|
Workshops — Wednesday Session 1
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Room: Versailles 1 & 2
Opportunities for Retailers and Traditional Healthcare Entities in the Convenient Care Market
Due to the rising cost and limited accessibility, the state of health care in America is changing dramatically. Currently, fewer than 60% of American workers are insured by employer-supported group health plans. The expansion of high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts have many consumers experiencing higher out-of-pocket costs for their healthcare than ever before.
The convenient care industry offers consumers the ability to receive medical attention without an appointment or a long wait and at an affordable price. The focus of the convenient care clinics is limited to approximately thirty common treatments for such things as sore throats and colds, vaccinations, and physicals. It is not meant to be a medical “home” for patients. The role of the convenient care clinic is to treat short term conditions and to give referrals to those without primary care providers.
Michael Rubenstein, Executive Director of Pathway Alliance will be giving this presentation. He will point out ways to establish a successful CCC (Convenient Care Clinic) within your store with turnkey solutions for a business concept, clinic design, target marketing, revenue cycle management, profit analysis and all the steps that build a profitable clinic.
Moderator:
Rich Niemann, Jr. , President/CEO, Niemann Foods, Inc.
Speaker:
Michael Rubenstein, Executive Director, Pathway Alliance
Room: Burgundy
2007 N.G.A. Compensation and Benefits Survey
This workshop will review the results of the 2007 N.G.A. and People Solutions Strategies  Supermarket Management Compensation and Benefits Survey. A human resource executive will review the results of this comprehensive survey and discuss how you can use this information to benchmark your company against similar companies. This session will help you to create plans to build sales and profits, and develop ways to control and reduce operating expenses. You will gain an understanding of trends in healthcare and the latest developments for incentive plan changes. As well as, how to develop strategies for determining salary increases, create structured performance appraisals, build retirement benefits and develop paid time off policies.
Moderator:
Judy Riesbeck-Wright, Director of Human Resources, Riesbeck Foods
Speaker:
Fred Martels, President, People Solution Strategies
Room: Versailles 3 & 4
The Power of the Private Label — Branding Your Company
In the quest to differentiate from the competition, retailers have found a life-line with the private label. Private label sales are estimated to rise from $108 billion in 2005 to $131 billion by 2010. A recent study found that 72% of shoppers do not believe that national brands are worth the extra cost and 68% believe private labels are an extremely good value. Attendees to this session will learn how to enhance their ability to build store and private-label lines as distinct points of differentiation. They will learn tips on how to capitalize on this opportunity for higher profits and profit margins. Experienced industry experts and retailers who have earned superior sales growth will explain how to create and enhance brand identity for your store through the assortment of products you offer your customers.
Moderator:
Paul Adams, President, Paul Adams & Associates
Speakers:
Leo Braido, Sales & Marketing Director, Riesbeck Food Market, Inc.
Jon Tisch, Director - Supply Chain Sales & Merchandising, Daymon Worldwide
Room: Bordeaux
Fido and Fluffy May Be Your Best New Customer
Pets are a huge business with everything from doggie ice cream, sweaters, cat strollers and even wine-flavored dog treats. Pet supplies now fuel a $37 billion industry and it is growing at a rate of at least 7% annually. Sixty-nine million U.S. households have pets of which 90 million are cats and 77 million are dogs. Pets are considered a member of the family and this means a fantastic opportunity for retailers to increase profits. In this session, manufacturer representatives and retailers will discuss the way pet care departments equal a unique investment for your store.
Moderator:
Lawren Alexander, Student, University of Alabama
Speakers:
Jim Bahrke, Retail Operations Manager, Nestle Purina PetCare Company
Ted Hartwig, Team Leader Central Region, Nestle Purina PetCare Company
Andy Knoblauch, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Coborn’s, Inc.
Room: Chablis
Maximizing the Hispanic Opportunity at the Meat Case
The Hispanic population is the largest and fastest growing of all ethnic groups in America. There are over 45 million Hispanics in the U.S. and Latinos love beef, consuming more of it than the general market at a rate of 4 to 5 times per week! In this session, mainstream retailers will learn why Hispanics are different as consumers, and how to best market beef to them.
You will hear the results of extensive research into the Hispanic meat shopper with a focus on those of Mexican decent. You will learn the factors that affect their decision to shop a particular meat department, what beef cuts are the most popular among Hispanics, which dishes they prepare most often and the marketing tools available to assist you in setting up a “Mini-Carnirceria” in the meat case.
