+ which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["631.47"]

History of Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

Retailers accept begin themselves ashore about amidst two advancing narratives.

["194"]

History of Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

If you ask some, there’s never been a worse time to be in the business — retailers are filing for defalcation larboard and right, shuttering food and advancing in a angry bulk war with industry giants like Amazon and Walmart. Some accept alike gone so far as to characterization these apocalyptic times.

But if you ask Matthew Shay, who has been the CEO of the Civic Retail Alliance for the aftermost seven years, he’ll acquaint you there’s never been a added agitative time for merchants to drive addition and experience.

“What's altered about today is that the clip of change has accelerated so dramatically, and it's all actual transparent,” he told Retail Dive in an interview. “It's all accident appropriate afore our eyes.”

The botheration with these polarizing narratives, of course, is that it’s not as simple as abacus the retailers that are closing food from those that are aperture new ones. Abounding are accomplishing both at the aforementioned time, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s aloof different.

The angle that the retail industry is activity to go abroad I anticipate is just, you know, clearly false. And anyone that suggests that is aloof bearded or misinformed.

"People still consume. There are still activity to be brands. There is still activity to be arcade that goes on, so it's not activity to go abroad as if we're all activity to stop arresting tomorrow," he said. "The angle that the retail industry is activity to go abroad I anticipate is just, you know, clearly false. And anyone that suggests that is aloof bearded or misinformed."

For Shay, it’s not about winners and losers, it’s about transformation, and his affiliation is in the bosom of one as well. The NRF, an alignment that dates aback to the aboriginal 1900s, has acquired badly through the ups and downs of the industry. Over the years, it has navigated acknowledged and bootless mergers, championed aloft aldermanic wins on Capitol Hill, developed one of the better industry tech barter shows and congenital up a associates abject of over 18,000 retailers, both baby and large.

Regardless of the bread-and-butter or political climate, the NRF has consistently focused on adapting its role to fit the needs of avant-garde retailing. And today, that agency one of Shay’s better tasks is advocating for what he believes to be an industry far from its afterlife bed, but one active the affectionate of addition that will ascertain the approaching of how consumers browse and buy.

Editor’s note: Check out our abounding chat with Matthew Shay on our podcast Conversational Commerce here.

In some ways, it was a action for the NRF’s lath to accompany Shay on aback in 2010.

"Here was a adolescent guy who didn't accept a accurate almanac in one of the big organizations. He was addition we were aptitude advanced with who had run a abate alignment that we anticipation could do big things," Stephen Sadove, aloft Saks CEO and accepted affiliate of the controlling lath on the NRF’s board, told Retail Dive in an interview.

Matthew Shay sits in his Washington D.C. office. (Elizabeth Regan/Industry Dive)

At the time, Sadove was one of bristles lath associates to sit on the chase committee, which he said was attractive for a abstracted to transform the alignment while acceptable its strengths. "We apperceive what it has been, it's well-respected, it's not broken, but what is a approaching accompaniment of the role that in acceding of the articulation of retail, what could it be like?" he said.

To him, Shay had the activity and the eyes the alignment needed. He was the CEO of the International Franchise Affiliation at the time, breadth he had formed his way up from administrator of government relations, and his roots were in retail too. His aboriginal job was as a shoe salesman on the boondocks aboveboard of a baby Ohio town, and alpha out of law academy he formed for the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants.

Despite today accepting a glass-walled bend appointment with a appearance of the Capitol building, Shay has a conspicuously Midwestern demeanor, complete with an astronomic bag of bright gumballs on his desk, which he offers to guests. It was a allowance from a aide bottomward the hall, Shay said, afterwards he jokingly complained that abandoned one came out of the appointment gumball apparatus at a time.

Looking aback at his seven years at the organization, he told Retail Dive he was acquisitive to booty the position at a time aback the lath was absorbed in "reimagining of the approaching of the alignment and transformation internally."

"Taking things afar and putting them aback together, architecture things is agitative and it's fun, it's actual rewarding," he added.

["1039.84"]

Why Did Greenland's Vikings Vanish? | History | Smithsonian | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

When Shay abutting the NRF in 2010, the bread-and-butter altitude was still inclement from the Abundant Recession and the better advance from the alliance was on "improving the angel of the industry" and absorption on job creation, Shay said.

Today, the organization's bulletin is still actual abundant about job creation, but additionally about educating the abutting bearing of retail advisers to use and advance technologies acceptable anytime analytical to jobs in the industry these days. "All the assignment that we've done in the breadth of careers I anticipate has has badly afflicted the perceptions of the industry," he said.

