudder Property Group. Join as they explore the trends and nuances of the NYC real estate market for the home textiles industry. The panelists will discuss current market conditions and dynamics including lease vs. own, residential conversion of office properties, and the showroom marketplace; 295 Fifth Avenue and the transformation of the former Textile Building; and the impact of work-from-home on the home textiles industry. Don’t miss the important insights from these industry experts!
Evan Margolin is a vice chairman in the New York office of JLL, a global commercial real estate services firm. Evan has spent his entire 20+ year career as a tenant representative negotiating on behalf of users of space, not landlords. In 2019, Evan was selected by the HFPA as the recommended broker to the showrooms at 295 Fifth Avenue that were being forced to move due to the sale and redevelopment of the Textile Building. He and his team negotiated leasing transactions on behalf of dozens of showrooms in neighboring buildings. The vast majority were able to reduce their occupancy expense and are now enjoying brand-new showrooms where the build-out was funded by their new landlord. Evan is an active member of YMWREA (Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association), REBNY (The Real Estate Board of New York) and The State University of New York at Albany’s Alumni Association.
Michael Rudder is the Principal of Rudder Property Group, a commercial real estate services firm specializing in the sale of office condominiums in the New York metropolitan area. Michael has been involved in acquiring, converting, marketing, and selling over two million square feet of office condominiums. Prior to establishing Rudder Property Group in 2010, he served as the director of office leasing and sales at Time Equities for more than eight years. Michael is the Chairman of the REBNY Sales Brokers Committee and is a founding member of the St. Jude’s Real Estate Committee.
Speaker: Evan Margolin
JLL
Speaker: Michael Rudder
Rudder Property Group
PAST EVENT
The Changing Reality of the Licensing Business
Thursday, June 23, 2022
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
The recent Licensing Expo in Las Vegas — the first IRL Expo in three years — offered a window on a host of trends within the entertainment, consumer brands, art/design, sports and other sectors, including the implications of Web 3.0. We’ll also discuss how the ongoing disruption to the supply chain, and how that particularly affects the licensing sector.
Speaker: Marty Brochstein
PAST EVENT
International Shipping Climate: 2021 and beyond
Tuesday, September 14, 2022
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
HFPA hosted a discussion examining the widespread effects of the global container shortage, skyrocketing costs, and ongoing freight and transportation issues. Experts from TEU Global, a 3PL company, the National Retail Federation, and HFPA member company Avanti Linens analyzed the ongoing issue and what remedies are in the pipelines.
Speaker: Jonathan Gold
Vice President, Supply Chain and Customs Policy for the National Retail Federation
Speaker: Paul DeLuca
Vice President Business Development
Speaker: Azeem Subhani
President and CEO, TEU Global, Piscataway, NJ
Speaker: Jeff Kaufman
Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) Past President and President/COO of Avanti Linens
PAST EVENT
Can (or Should) an Employer Create a Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Tuesday, May 11
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
With COVID-19 vaccines already being administered, many businesses feel a heightened sense of urgency in determining whether to (and how to) adopt a vaccination policy, including a mandatory one. Recently, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released guidance that addresses this question and other common employer COVID-19 vaccine related questions. In this town hall, Joel Greenwald and Zev Singer will guide you through the following questions and then take questions from the audience:
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Is a mandatory vaccination policy permissible?
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What are the risks and challenges with vaccination policies?
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Can businesses keep non-vaccinated employees out of the workplace?
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Can employees uncomfortable with an un-vaccinated workplace stay home?
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Can we require proof of vaccination from employees?
Speaker: Joel Greenwald and Zev Singer
Greenwald Doherty, LLC
Speaker: Zev Singer
Greenwald Doherty, LLC
PAST EVENT
Sustainability in the Textile Industry
Tuesday, April 13
2:00 PM- 3:00 PM ET
This webinar will examine the materials and processes used in the manufacture of textiles. We look at drivers of sustainability and sustainability considerations as they pertain to different materials used and the different component steps of the manufacturing process. There will be a particular focus on synthetics and sustainability trends in the industry as a whole.
Speaker: Michael Taylor
Vice President, Public Affairs
Kellen
Interested in learning more about virtual showrooms and how to leverage digital to drive your wholesale business?
Join us for this exciting opportunity to learn best practices in virtual selling from JOOR, the world’s leading digital wholesale platform. JOOR Vice President of Sales, Loree Lash-Valencia will share insights on how virtual showrooms have evolved and how brands are harnessing the power of JOOR’s platform to grow their business; followed by a Q&A session with HFPA President, Jeff Kaufman, Avanti Linens.
Panelists:
Loree Lash-Valencia, Vice President of Sales, JOOR
Jeff Kaufman, Avanti Linens, HFPA President
PAST EVENT
Retail 2021 - What to Expect
Tuesday, January 19
10:00 AM ET
As we enter 2021, there will be significant challenges and opportunities for the retail sector. A continuing coronavirus pandemic will continue to change retail operations, including the supply chain. A new administration and Congress will need to address the ongoing coronavirus fight and economic recovery. Hear from Jonathan Gold, National Retail Federation’s Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, about the latest retail trends and retail priorities for the new Congress and administration.
Speaker:
Jon Gold, Vice President, Supply Chain & Customs Policy, National Retail Federation
PAST EVENT
Step on the G.A.S. (Gratification, Agency, and Stability): Consumer Behavior in the New Normal featuring Michael Solomon
Tuesday, October 27
11:00 am ET
The Pandemic will change our world for years after the virus disappears. We’ll have to rethink and modify our purchase decisions, large and small. Some disruptions in consumer/marketer relationships that already were looming will come faster and more decisively. How do we define brand value? How should companies talk to customers? How do people function in an emerging gig economy where every encounter might be fatal? How do we redefine what it means to go to work or to socialize?
