Managing Editor Coming off a 2020 that featured successful virtual versions of its flagship General Merchandise Conference and Selfcare Summit, GMDC|Retail Tomorrow is rolling out a slate of virtual events for 2021. The first will take place in partnership with the International Housewares Association in April. The events will be focused on general merchandise, self-care, housewares and holiday/seasonal categories and scheduled over several weeks, allowing attendees the flexibility to schedule strategic and discovery meetings throughout the year to more frequently engage with partners. “Last October, we shifted our legacy GM Conference and Selfcare Summit events from in-person to a virtual setting in an effort to navigate the ongoing pandemic, while continuing to deliver opportunities for our members to conduct business despite the disruption caused by COVID-19,” said Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC|Retail Tomorrow. “Following our successful pivot, we gathered feedback from and listened to our members, evaluating what worked well during our virtual events and identifying where we could improve. We quickly discovered that more frequent, category-specific events better position our members to conduct business and grow in the ever-evolving COVID-19 landscape, and our unique capabilities to facilitate strategic and meaningful connections position us to fulfill this industry need.”