NRF reworks its Big Show due to site unavailability

The National Retail Federation has announced changes to the second phase of its 2021 Big Show.

The group had planned to hold a live, in-person Big Show — Chapter 2 during the first week of June in New York City. But similar to the recently concluded Chapter 1, the event will now be held virtually. NRF said it made the change because it recently learned that the planned venue — the Javits Center — is being used for vaccine distribution for New Yorkers and will most likely be unavailable to hold the June show.

“The Javits is once again playing a critical role during this pandemic, first serving as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients and now a place to inoculate citizens against this deadly disease,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “We are all aligned that the first priority in our country today is to get the vaccine to as many people as safely and quickly as possible, and the Javits will help make that a reality.”

Shay added that Chapter 1 of the Big Show was successful and "we are preparing to return online in June to provide even more expansive content, networking, entertainment and expert insights for registrants.”

The NRF said it plans to return to the newly expanded Javits Center in January 2022, “with the largest retail trade show in the world.”