The virus poked the bear, and now marketers need to respond to life in The New Normal.
The changes that started well before the Pandemic reflect the transition in our society from a modernist to a postmodern culture. Postmodern consumers don’t always follow the rules that marketers decree. That’s because we don’t buy products because of what they do… we buy them because of what they mean. Today’s consumers define themselves by the brands they choose. Their idiosyncratic choices create a pastiche of meaning that gets updated 24/7. Marketers no longer drive the train, even though they can still ride it.
This means that the firm categories we love to use to understand our world – and our customers – are no longer valid. In particular, the traditional labels we use to segment consumers have stopped working. Today’s consumers are like chameleons, who change color constantly. They no longer sit passively in the tidy cages we put them in. The convenient dichotomies we rely upon, such as Male vs. Female, Young vs. Old, I vs. We, Consumer vs. Producer, Offline vs. Online, and many others, no longer mean very much.
In the New Normal, we’ll see these cages open even faster as people are exposed both to new possibilities and to new constraints on their daily lives. Many of us for example will rediscover the value of community, and others will rethink the value of commuting to work everyday. In this presentation, we’ll explore some of these comfortable cages, and show why marketers need to ignore them in order to prosper.
Speaker:
Michael R. Solomon, Ph.D.
Consumer Behavior Expert and Speaker
Our expert for this topic is Andrew A. Kimler, Esq., partner at Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP. Andrew heads the Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practices and is a key member of the LGBTQ Representation Practice. He regularly writes and lectures on employment law matters.
Andrew will lead a conversation around the following topics:
- What organizations should consider when reopening.
- How to make employees feel comfortable, and what special accommodations employees may be entitled to.
- What can employees do if they feel they aren’t properly protected.
- Can employees be required to wear face masks or other PPE?
- Can employees who refuse to return to work be terminated?
- Can employers send employees home or demand they stay home?
- How to navigate going back to work with childcare challenges.
- Can business owners who reopened but aren’t profitable still file for unemployment? Can they re-close and file for unemployment?
- Is there business rent relief for closed businesses? Can landlords demand past rent for the time closed?Returning to Work During a Pandemic: What You Need to Know
Speaker:
Andrew A. Kimler, Esq.,
Partner at Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP
PAST EVENT
HFPA Virtual Market Week Discussion with Home Textiles Today
Tuesday, July 21, 2-3 p.m. (EST)
Friday, July 24, 10-11 a.m (EST)
HFPA and HTT are hosting two virtual meetings this week to educate the manufacturing community about the new platform, and provide information about the various product presentation and marketing options. Please note you do not have to attend both. The sessions are open to everyone.
To view the slide deck from the presentation, click here.
Thank you to all that joined us on for our virtual event!
Speaker:
Niel Sauders
Managing Director and Retail Analyst at GlobalData Retail
Thank you to all that joined us on for our virtual event!
Thank you to all that joined us on for our virtual event!
Thank you to all who joined HFPA’s first virtual program (we had 60 attendees!). We welcome you to join us for our next #PowerChat about COVID-19’s impact on the industry via Zoom on Tuesday, May 5th at 10AM (ET). Please think about the positive solution(s) or innovation(s) that your company has instilled during the pandemic, and be ready to share with others on the call! HFPA is here to continue to support the conversation in our community and industry, especially during these times.
PAST EVENT
NEW COVID-19 Interactive Zoominar: Industry Landscape | Challenges and Innovative Ideas
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
10AM (ET)
HFPA is here to support conversation in our community and industry, and we welcome you to join us for this valuable meeting for one hour on Tuesday, April 14th at 10AM (ET). Please think about one positive solution or innovation that you are willing to share that may help others on the call through this pandemic that has impacted us all. HFPA’s legal counsel, Robert Leo, will join us for any questions you may have. The access password is b7+93&N?
On Thursday, January 23rd, HFPA legal counsel Robert Leo will discuss the status of the trade war with China, including updates on the List 4A provisions and List 4B, and how members can mitigate the effects of the additional tariffs. To sign up for this webinar click the button below! please note that instructions on how to access the webinar will be sent a few days prior to the event.
PAST EVENT
International Trade in 2019: Are You Prepared?
January 2019
In January, HFPA conducted a webinar entitled, “International Trade, Are You Prepared?” HFPA and ADFC Counsel, Robert Leo, discussed the important trade issues facing HFPA members. Bob also provided the latest news on, and answered questions about, the Administration’s negotiations and continued retaliation v. China, Congress and the USMCA (the new NAFTA) and related issues. For more info and a copy of the presentation, contact Robert Leo.
PAST EVENT
5 Best Practices for Succeeding on Amazon
January 2019
Orca Pacific is a full-service Amazon agency located in Seattle specializing in maximizing clients’ sales on Amazon by developing and implementing a holistic marketing and advertising strategy and also offers full account management services. John L. Ghiorso, CEO of Orca Pacific, will focus on 5 best practices for succeeding on Amazon: Using the Amazon “Flywheel” to your advantage, Optimize Content for Search and Conversion, A Full-Funnel Approach to Amazon Marketing, Vendor Central vs. Seller Central vs. Hybrid Approach and Digging into Analytics-Always be Testing and Learning. Whether you’re an Amazon expert or in the early stages of selling on this platform, you are sure to pick up valuable information that will make you smarter about how to best approach the business. The webinar is open to all members of your organization.
