NEW YORK — Buyers and sellers at Emerald’s physical events will soon have a simpler, more collaborative way to do business all year long: a new technology platform from Emerald’s Elastic Suite division. The Elastic Suite Digital Market platform, which provides 365-day-a-year access to product sourcing and ordering for a wide range of brands, will be available this summer to hundreds of the world’s leading outdoor, surf, cycling, sporting goods, apparel, lifestyle and footwear brands buying and selling at Emerald’s Outdoor Retailer and Surf Expo trade shows.
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Hervé Sedky, Emerald’s Chairman and CEO, called Elastic Suite “a key milestone in our strategy to bring buyers and sellers together in a digital environment, all year round.”
“This platform will greatly enhance the customer experience and value not only at our live shows, but also throughout the year as we expand our digital offering,” said Sedky. “We are excited to launch Digital Market in conjunction with Outdoor Retailer and Surf Expo this summer so brands and retailers can experience the innovative and powerful benefits of this platform.”
A platform for a growing need
The need for a year-round buyer/seller platform, which has been growing for years, was highlighted over the past year due to the disruptions to in-person trade shows caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Josh Reddin, executive vice president of Elastic Suite.
Roy Turner, Senior Vice President of Surf Expo, added: “We’ve heard loud and clear from our retail and brand community that in-person shows are essential…they also need technology to connect, source and order throughout the year. Surf Expo Digital Market will revolutionize the way brands and retailers collaborate, transact and sell their products.”
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The platform builds on Emerald’s Elastic Suite enterprise B2B merchandising solution, which has already proven itself across many brands and retailers, Reddin said. But it’s not just for the big fish: Digital Market is taking the next step by consolidating and integrating many of Elastic Suite’s features into the platform, which uses the same core technology, data systems and customer support resources as Elastic Suite, and is designed to be easy for small and mid-sized brands to use.
“Creating universal access to a standard e-commerce platform was the driving force behind the development of the Digital Market solution,” said Reddin. “Small and medium-sized brands can now leverage the latest digital B2B sales and merchandising tools while competing alongside the world’s largest brands. Additionally, retailers can now strategically source products on a single platform.”
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Contact Hervé Sedky at (203) 840-5584 or Herve.Sedky@EmeraldX.com