Media Advisory - CIBC World Markets to host Annual Consumer Growth Industry Conference on July 13th and 14th 2004 TORONTO, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIBC World Markets will host its Fourth Annual Consumer Growth Conference on Tuesday July 13th and Wednesday July 14th 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2003, affluent consumers began to enjoy an economic recovery, buoyed by the strong stock market and soaring home prices, picking up the pace of their spending. In 2004, the recovery began to spread to a wider consumer base, as the job market began to recover. But with interest rates on the rise after a 4-year hiatus during which rates hit their lowest level in 40 years, consumer stocks have come under some pressure even as consumer spending picks up. At the 2004 CIBC World Markets consumer growth conference presenting companies will have the opportunity to assess their prospects for the important second half of 2004, including the upcoming back-to-school and fall season. The CIBC World Markets Fourth Annual Consumer Growth Conference will feature approximately 70 leading public companies from a variety of dynamic consumer sectors including specialty hardlines and softlines retail, restaurants, and consumer products and services. The conference's keynote speaker will be Michael Silverstein, co-author of the best-selling book Trading Up, which discusses the trend amongst middle-market Americans to pay up for "new luxury" goods and services and how companies (a number of which are presenting at the conference) are profiting from it. In addition, there will be presentations from two companies that are helping retailers improve profits: ProfitLogic, a company which provides markdown optimization software to retailers and Planalytics, which helps companies understand the weather impact on their business. The conference is being held at Four Seasons Hotel, 200 Boylston Street, in Boston. More information on the conference including an agenda and a list of planned speakers and the agenda are available at http://www.cibcwm.com/conferences/consumer04/index.html. Media planning to attend the conference in person or access the audiocast are asked to pre-register by phoning 416-594-7774. CIBC World Markets consumer industry analysts will also be available for interviews before and after the conference by arrangement. CIBC World Markets is a full service corporate and investment bank throughout North America, with operations in Asia, Europe and Australia, and serving more than 8,000 corporate, government and institutional clients. CIBC World Markets' parent company is CIBC, one of North America's first and largest financial institutions with offices in 18 countries, including the world's major financial centers. A publicly traded financial services company, CIBC has assets of US$210.1 billion and a market capitalization of almost US$16.2 billion. DATASOURCE: CIBC World Markets CONTACT: For more information and to register, media should contact Rod Cumming, Marketing and Communications, CIBC World Markets at (416) 594-7774 or

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