NASHVILLE – Dec. 12, 2011 – Nearly 200 C-level retail executives will join the industry's top retail CIOs, analysts and technology vendors at RetailROI's annual "SuperSaturday" research event in New York on Jan. 14, 2012, one day before the annual NRF Convention and Expo begins.

SuperSaturday is a fundraiser for RetailROI, the Retail Orphan Initiative, bringing together retail's most prominent thinkers for revealing discussions on the convergence of Marketing and IT, store technologies, social media success stories, mobile devices (associate and consumer), next generation analytics and how companies can move from marketing brands to true competitive strength. The one-of-a-kind event is free to retailers, and all proceeds from sponsorships directly benefit organizations involved in orphan care, adoption support and foster care. SuperSaturday 2012 takes place at PwC Auditorium, 300 Madison Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and retailers can register here.

Speakers for SuperSaturday 2012 include:

• REI: Bill Beaumann, VP of Information Technology
• The Hershey Company: Ed Martin, Director of International Insights
• The Children's Place: David Levitt, VP of Information Technology
• Build-a-Bear Workshop: Dave Finnegan, CIO
• Focus Brands: Todd Michaud, VP of Information Technology
• Genesco: Randy Cucerzan, Director, Retail IS Projects,
• National Retail Federation: Vicki Cantrell, SVP Communities,
• w.Ratings: Gary Williams, Founder and CEO
• Citi Investment Research: Deborah Weinswig, Managing Director Retailing / Broadlines, Food
• Gartner: Jeff Roster, Research VP Industries, Retail
• RIS News: Joe Skorupa, Editor-in-Chief
• 4Kids of South Florida: Special guest speaker Doug Sauder

"RetailROI SuperSaturday is a must for any retailer who wants to take advantage of expert insight into retail IT trends and strategy, and there's no easier way for retailers to help kids," said Greg Buzek, founder of IHL Group and donor trustee for RetailROI. "The more retailers who show up, the more kids we can help – it's that simple."

Since its inception three years ago, RetailROI has thus far distributed over $374,000 in grants to charities that are making a huge impact and delivery services with very little overhead. More information on some of RetailROI's grant recipients is available here.

For 2012, approximately $230,000 in sponsorships have been raised through the generosity of RetailROI's sponsors, which include:

• Intel
• HP
• Epicor
• Oracle
• Sprint
• PwC
• Mercury Payments
• Kronos
• Epson
• SAP
• Cisco
• Tyco Retail Solutions
• Ignisis
• C-CORE Consulting Group
• TekservePOS
• Agilysis
• Profitect
• NCR
• IHL Group

Additional sponsorships are still available, including SuperSaturday sponsorship as well as NRF trade show booth promotions designed to increase a company's booth traffic at NRF. Sponsors can custom-tailor the promotions and also choose the charitable projects they'd like to underwrite; more information is available here.

About RetailROI

RetailROI is a charitable foundation under the umbrella of the Giving Back Fund, established to help the 400 million orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide; RetailROI provides grants to charities that provide hands-on efforts in the following areas:

• Orphan Care (food, shelter, medical, clothing, education)
• Foster Care support organizations
• Adoption support organizations
• Grants and zero-interest loans for adoption
• Child rescue from human trafficking
• Life skills training for orphaned and vulnerable children