NRF ’96
BRENNAN, COIN COP TOP HONORS
NEW YORK — “I’m calling a truce to honor a true business visionary,” Federated Department Stores chief executive officer Allen Questrom said at the National Retail Federation convention’s closing luncheon Wednesday.
He was talking about Bernard Brennan, the Montgomery Ward ceo and recipient of this year’s NRF Gold Medal Award.
Questrom, who succeeded Brennan as NRF’s chairman during the convention, praised Brennan for “protecting retail interests” by testifying at Congressional hearings against the Clinton Administration’s health care reforms.
In his acceptance speech, Brennan noted that the administration’s plan would have required retailers to foot about 40 percent of health care costs. He also cited past NRF lobbying victories on NAFTA and GATT, and said the fight over the federal income tax was just beginning.
“NRF is recognized as a major force in Washington,” Brennan said. Piergiorgio Coin, ceo of Venice-based Gruppo Coin, received NRF’s award for international retailing during the luncheon.
In presenting the award, Questrom said Coin had revitalized downtown areas in several Italian cities by restoring historic buildings and converting them into stores, including a brewery in Rome and an ancient theater in Bologna.
Coin, who has 220 stores, said the honor should really go to his customers. “They come to us every day.”
A lighter side of convention week is the Financo NRF Dinner, an evening of schmoozing and cigar smoking at the Harmony Club, thrown by Gil Harrison, chairman of Financo, an investment banking firm specializing in retail deals. This year’s dinner drew 108 top retailers from over 80 companies around the country and abroad.