The Beat Goes On

Proving once again that there’s much more to retail industry people than PCI compliance, point-of-sale hardware and product lifecycle management, the second annual RIS Rock & Roll Retail rocked the house at B.B. King’s Blues Club on January 10. It may have been cold outside but the music was hot, with set lists spanning more than five decades, featuring songs ranging from the Beatles to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
 

The four bands, with members drawn from the ranks of retailers, analysts and solution providers, entertained a crowd of more than 225 industry executives. The winning group was “Mark Up & the Prophets,” featuring standout performances from Elie Tahari’s Tom Kanach, TekServe POS’s Dana & Tony Harder, RSR Research’s Steve Rowen and Nikki Baird, Polo Ralph Lauren’s Frank Picarazzi and Bozzuto’s Dan Krhla. The band will donate $1,000 to RetailROI, the Retail Orphan Initiative.
 

Attendees agreed that Rock & Roll Retail has become a Big Show highlight. “I had a great time both listening to the music and catching up with quite a few people that I hadn’t seen in a few years,” said Bob O’Hern, vice president of IT and logistics for Ritz Camera, adding “it was the perfect mix of fun, friends, and very good music.”
 

Steve Katsirubas, CIO of Clarks NA, called it the “best event of the week, bar none!” 

RIS will be producing full-length CDs and DVDs of the event for sale, with all proceeds donated to RetailROI. The event was sponsored by HP, Epson, Guitar Center, Microsoft, Revionics, TekServe POS and RSR Research.