FASHIONTECH
This summer # FASHIONTECH was headed up by Michael Stracke , appointed Chief Business Development Officer in April 2018 . He was the former Head of Business Development at beecom AG , and recently promoted the World Web Forum in Zurich . What is his vision for # FASHIONTECH ?
Q | What has been your impression of the # FASHIONTECH event up to now ?
A | I visited # FASHIONTECH for the first time last year and was instantly captivated . According to my research there is nothing else similar in Europe , especially when it comes to the quality of the speakers . We have previously had C-level executives from Facebook , Instagram , Google , Amazon and Matchesfashion , as well as fashion- industry pioneers such as Zalando , adidas , Liganova and MCM to mention but a few . This is a very good mix of fashion , retail and tech companies . It makes the format very exciting . Participants can get up to speed on the latest on technology in the world of fashion . At the same time they can meet future business partners and – what is surely particularly crucial – they leave the conference again with an open mind and their motivation levels fully topped up . In my view this approach is the key to accompanying the industry through the digital transformation .
Q | What plans do you have for the future ? A | I see a huge amount of future potential . As a platform where the critical decision-makers meet we want to absorb and translate all influences – whether from Asia , Europe or Silicon Valley . We want to give the high-level audience even more disruptive examples , as well as present best cases . In
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thematic terms , we will be concentrawith Michael Stracke , Chief Business Development Officer
ting further on the digital transformation within the company . The bottom line is that the conference will follow the same principle that we proclaim on stage : it ’ s important to dare to experiment and thereby stay one step ahead of the competition . In future we could imagine making # FASHIONTECH even more international in scope and taking it to other countries as well .
Q | What is the response of # FASHIONTECH visitors ? A | The feedback is positive from both fashion businesses , retailers and communication professionals . All have a considerable thirst for information on digital transformation . There are not that many places where this information is readily available to this extent . Coming to us , they can engage with the trailblazing companies in the field . You only have to think of Amazon Go , where analogue shopping is already entirely based on digital transactions . E-commerce with WeChat is another fantastic example . We want to remove the fear of these types of developments and give the industry the tools with which it can successfully overcome the challenges of digitalisation .
Q | How big could this type of event become ?
A | The potential of our event grows in tandem with the technological development of the industry . Plus , we
WHEN Next edition : January 2019
WHERE Kraftwerk , Köpenicker Straße , Berlin
THEMES Digital Marketing & Communication , E-Commerce & Retail Tech
WHAT Providing valuable insights into relevant topics from digital marketing , new media & communications to e-commerce & future of retail & tech textiles by leading industry players and successful innovators .
WHY Learn from the industry ’ s most influential visionaries to discuss the most innovative developments , pioneering trends and cutting-edge disruptive technologies in the fashion industry .
HOW By supporting companies to master the challenges of the digital transformation , connecting players of both fashion and technology industries and initiating the process of change and new thinking . www . fashiontech . berlin
have hardly any competition , since there are almost no similar conferences in Europe .
Q | Why does # FASHIONTECH collaborate with Messe Frankfurt ? A | Our interaction with Messe Frankfurt has always been based on partnership and we were delighted to be able to build on this close contact last
season . Topic-wise , # FASHIONTECH is complemented perfectly by the FashionSustain conference put on by Messe Frankfurt . Messe Frankfurt has unparalleled high-level expertise in the domain of tech textiles and sustainability , and we have the in-depth fashion knowledge . We can only benefit from each other . I ’ m not sure whether there have ever been two trade shows that are so closely aligned in terms of content and format as those of Messe Frankfurt and the Premium Group . We see this as an important signal to the outside world . We are proving that Berlin is in the position of creating a new culture of togetherness here , too .
MODEBRANCHEN . | ISSUE NO 04 JUL / AUG 2018 | 97