Retail Community 1st Birthday Party @ Retail Fest

One year ago at Retail Fest, Jethro Marks and Dean Salakas started a small WhatsApp group to figure out where retailers were meeting for drinks after the conference.

Jethro said, “Add some cool people.”

Dean thought everyone at Retail Fest was cool, so he added everyone he knew who was attending.

Within an hour there were 50 people.

By the end of the day there were 100.

By the end of the week there were 300.

What started as a simple chat has now grown into Retail Community, connecting more than 1,800 retail leaders across Australia and beyond, across 20+ WhatsApp groups where conversations happen daily.

So it feels only right to celebrate our first birthday where it all began, Retail Fest.

Join retailers, brands and industry friends for a relaxed night of drinks, conversations and celebrating the community.

🎂 Birthday cake cutting at 9pm

🥂 Free Drinks till Midnight

🎶 DJ and Drummer till 2am

🌆 Great Views of the GC all night

Open to Retail Fest delegates and the wider retail community.

Feel free to bring colleagues, retail friends or industry partners.

If you're in retail, you're invited.

📍 Nineteen at The Star

🕗 Wednesday 6 May, 8pm onwards

Legal Bits

By attending this event, you agree to the following:

• Verification: Your LinkedIn profile may be used to confirm that you’re a retailer. We also may sign you up to our Whatsapp community if we identify you are not part of it.

• Data Sharing: Any information you provide during registration may be shared with event sponsors, who may contact you about their product and services. That said, we don't plan to provide them with your LinkedIn details.

• Information Use: We reserve the right to use your information for future communications. You can opt out at any time.

• Photography & Filming: The event may be photographed or recorded. By attending, you consent to your image or likeness being used in future promotional content — and, naturally, appearing in a few epic WhatsApp group selfies.

• Respecting Your Inbox: Your details will never be sold or shared outside of sponsor-related use. No spam. No nonsense.

We’re committed to keeping this fun, respectful, and community-first — just like the group itself.