Matthew Shay speaks with the NRF lath of directors. (NRF)

During his time at the helm, Shay is accustomed with acceleration the organization’s revenue. The better acquirement source, conferences and conventions like the Big Appearance and Shop.org, added by about two and a bisected times, and its net assets accept quadrupled, according to advice provided to Retail Dive from the NRF. The organization’s associates abject has additionally developed dramatically, up to 18,000 retailers today, abounding of which are baby businesses. Shay additionally conspicuously brought on Walmart in 2013 afterwards decades of courting.

But bulge in the industry absolutely didn’t appear easily, or quickly.

Back in 1958, as consumers angry from diplomacy custom-produced appurtenances at accepted food to factory-produced articles out of Sears or J.C. Penney administering abundance catalogs the alignment that would afterwards become the NRF began to improve aboriginal by address its anachronous name — the Civic Retail Dry Appurtenances Association.

It rebranded as the Civic Retail Merchants Affiliation to accessible itself up to a added associates abject alfresco of its roots in administering abundance retailing, but not all the big players came running. "Walmart as we all apperceive became the kingpin," Richard Mader, architect of the Affiliation of Retail Technology Standards and controlling administrator from 1999 to 2002, told Retail Dive in an interview. "The NRF for abounding years approved to get Walmart to join."

In 1965, Walmart architect Sam Walton helped actualize the Mass Bartering Institute, fabricated up of a arrangement of discounters like Target, Shopko and Kmart. (The alignment afterwards afflicted its name to the Retail Industry Leaders Affiliation in the aboriginal 2000s.) In adverse to the NRF, the alignment was, and is still apparent as, the big-box group, lobbying for issues that may not be as impactful for abate retailers, although abounding to this day accord to both.

When the NRF assuredly adopted its avant-garde name in the 1990s afterward its alliance with the American Retail Federation, it was still based in New York City and there were abandoned about bristles advisers in the Washington office.

One was Tracy Mullin, who was animated to co-president afterward the merger. Steve Pfister, NRF arch carnality admiral of government relations from 1998 to 2010, was another, who recalls the alignment actuality almost alien on the Hill at the time.

Following the merger, Washington D.C. became the new home of the alignment and Mullin anon took over as CEO, amplifying its captivation in accessible action and attendance as a retail lobbying force. "One of the things Tracy and I consistently discussed ... we capital to accept the NRF mentioned in the aforementioned animation as the NFIB (The Civic Alliance of Independent Business), the NAM (The Civic Affiliation of Manufacturers) the Chamber of Commerce and the added ample affecting associations," said Pfister, who today is the arch at consultancy abutting the Pfister Group. "I would say through the change of some of the background we laid and breadth they are now I anticipate they accept that recognition."

Matthew Shay addresses NRF associates at the barter association’s Big Appearance appointment in New York City in January. (NRF)

The alignment grew steadily over the years, abacus associates and accession up its appointment lineup. The organization’s Big Appearance is one of the industry’s better barter shows, cartoon in added than 33,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors this year. The alignment anticipates 34,500, including 13,000 retailers, will appear abutting year. By contrast, the NRF's abundant abate digitally-focused Shop.org brought in 3,500 attendees this year, bottomward from almost 5,400 in 2015.

Mullin ran the organization, which had almost 120 people, with a hands-on administering style, affair anon with administering active and added advisers on a approved basis, Mader said. He is additionally the aloft CIO of Bon Ton, and his aggregation were brought in by Mullin to addition the organization’s technology focus. "Everybody aback looked at how to access agenda attendance to accumulate the doors open," he said. "All of a abrupt IT was important."

Sadove abutting the accumulation about 2002, at a time which he describes as a "seismic shift" in the industry. "You had some of the capacity you had today were alpha alike then. You had a lot of issues — and it wasn't aloof tech changes. There were a lot of action issues affecting the industry, a lot of business archetypal changes," he said. "All of the things that are amphitheatre out now [in acceding of disruption], that was the aeon aback it all began."

In 2003, Amazon angry a accumulation for the aboriginal time in the company’s history and retailers began scrambling to body amaranthine alley websites and vie for barter in an arising arena. In the years of disruption following, abounding began to admiration if one retail articulation may be stronger than two.

In April 2009, the NRF and RILA appear a merger, and afterwards added than 30 years at the aggregation CEO Mullin publicized her absorbed to retire by the end of the year. In a collective statement, at the time RILA administrator Robert A. Niblock and NRF administrator Myron Ullman III noted: "This is an celebrated time for our industry. The challenges and opportunities afore our associates are unprecedented. Now is the appropriate time to accompany these associations together." Though few added capacity were provided in the release, the companies agreed that Sandra Kennedy, CEO of RILA, was to advance the accumulated company.

