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The PDC has been available for retailers now for the past several months. How's it going? Te r r y S c h a l o w : I ' d c a n d i d l y describe the first few months of the PDC as both encouraging and challenging. Keep in mind that the RIA is not a software company. We're a trade association that is launching a complex new software platform. We're investing in it because we're convinced that the tool will streamline product data management for our members. Any software launch includes a steep learning curve, and the PDC is no different, but we're encouraged by the progress we've made. What are your members saying about it? The positive feedback from the 100 or so retail members who've signed up to access the PDC consistently tell us that the user interface is simple, intuitive, and has rich features. Retailers can filter product searches easily and in multiple ways. They also like that it's easy to select, save, and edit seasonal collections, share them with colleagues, and export directly to templates for every major POS and third-party provider. Have there been any issues/ negative feedback? The complexity of standardizing brand product data has been our biggest challenge. Navigating each brand's unique data format, and ensuring that seasonal data exports to third-party templates are accurate every time, has been an ongoing challenge. Our retail users have let us know when they see inaccuracies, and that's our focus. For the PDC to work for everyone, it's absolutely imperative that data exports are accurate and can seamlessly upload to their 3rd party platforms. The good news is that we've made significant strides in resolving these issues. In fact, we've been able to make the data transformation process much easier and faster than originally planned. To that point, we're actively working with our top brands to ensure that the PDC includes the seasonal data our retailers require. That includes Spring '25, and, as our brands make it available, Fall '25. Q&A / RIA THE RIA PRODUCT DATA COLLABORATIVE The Running Industry Association's recently launched Product Data Collaborative (PDC) is a members-only benefit that empowers retailers and brands by streamlining their product data management processes. RIA Executive Director Terry Schalow gives us an update on the PDC. SPECIAL REPORT RIA Executive Director Terry Schalow. "We're actively working with our top brands to ensure that the PDC includes the seasonal data our retailers need, when they need it."

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