The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) plans to offer more than 18 hours of education during the 2011 AWMA Show scheduled to take place Feb. 8-10, 2011 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.
“Distributors, brokers, retailers and manufacturers will experience an entirely new event as we continue on the path to re‐invent the Show with an agenda that will rival any industry meeting. An all‐star lineup of speakers includes leading retailers, industry experts and innovators who will cover the top strategic issues facing our industry as well as best practices and business building solutions,” said Keith Canning, managing partner, Pine State Trading Co., and 2011 AWMA Chairman. “The program is designed specifically for executives and management team members who are involved with strategic planning, marketing, purchasing, merchandising and operations. Similar to last year’s show, we will offer concurrent breakout sessions each day allowing team members to attend programs that are aligned with their specific interests,” he added.
Super Sessions
Opening Super Session, Wednesday, Feb. 9; Insights & Perspectives on the Future of Convenience Retailing, Sonja Hubbard, CEO E‐Z Mart Stores, Inc. Hubbard’s presentation kicks of the show and will include insights into the challenges and opportunities that convenience retailers are facing.
Pre‐Expo Super Session, Wednesday, Feb. 9; Surviving the Demographic Tidal Wave, Michael Sansolo, Retail Food Industry Consultant. Sansolo tackles the challenges that leaders face as companies work with multi‐generational workforces with differing values, aspirations, skills and backgrounds.
Closing Super Session, Thursday, Feb. 10; The 2015 Retail Landscape, Todd Hale, senior vice president, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen. Hale explores the “new normal” and provides insights into the post recessionary consumer. His presentation explains the profound adjustments consumers have made in terms of shopping and dining, what they buy and what they watch.
Pre‐Show, Value‐Added Program: Category Management Tuesday, Feb. 8: This special five‐hour program is specifically geared to buyers, category managers, marketing, merchandising, operations and purchasing professionals. Presented by Impact 21, a highly regarded consulting firm specializing in the convenience store industry, this in‐depth session will focus on how category management principles can improve distributors’ businesses including: delivering value added insights and capabilities to retail customers and working with manufacturers to support overall category objectives.
Breakout Sessions
Tobacco – Regulation & Opportunity: This session features a panel of industry experts who will examine both the latest in regulatory/legislative issues surrounding tobacco as well as opportunities in cigars, other tobacco products, and alternative nicotine delivery sectors.
Foodservice-What’s So Difficult? Moderator: Larry Miller, president, Miller Management & Consulting Services Inc. Panelists: Jack Parker, director, Operations & Marketing, Richard Oil Co. Popingo Stores; Brent Taylor, director, Marketing & Merchandising, Tetco Stores Inc. Hear from a panel of retailers as they discuss successful distributor/retailer relationships that serve up foodservice success. In this candid discussion, distributors will gain an understanding of what is involved with building a foodservice program from commitment to equipment to training to the types of programs available.
Small is Beautiful-Profitability for Smaller Companies. Speaker: Al Bates, president, Profit Planning Group. Bates examines the unique profit challenges faced by the smaller distributors of convenience products. The emphasis will be on how being smaller can be turned from an economy of scale challenge to a service advantage.
InfoMetrics-Making Data Driven Decisions That Boost Profits. Moderator: Scott Ramminger, president and CEO, AWMA; panelists: Mark Davenport, president/COO, J.T. Davenport & Sons Inc., Viv Penninti, president and CEO, InfoRhythm Inc., Zeno Corrigan, vice president of Sales & Marketing, Pine State Trading. The AWMA InfoMetrics program isn’t about “data for data’s sake.” It’s about adding dollars to your bottom line-whether you are a distributor or a manufacturer. Hear directly from distributors and manufacturers who are using AWMA InfoMetrics data to improve profitability.
The Role Distributors Must Play in Delivering C‐store Foodservice Success. Speaker: Timothy Powell, director, Research & Consulting Technomic Inc. In this session, attendees will learn what role they can play in menu development as their c‐store retailers continue to aggressively broaden their foodservice offerings on a daily basis.
Convenience Industry Forecast. Speaker: Maureen Maguire, president, ThinkResearch. This annual study provides valuable information about the future of the convenience retailing industry from macro economic trends to their impact on core convenience categories. Maguire discusses dollar and unit projections for key c‐store categories and sub‐categories and provides insights into the future and how to use the data for planning and forecasting.
“I would like to personally urge my fellow wholesale distributors, manufacturer partners and all of our retail customers to take a look at all the AWMA Show has to offer and plan to join us in February for exceptional learning and networking,” added AWMA Chairman Canning.
Beyond the educational sessions, the Show also features more than 200 manufacturers exhibiting in the expo as well as a new Foodservice Pavilion highlighting the latest foodservice products, programs and equipment for the convenience retailing industry.
