FEATURED GUEST





Garrick (Rick) Wang

CEO ,Retailco Inc.
Shanghai, China
Mr. Wang is an American born Chinese who has been living in China for over 13 years. With a degree in Communications from the University of SouthernCalifornia (USC), Mr. Wang began his career with Lintas Worldwide, awell-known global advertising agency. As the youngest executive at Lintas (Taiwan Branch), Mr. Wang rose to become Business Development Director in less than 2 years and brought in numerous multi-national accounts for theagency. After leaving Lintas, Mr. Wang joined Foremost Dairy (Taiwan) Ltd., as Director of Marketing. Foremost was a near bankrupted company and Mr. Wang helped orchestrate a turn around which lead to the successful sale ofthe company to Nestle in 1992. In 1993, Mr. Wang moved to Shanghai andbecame the Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Fuller Foods Ltd, ajoint venture with the Shanghai Dairy Corporation (now known as BrightDairy). Creating such famous brands like San Marlo Ice Cream and Fuller Milk, Mr. Wang lead the company to market leadership before the sale of the company to Nestle. After leaving the food industry, Mr. Wang entered theretail and franchise business by establishing RetailCo Inc, a companyfocusing on specialty retail in China. In 1998, RetailCo opened its firstmulti-branded sports retail store under the US franchise The Athlete's Foot.Early success with the franchise saw rapid growth including sub-franchisingto other regions in China. As market dynamics changed, Mr. Wang transformedRetailCo to become a leading branded sports retailer in China. RetailCo iscurrently one of the largest Adidas retailers in China with over 50 stores and 300 employees. As CEO of RetailCo, Mr. Wang constantly seeks new retail and franchise opportunities for China. Mr. Wang is a highly sought-afterspeaker focusing on subjects related to China entry, marketing, and retail &franchising. He has published his theory on the "3 Barriers of Entry to Franchising China" and serves as consultant to many companies. Mr. Wangenjoys sports, motorsports and is married with two kids. He is also currently serving on the Board of Governors at the University of Southern