This session will benefit the following people: those who want to learn more about Hispanics and what drives their purchase decisions at the meat case, those who have stores in areas of high Hispanic penetration, those who currently market to Hispanics as well as those who intend to market to Hispanics in the future.
Moderator:
James Evans, Student, Arizona State University
Speaker:
Susan Puentes, Retail Marketing Manager, Western Region, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Presented by The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association / Funded by the Beef Checkoff
Room: Loire
In-Store Media: Sensory Overload or Merchandising Advantage?
With shoppers in many stores being bombarded with media from all directions, what’s a retailer to do with the opportunity? From interactive service kiosks to digital video displays and self-checkouts, champions of in-store media talk about the possibility of laser-targeted promos at the point of purchase decision and the benefits of putting more control into the hands of shoppers. Conversely, detractors complain about the assault on the senses, privacy issues and other shopper turn-offs. How can retailers successfully evaluate in-store media options for promotional effectiveness, customer service benefits and ROI? Which options are more likely to be successful for which type of operation and customer base? A panel of experts will take a look at a variety of in-store options and explore how to best turn a confusing situation into an opportunity.
Moderator:
Al McClain, Chairman/CEO, RetailWire Alliance
Speakers:
Adrian Weidmann, Principal, Adrian Weidmann Consulting, Inc.
Joe Battoe, President, Concept Shopping, Inc.
Stuart Armstrong, President, EnQil North America
|
|
Workshops — Wednesday Session 2
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Room: Versailles 1 & 2
325 Ways to Make Customers Feel Like Your Supermarket is Their Supermarket
(Based on the book by the same name)
Over the past few years traditional supermarkets have lost both sales dollars and “visits” to mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart. In many cases, the independent grocer’s response to the low price competitor has been to try to match price. In reality the most successful retailers have been those who have “avoided head to head competition” and sought to target special customer groups. Two success examples are Whole Foods that targets the organic/health food shopper and Wegman’s that targets the experiential ”foodie” shopper. There are however many untapped markets that could be perfect solutions to avoiding cutting prices and margins.
While the big chains are considering the need to target the market, their bureaucracy and size makes it more difficult to execute these types of changes. The independent grocer is in the idea situation for adopting the strategy of targeting. They are more nimble and can “read” the market quicker than the multi- layered chains. In most cases the changes are very low cost and can be made with the assistance of suppliers.
The biggest change must take place in the mind of the grocer in that he/she must recognize that there will no longer be markets for stores that everybody likes a little, only stores that somebody likes a lot. In this session, we will examine 15 different target markets that are common in most communities and provide both the approach that is necessary and a number of tactical changes that can be made to be
the “perfect” store for that audience.
Moderator:
Dick Casey, President, CNW Foods/Food 4 Less
Speaker:
John Stanton, Professor of Food Marketing, St. Joseph’s University
Room: Versailles 3 & 4
SMALL...It’s the New BIG: the New Wave of Smaller Format Stores
With Tesco’s arrival in the U.S., along with Giant Eagle’s new 14,000 square Express store, smaller supermarket formats are getting serious attention. Many see renewed relevance, however, for smaller footprints. As baby boomers age, they are said to be less willing to walk the aisles of superstores. The limited selection of smaller stores also allows retailers to skew toward a higher-margin mix, and many are concentrating on improved perishables and take-home meal options. Building new smaller stores from the ground up is one thing. But, what about retailers with older, smaller stores? What upgrades should they focus on to stay ahead of the new, down-sized competition? What information from the c-store channel should be applied? A panel of experts will debate the merits and potential pitfalls of the new small format trend... and may come to some surprising conclusions.
