Tickets are now on sale for the 2014 ARA Australian Retail Awards Breakfast.

The 2014 ARA Australian Retail Awards Breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday July 15 at the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said the 2014 ARA Awards are shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before.

“The ARA Awards have become something of an icon. It’s currently an exciting environment of change for the retail industry and there are countless stories of retailers achieving growth and excellence during challenging times – all of which need to be told and celebrated.

“The ARA Awards Breakfast is not only a fantastic platform for award winners to gain recognition amongst their peers and in the media, but also a great opportunity for all retailers, students, entrepreneurs and business professionals in general to enjoy a morning of valuable insights and networking with some of retail’s finest,” Zimmerman said.

Derek Dyson, Specsavers global retail director, has been named as the keynote speaker at this year’s Awards Breakfast.

“We are fortunate enough to have one of Australia’s most inspiring retailers (and past ARA Award winner) present at this year’s event. Derek Dyson, Specsavers global retail director, will deliver the keynote address and it will be a pleasure to have Derek’s extensive experience and insights showcased at the Awards Breakfast.

“The Specsavers brand has certainly become a centrepiece of Australian retail. Specsavers first came to the Australian market in 2007 as a wholesale business before opening their first stores in 2008 in Melbourne. There followed one of the fastest retail roll-outs ever seen in Australia with 100 Specsavers stores opened over the course of just 100 days – a truly inspiring retail story that needs to be shared,” Zimmerman said.

Award categories include Australian Retailer of the Year, Australian Retail Employer of the Year, Australian Independent Retailer of the Year, Australian Retail Innovator of the Year, Australian Retail Graduate of the Year, Australian Multi-channel Retailer of the Year, Retail HR Practitioner of the Year, Individual Retailer of the Year – male and  female, Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Retailer of the Year, and the Victorian Government’s Victorian Retailer of the Year.