Agenda

Every year, retailers manage billions of dollars in excess inventory and returned goods — and most of it gets written off, liquidated, or destroyed. But a growing number of retailers are discovering something remarkable: that merchandise that can’t be resold is exactly what a family in crisis needs. Join Good360 and two of its retail partners for a discussion on how excess inventory and returns can become a strategic giving asset, and what that looked like in practice for the communities receiving those goods.

Long before circularity became a retail strategy, Goodwill was proving it could work at scale. For nearly 125 years, Goodwill has built one of North America's most successful reuse and resale ecosystems, keeping billions of pounds of products in circulation while creating pathways to employment and economic mobility. In this session, Goodwill Industries International President and CEO Steve Preston will share how the organization has evolved into a powerful model for circular retail, demonstrating how sustainability and business value can grow together. Drawing on lessons from thousands of retail locations, donation centers, and workforce development programs, Steve will explore how retailers can extend product lifecycles, maximize value recovery, and create lasting impact. He'll also look ahead to the future of circular retail, from technology and traceability to new partnerships and workforce strategies that can help build more resilient, inclusive, and profitable businesses.

Retailers are moving beyond AI pilots toward agentic merchandising—intelligent systems that augment decisions, streamline execution, and enable merchants to focus on strategy. Yet disconnected platforms, legacy technology, manual workflows, and limited real-time visibility can slow progress. This session will explore how agentic capabilities can advance omnichannel planning and forecasting, pricing and revenue growth, and AI-powered commerce—and the data, technology, and operating model changes required to scale value across the enterprise. Hear from industry leaders as they share practical lessons on what is working, what must evolve, and the actions retailers can take to unlock the full potential of agentic merchandising.