Moderator:
Al McClain, Chairman/CEO, RetailWire Alliance
Speaker:
Ryan Mathews, President/CEO, Black Monk Consulting
Jamie Tenser, Principal, VSN Strategies
Room: Burgundy
In-Store Pharmacies – Trends in the Industry
The in-store pharmacy is the ideal way for today’s retailer to cross-merchandise to the health conscience consumer. Pharmacies are selling food products, and supermarkets are adding pharmacies. While customers are waiting for prescriptions to be filled, the pharmacist can direct them to products in the store that can be of benefit for their particular health needs. Many supermarkets are placing their health foods near the pharmacy highlighting products that can be helpful to those with chronic conditions. U.S. prescription drug sales grew 8.3% to $274.9 billion in 2006 with the average cost of a prescription drug at $55. Experts in this area will be giving this presentation to let you know how to take advantage of adding a pharmacy to your store. They will inform you to the “do’s” and “don’ts” when getting started and how to improve the pharmacy you may already have in your store. Simple things like pharmacy placement, signage, and additional services like self service blood testing or health-focused kiosks can make a huge difference in your customer’s satisfaction.
Moderator:
Derrick Goebel, Student, Louisiana State University
Speaker:
Harry Lattanzio, President, PRS Pharmacy Services
Joseph Friedman, Senior Director, Pharmacy Marketing, Nash Finch Company
Room: Bordeaux
Reinforcing the Circle of Trust - The Impact of Food Safety Incidents on Consumer Confidence
Annually, over 5,000 deaths are attributed to foodborne illness, and over the past few years the number and severity of food safety incidents have increasingly commanded public attention.
Consumers are feeling increasingly frustrated and vulnerable, with public sentiment turning toward support of legislation. Since July 2005, The Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota has been tracking consumer confidence in the U.S. food supply. The period covers recent incidents such as the fresh spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, peanut butter and wheat gluten tainted pet food episodes. The workshop will describe how consumer confidence in the food supply chain has been affected, who consumers hold accountable, and how their trust with the retail trade may be impacted. Discussion will then turn to ways retailers can reinforce consumer trust, forge stronger bonds with their customers, and demonstrate that legislation may not be necessary.
Moderator:
Jenny Song, Student, Cornell University
Speaker:
Dennis Degeneffe, Director of Marketing, University of Minnesota
Jean Kinsey, Professor, University of Minnesota
John Paul, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Nash Finch Company
Room: Chablis
Competitor Pricing Strategies: How to Challenge Historical Pricing Practices and Develop Winning Pricing Strategies and Tactics
Historical pricing practices often dictate how pricing strategies and tactics are developed and executed to combat competitors such as Supercenters. Practices such as “matching competition on the top XX items”, “pricing private label within X% of national brands”, and “selling certain key items at or below cost”, have been common for years. By utilizing price modeling and optimization tools, grocery retailers are now able to challenge and refine historical pricing methods to create winning strategies and tactics. Learn the details of how independent grocers have leveraged these tools to refine the way they price, with great success. This session will present the audience with real-live examples of pricing practices that have been challenged and changed with great results.
Moderator:
Charles Pountney, Student, Michigan State University
Speakers:
Lyle Walker, Vice President, Marketing, KSS, Inc.
Mike Beal, Vice President/CFO, Hen House
Room: Lorie
The 10 Mistakes Business Owners Make in Transition of Their Business
Privately owned businesses generate more than 50 percent of America’s gross domestic product and account for 80 percent of new jobs. According to research at Cornell University, baby boomers will transfer 10 trillion dollars to later generations – the largest generational transfer of wealth in history. The vast majority of this wealth is held as stock in more than 12 million privately owned businesses, and during the next 10 –15 years, more than 70 percent of these companies are expected to change hands.
At the same time, numerous family business studies (Gallup, FBI, Mass Mutual) conclude that there is about a 70% to 80% risk that many family businesses have planning that is not effective, is incomplete or is not understood. These studies prove there is a real need for a more proactive approach to planning by business owners to assure that their business continue to grow and prosper and to avoid grim reality that what has taken them a lifetime to build may be lost or severely eroded by estate taxes, legal fees and numerous unknown costs.
The 10 Mistakes Business Owners Make seminar addresses the common mistakes and how to avoid them through state of the art planning strategies and how to go about building a comprehensive “Master Plan” for the preservation and protection of their wealth. Topics covered include succession, long range business planning, family communication, exit strategies, valuation, shareholder compensation, business agreements, defensive and offensive estate planning and other wealth planning tools and techniques. The session includes a discussion of case studies, promotes interaction and discussion with the attendees.
Moderator:
Thomas Caruana, Student, St. Joseph's University
Speakers:
Jim Kirlin, Managing Director, Transition Planning, The Benchmark Group, Inc.
Bill Noto, Co-President, Your Retail Resources, LLC
|
