Delivering and Exceeding "The Customer Experience"
Retail Council of Canada Presents STORE 2007
Toronto, May 8, 2007 – STORE 2007, Canada's Retail Conference, will challenge retail leaders to rethink, enhance and improve "The Customer Experience." Presented by Retail Council of Canada (RCC), this two-day event offers more than 700 attendees an innovative and interactive environment where retailers can come together to hear from their peers and industry experts, discuss issues and exchange innovative ideas to do business and build relationships. This year's conference will deliver a roster of speakers who understand how to meet customer needs, solve problems and anticipate what customers will want next.
The Details:
What: STORE 2007, Canada's Retail Conference
When: June 4-5, 2007
Where: Toronto Congress Centre, 650 Dixon Road, Toronto, ON
STORE 2007 boasts an exciting line-up of well-known retailers and experts, including:
- Loblaw Companies Ltd. — Mark Foote, President and Chief Merchandising Officer, and Dalton Philips, COO
- Lowe's Canada — Doug Robinson, President
- Pollara — Michael Marzolini, Chairman and CEO
- Research In Motion — Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO
- Running Room Canada Inc. — John Stanton, President and Founder
Monday, June 4 Session Highlight:
Customer-centricity and The Best Buy Success Story: Robert Willett, CEO, Best Buy International
Best Buy has re-imagined its retail concept to focus intensively on customer needs. This "customer-centricity" concept has been incorporated into everything, from the supply chain to store design to product placement. In this session, Mr. Willett will discuss strategies and implementation of this new customer-focused strategy and the impact it has on the Best Buy customer experience.
Tuesday, June 5 Session Highlight:
The Customer Experience in 2012:
Laine Ferguson, Executive Vice-President, Canada Operations, The Body Shop Canada
Jonathan Hill, President and CEO, Liquidation World Inc.
Ian Landy, President and COO, Henry's
Willy Kruh, Consumer and Industrial Businesses, KPMG LLP (Moderator)
What customers want today isn't necessarily what they will want five years from now. Technology, demographics, trends, competition, and dozens of other factors shape how customers experience retail. In this session, a panel of retailers will talk about the customer experience in 2012 and how re-branding, research, good hiring and smart planning provide the foundation for future success.
For a complete list of speakers and sessions, log onto www.storeconference.ca
In addition to compelling presentations, STORE also celebrates achievement in the retail industry by hosting:
- Excellence in Retailing Awards Dinner, Monday, June 4, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., recognizes this year's recipients of the Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Awards.
- Canadian Retail Hall of Fame Luncheon, Tuesday, June 5, from 1:30 – 3 p.m., where one outstanding retailer will be inducted into the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame and where RCC will award $27,000 in scholarships to students seeking a career in the retail industry.
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants.
Media are invited to attend STORE 2007. For more information and to RSVP, contact: Stephanie Petroff, Manager, National Public Affairs, (416) 922-0553, ext. 228; e-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org; or Meredith Smith, Account Manager, Pipeline Communications, (416) 694-2777, ext. 223; e-mail: meredith@pipelinecommunications.ca.