N O TA B L E
An Association in Motion: For PLMA, a Smooth Ride in the Cloud So Far, With a Big Test Ahead BY JOE AZZINARO PLMA has moved its programs to the cloud and, so far, it’s been a soft landing and a successful ride for the international trade association of the store brand industry.
But big tests lay ahead: PLMA’s two huge, industrydefining trade shows.
Following the onset of the pandemic, the New York- and Amsterdam-based group turned to virtual operations but beginning with baby steps. The first event was the executive education program, usually held at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Registration was a pleasant surprise, as more than 150 students signed up, a record number, for the two days of classes.
The difficult but inevitable decision was made to go virtual with them, as well. “So many challenges disrupted the retail marketplace and supply chain, requiring retailers and manufacturers alike to search out novel and innovative avenues for their businesses. PLMA had to innovate,” explains PLMA President Peggy Davies, who in May succeeded the late Brian Sharoff, the association’s leader for four decades.
Encouraged, PLMA put other events on Zoom, including the Washington Conference and Annual Meeting. Meanwhile, day to day business proceeded, remotely and later at the offices: like monthly PLMA Live programming in the US and Europe, and the important work of member services, such as the updating of Nielsen sales data, corporate changes and marketplace developments.
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GLOBAL RETAIL BRANDS / SUPPLIER GUIDE 2021
“We knew we had to deliver for members who have the same needs as before to keep on building their business under extraordinary circumstances. The same for retailers. Their need for innovative and reliable sources for products doesn’t disappear. Everyone knows the shows must go on and for us they have, only virtually.”
“We knew we had to deliver for members who have the same needs as before to keep on building their business under extraordinary circumstances.” - PEGGY DAVIES
President, PLMA