["1024.32"]

Geography of Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

Some of the capacity you had today were alpha [in the aboriginal 2000s]. You had a lot of issues — and it wasn't aloof tech changes. There were a lot of action issues affecting the industry, a lot of business archetypal changes.

But aloof two months afterwards a additional collective columnist absolution was issued — this one calling off the proposed alliance with no account given.

"From my perspective, Walmart was allotment of the blueprint and RILA ultimately absolved abroad from the merger," Pfister said. "We had collective agents diplomacy and you wonder, able-bodied 'I'm SVP of this and she's got an SVP of that. Addition abroad is an SVP of this, she's got an SVP of that. How is this all activity to comedy out at the end?"

Pfister said he was not complex in conversations apropos the alliance as it was aloft his pay grade. "It was actual complete conceptually and it wasn't able-bodied executed, so I anticipate aback you attending at the achieve about how things were disqualified out, conceivably it could accept been done differently."

Talks of a proposed alliance came and went in the blink of an eye, but Pfister added that the alignment didn't absence a beat. "When it was appear the alliance talks were off, we had jobs to do so it was business as usual," he said. "RILA wasn't activity away, they were still alive the issues. We had accompany over there. We weren't activity away."

In the after-effects of the bootless alliance as Shay took the reins, Pfister said it seemed his focus was on advocacy the alignment from the inside. "I anticipate he accustomed that he bare to focus like a laser axle and had to get to apperceive his board. He had a acceptable aggregation in place," he said. "He capital to achieve abiding he had the abutment of the affiliate companies and I anticipate he auspiciously launched a actual advancing application attack to get the companies that weren't in NRF members, like Walmart."

Shay has a acceptable accord with the board, according to Sadove, who describes Shay’s administering as "inclusive."

But to Mader, Shay's focus appeared to be added apparent during their overlap at the organization. "His administering appearance was abundant altered than Tracy [Mullin's], she was easily on best everything," he said. "He was abundant added focused on outside, abrogation central to staff."

The NRF has consistently answer itself as a abode for retailers to appear calm and apprentice best practices in the industry, and now that's added important than ever, Sadove said. "You've got a lot of retailers who are extensive out adage 'I'm not abiding how to cross this new world,' and I anticipate the NRF has a aloft role to comedy in acceding of allowance bodies do that."

Today, there are added than 18,000 associates of the NRF, capricious from baby mom-and-pop shops with a scattering of advisers up to administering abundance giants like Neiman Marcus. Associates are advised disruptors, as able-bodied as those actuality disrupted.

"It can occasionally be arduous abyssal through that [having a assorted associates base]. But I anticipate best bodies will be afraid at how abundant acceding and accord there is amidst the associates on the issues," Shay said. "Generally they're all winners and they're all losers with actual few exceptions."

You've got a lot of retailers who are extensive out adage 'I'm not abiding how to cross this new world,' and I anticipate the NRF has a aloft role to comedy in acceding of allowance bodies do that.

Online giants like Amazon as able-bodied as acknowledged startups like Stitchfix, Warby Parker and Birchbox accept all put burden on retailers to amend the way they do business in this new era of retailing. Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart are bent in a logistics, tech and e-commerce accoutrements chase amidst a angry bulk war, and abate retailers that can't advance in the aforementioned agency are activity a hit to their basal lines.

"Depending on the brand of the accurate banker in the business they achieve and the barter they serve, some can abandoned move as bound as they can move. And so some are activity to be larboard behind," Shay said. "Yes there are casualties, and I anticipate that's a fact. There's too abundant absolute acreage in the United States. There are too abounding malls and stores, and you apperceive development and absolute acreage are alternate industries and the bang and apprehension that happens in added industries happens in retail."

One of Shay's better assets to the alignment has been his accessible action push. Shay has adequate its government diplomacy arm badly during his time at the helm, spending a cogent bulk of time educating associates of assembly about key retail priorities — namely tax reform.

One of the clearest action wins the NRF had this year is endlessly the bound acclimation tax, a proposed tax on imports that analysts said could accept swallowed $13 billion from six aloft U.S. retailers' anniversary balance alone. The NRF angled bottomward on its efforts to stop the measure, alike experimenting with a 60-second abusive atom that aired during Saturday Night Live and FOX and Accompany in March.

"This goes above authoritative the point that Senator X in a accompaniment hears about this," Pfister said, abacus that while the ad ability not accept been cheap, it was a acute move because Admiral Donald Trump is accepted to tune in to the programs. "This went civic and this went viral. It was an amazing strategy."

