VCF, TMPA to Sponsor RFID in Fashion Conference

May 18, 2009—RFID Journal and the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) today announced that the Vendor Compliance Federation (VCF), a collaborative membership group facilitating profitable relationships between retailers and suppliers, and Trade Promotion Management Associates (TPMA), an organization that aims to foster best-in-class processes for global trade promotion, will be association sponsors for RFID in Fashion 2009. The fourth annual conference and exhibition produced by RFID Journal and AAFA will be held Aug. 12-13 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

"The purpose of the RFID in Fashion event is to educate apparel, footwear and accessories retailers and suppliers about how they can use RFID to cut costs and boost sales, so AAFA and RFID Journal are extremely pleased to have VCF and TMPA supporting the event," says Mark Roberti, RFID Journal's founder and editor. "We believe the content and exhibits will benefit their membership greatly."

The event will feature objective case studies presented by apparel, footwear and accessory retailers and suppliers that have deployed RFID technology in their operations. Attendees will learn how these companies are employing radio frequency identification to:

• Improve in-store inventory accuracy from 65 percent to 98 percent
• Decrease the time required to take inventory by 75 percent
• Reduce the length of time needed to receive goods into inventory by 85 percent
• Lower labor costs associated with markdowns by 50 percent
• Increase sales by as much as 15 percent

"RFID in Fashion is the only event focused on RFID-related business processes and challenges for the retail, apparel, footwear and accessories sector, so we are very pleased to be part of this event," says Kim J. Zablocky, VCF's founder and chairman. "The event provides an exceptional opportunity to hear real-world case studies in RFID, presented by end users sharing lessons learned during hundreds of deployments, and to meet the technology providers who have developed solutions specifically for the apparel, footwear and accessories industries."

Avery Dennison will be the cornerstone sponsor of RFID in Fashion. The conference will feature the Leadership Forum, in which end users will discuss issues related to the adoption of RFID technologies in the retail sector.