By James Wells
SORRENTO, ITALY: Over 150 retailer and supplier industry delegates have assembled in Sorrento in the south of Italy for the beginning of the 2010 Narta pre-IFA seminar concluding with the world's largest consumer electronics show in Berlin at the end of the week.
The conference will commence on Monday morning local time with an opening address from Narta chairman John Wipfli followed by a presentation by Narta managing director Kay Spencer.
The first keynote speaker will be 63-year-old futurist and professor of theoretical physics Michio Kaku. who will be confronting a difficult topic: predicting “The Next 10 to 20 years in the Electronics Industry”. Kaku first presented at Narta's 2005 conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin, and his most recent book, Physics of the Impossible, was a New York Times best seller.
Following Kaku is Harvard lecturer and researcher Shawn Achor, a specialist in Positive Psychology. Achor is the CEO of Aspirant, an applied research consulting firm that works with organisations to create a more positive and productive workplace.
The final speaker is Jeff Lind, store director and manager from Nebraska Furniture Mart Inc, in Kansas City. This business, with over 900 employees, commenced trading in 1937, and is a specialist in furniture and appliances within the Mid-West of the United States.
Representatives from the Narta group attending this year's conference include: 2nds World, Appliance Connexion, Bing Lee, Camberwell Electronics, Carlson Marketing, Coogans Stores, David Jones, Diamonds Video & Camera, E&S Trading, Electrical Discounters, JB Hi-Fi, Keith Bowden Electrical, Kitchen HQ, Michaels Camera, Mitchell and Brown, Morrisons Electrical, Radio Rentals, Smiths City, Spartan Electrical, Status Plus, Tasman AV, Teds Camera Stores, VideoPro, Warehouse Sales, Whitfords, Winfield's Electrical and Winning Appliances.
The suppliers attending the conference include: Asko Appliances, Asus, Breville, Bosch, Canon, De'Longhi, Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, Fujifilm, Hagemeyer, HSBC, Ilve, LG Electronics, Lumley Insurance, Media Merchants, Miele, Mitsubishi Electric, Palsonic, Panasonic, Phillip Ross Kitchen Systems, Sampford IXL, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, Sony, Sunbeam, TCL Electronics and Whirlpool.