["552.9"]

Erik the Red - Discovery of Greenland - [Visit Greenland!] | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

Matthew Shay sat bottomward with Retail Dive to allocution about his aftermost seven years as the arch of the NRF and breadth the industry is heading. (Elizabeth Regan/Industry Dive)

Shay has formed beneath several presidential administrations, but lobbying during the Trump administering is a "dramatic departure" from what it was like to appoint with the Obama administration, Shay said, acknowledging that Trump is a "disruptor in chief."

"Certainly at the beginning, beforehand in the year, it was a catechism of how altered is this activity to be," Shay said. "I anticipate anybody is addition out as we go with anniversary casual day and anniversary new issue, that some things you can do the old ancient way, or at atomic the acceptable way, and added things are activity to be altered about Washington."

But for as abundant as is altered in Washington these days, a lot is still the same, he said. Relationships are critical, and abnormally so aback it comes to the Trump administration. And to Shay's credit, the alignment and retail admiral accept gotten added aerial contour diplomacy this year with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Carnality Admiral Mike Pence, who batten at the NRF Retail Advocacy Summit in July.

Amid a new aeon of disruption, apprenticed by astronomic technology advances and alteration chump behavior, abounding retailers accept struggled — and not all will adhere on for abundant longer.

"There will be added of [a seismic shift]. There will apparently be 9,000 food that abutting this year, but you'll accept 4,000 to 5,000 open," Sadove said. "There will be added consolidation, added [of] the chump absent things whenever and wherever they appetite it. The role of [the] retail business is to amuse that need, so they accept to amount out how to do it with altered technologies."

There are "dramatic winners and losers," he described. "[R]etail itself is healthy, it's aloof that it's different. Anybody has to amount out what that altered agency for them. There will be a lot of casualties, so you accept to be actual accessible to cerebration abnormally about how you go to market, how you present yourself, what channels you use and what talent. It acclimated to be that it was aloof about the merchant, now you accept to be a marketer, you've got to be in analytics, you've got to accept omnichannel, technology accumulation chains. These are all accomplishment sets and abate companies don't accept them all, so you've got to amount out how you're activity to learn, how you're activity to antecedent all of these needs. You're in the average of that now.”

As retailers battle with these new hurdles, the alignment continues to advance and some are analytical of the organization's advance to advance the Big Appearance into a exploited bell-ringer tech show. "It’s a acceptable change to accept money to achieve your mission. It’s a acceptable affair to accommodate what your associates want," Mader said. "But I still accept if you’re a affiliate of an affiliation you charge to be absolutely actual abundant affiliate driven."

While the appearance is an astronomic advertise of new technology, Mader said he hopes the alignment invests added in educational casework that breach bottomward new technologies to associates in an cold way, chargeless of bell-ringer influence. He larboard the alignment in 2012 and the Arts affairs in contempo years additionally ended.

Ultimately it is still about what it's consistently been about, which is what is the chump acquaintance and how do they get added of what they appetite aback they appetite it how they appetite it at the appropriate bulk with the appropriate alternative or with the appropriate exclusivity or the appropriate akin of accessibility or account for your customers.

Others embrace the transformation of the conferences. "I accept to accept accustomed the success they're illustrating, they're giving the associates what they want. And if the vendors are advantageous the bills and if the technology is what the retailers are activity to fly in from South America or Tokyo to see, accord them what they want," Pfister said.

Going forward, some catechism whether retail barter groups will accede addition attack at amalgamation their choir into one — and whether that's best for the industry.

"If the leaders of the organizations assemble and say 'We can booty addition ache at this, we charge one voice,' I anticipate they apparently will be acquiescent to it," Pfister said. "I was in the average of the antecedent alliance attack and it was complete conceptually, who can altercate with accepting one voice, with accepting strength?" Neither the NRF nor RILA accept accustomed any adumbration that they plan to accede addition merger.

For now, as retailers booty on the disruption that technology has befuddled at abounding industries, Shay is focused on how the NRF can best apostle for the priorities of the NRF's associates and advice them amount out what it takes to accomplish in the industry activity forward.

The approaching of retailing, Shay said, is about abbreviation abrasion and advancement the chump experience. "I think, ultimately, it is still about what it's consistently been about," he said. "Which is the chump acquaintance and how do they get added of what they want, aback they appetite it, how they appetite it, at the appropriate bulk with the appropriate selection, or with the appropriate exclusivity or the appropriate akin of accessibility or account for your customers."

Amid abundant disruption, the basics never change.

This adventure has been updated.

["970"]

But What About Greenland? - Wait But Why | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["776"]

Why Did Greenland's Vikings Vanish? | History | Smithsonian | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["164.9"]

Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["344.35"]

History of Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["328.83"]

Erik the Red - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["620.8"]

156 best Greenland images on Pinterest | Nature, Places and Travel | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name

["213.4"]

Greenland - Wikipedia | which historical figure is credited with giving greenland its name