Uncle Joe just dropped 1.9 Trillion dollars on an economy that some say is already booming and in high gear. This bill puts a turkey in every pot and then some. That was an old promise of many years ago and here we are again. With the US hunkered down for over a year something must give. That something is the floodgates that are going to open and the raving fans of retail who will be coming out in droves. The retail industry, that drives 70% of our economy, better get ready because there is no stopping this thundering herd. Certainly, we will have some folks still hunkered down, but most will be flying the coop and bouncing into retail bliss. What can this mean in this next new normal? Just how many “next new normals” are we going to experience? So far, we are getting one every other year!
To help us understand what’s next and guide us through this charge, we have developed our best yet Winning@Retail2021 Summit. This event is a world class emersion of experts, who will help guide us towards what retail will look like, feel like or simply: how we can Win at Retail. We have painstakingly put together a very diverse slate of professionals. They understand what is next or how to win against all odds. We are extremely proud to have put this slate of experts together and have them teach all of us the nuances of retail. Certainly, the ecommerce world has grown like weeds during this last year, yet retail will not be abandoned. It will simply change to help with the Almighty Treasure Hunt. This ceremony takes place daily and is the soul of the fabric of our country. We love to shop!
This year, we are doing something very brave. We will be conducting the event in two very key geographic areas of the country. One location will be in beautiful Redondo Beach, California at the Shade Hotel waterfront and the scene of our first Winning@Retail. The second location will be our Tech Center in Bentonville, Arkansas, which is situated close by the World’s Largest Retailer, and we will have some special guests speaking in Bentonville. In addition, we will be blasting this out into the cosmos via zoom. Those that can’t make it in person, will have the opportunity to join in the experience. We will be practicing strict procedures for mitigating any Covid issues with the usual mask wearing, disinfecting and separation, so the two environments will be safe and still remain intimate. The event will be held on May 18, 2021. We feel by then many, if not all, of our participants, will have had the chance to be vaccinated and will be able to safely enjoy the program with ease.
We will be starting the program with Holly Green, who opened the event last time, who will share new insights as to how the brain works and just neurologically how we shop. Then Steve Frenda will take center stage and walk us down memory lane with his lifelong experiences in the CPG world. He will help us understand just how retail must change and what tools will it best chose to make those changes. Neil Stern, Good Food Holdings & Amanda Lai, McMillan Doolittle will lead us through the changed retail world through the pandemic. Neil will enlighten us to how iconic grocery stores Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres are building new environments and transformations to entice the new shopper. Crowd favorite Doris Brown McNally from HP will entrench us in the world of color and graphics. Color, personalization, and customization can be used to move folks, believe, and trust brands. Heavy hitter Bill Bauman from Newmark Knight Frank will share his experiences with the sale and transformations in the retail mall environments. They’re not dead they’ve just changed!
Our Packaging Panel - A.J Gruber, ISTA & Brent Lindberg, Fuseneo will be discussing just how in the heck you will get your packaging through the logistical challenges and what Amazon may have up its sleeve to help in the next phase of eCommerce dominance. We cannot underestimate the growth of eCommerce and the role it will continue to play in the retail equation. These two will spark our curiosity.
This year’s Brand Panel - Win Cramer, JLab Audio & Freddie Voorhees, NBCUniversal will be hashing out what’s going on with the ecommerce world and what will be new for the retail environment. Win has been serving the electronics world for many years and Freddie has served as Wal Mart’s Senior Manager of Entertainment Properties and now NBC Universal. Both have very intimate knowledge of Winning at Retail.
To conclude the speaking engagement, Rebecca Adams from Smarty Pants will be speaking about the growth of SmartyPants through online and in retail. Starting as a small startup in the supplements industry, Smarty Pants was one of our attendees at our last Winning@Retail and has grown like a weed. It was recently purchased by Unilever.
Before we separate ways, we will adjourn to enjoy a great cocktail event, mingle with fellow attendees and speakers to continue the conversation. This event is like no other: it is intimate and warm, and mostly it is full of insightful information not available in any forum like this. Simply, this is one of the best events I have ever attended, and I have attended tons of them. The setting is beautiful, it is opened to only a limited amount of guests, as we will not lose that intimate feel, and mostly the knowledge one garnishes from the event is spectacular and very timely and cutting edge.
Wash your hands, wear your mask and keep it separated!
Greg Tucker
CEO