Target, SAS, others cut back visits to New York retail trade show as Omicron spikes
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Target (TGT), which had at least five executives slated to attend, said it has reduced team travel and its execs including President of the Target Foundation
As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been ripping through
At last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), nearly 70 attendees, including some Samsung executives, tested positive for the virus. It was unclear whether they contracted the virus at the convention.
One Twitter user said he canceled his NRF plans after contracting COVID-19 at the consumer electronics event.
NRF is requiring conference attendees to show proof of vaccination and to wear masks. N95 and KN95 masks will be distributed along with COVID-19 rapid tests.
"As we move from pandemic to endemic - a new environment in which we say life can and should go on - there's going to be friction as we adjust. This year's show is a step forward, and we believe it's a necessary and meaningful one," NRF chief executive
Executives from Walmart (WMT), Chewy, Best Buy (BBY) and cloud-based retail platform NewStore are pressing on with plans to attend the 15,000-person retail trade show.
NewStore is hosting a booth but dialing back external activities for the retail show, according to chief marketing officer
Granof said that as larger companies pull out, there is less competition for attention. Still, big corporations are not the only ones canceling plans. Gaming platform Unity said it dropped out "after taking into account the current case numbers and employee and vendor comfort level."
"I cancelled my plans last week. Missing it two years in a row after 15 yrs. [This year] would have been my 17th,"
NRF in December released its updated COVID protocols, ensuring the conference had the green light to go on with 25,000 planned attendees and 900 exhibitors. By
"The irony, of course, is as the attendance drops, the conference becomes safer," Granof said.
(Reporting by