Canadian Retailer - Store 2014 - 46

STORE 2014 AT A GLANCE

STORE CONFERENCE 2014: RETAIL 360
EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME
BY SEAN C. TARRY
THIS YEAR'S STORE Conference delivered some of the best
speakers and content to date. Here are Canadian Retailer's
top ten takeaways from a conference packed with innovation,
creativity, energy and excitement:
SportChek's store of the future

Fully decked out with merchandise, price tags and all,
digital screens and signage, interactive displays and equipment and, of course, friendly and helpful staff, Canadian Tire
Corporation brought a SportChek pop-up store to this year's
conference. As Michael Medline, President of Canadian Tire
Corporation pointed out, what would have
taken them nearly two months to accomplish
just a couple years ago now takes only twoand-a-half days. Delegates at STORE were
left in wonder at the smart and effective visuals and clean look of the store. As Medline
also pointed out, pop-up stores can be a very
profitable and flexible side of the business,
one which in the end serves the customer
better, for retailers who are keen enough to
embrace new technology.

In the grocery aisle

The annual STORE Conference means
many things, including the arrival once
again of the Grocery and Consumer Goods
Leadership Symposium. This year's symposium discussed the future of grocery, the
ways grocers and manufacturers need to
push their organizations to think differently
to continue to adapt and thrive, and the importance of building a relationship of trust
and value between consumers and the brand.

E-commerce in Canada

The full value of enabling stores with the function and capability to sell online to consumers was evident at this year's
conference. In a session delivered by Keith Anderson, Vice
President and Senior Analyst at Retail Net Group, delegates
were presented with some assumptions for the future that will
change the way markets will operate, including the fact that by
2022 e-commerce will grow to 10% of all Canadian retail. Anderson also discussed some of the barriers to e-commerce in
Canada, including population distribution, limited assortment
and customs and tariffs. He also highlighted the drivers to
e-commerce, which include evolving consumer expectations
and the Millennia consumer. In the end, Anderson advises
that retailers move fast and learn by doing.
The voice of independent retail

Aligning bricks and mortar and online

With a number of sessions at the conference touching directly on the topic of omnichannel, and many others indirectly touching on it, it's clear that to compete today, retailers
have got to build a seamless experience for the customers
across multiple channels. From the challenges and barriers
to the opportunities and drivers, retailers discussed ways to
adapt omnichannel strategies to modern consumer behaviour while maintaining the excellent standard of service that
today's consumer expects from retailers.

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canadian retailer | store 2014 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Once again, the STORE Conference offered delegates the opportunity to attend
sessions that featured content geared toward independent retailers. Topics ranged
from leadership and innovation, communitybased strategies to grow small business and
competing for retail real-estate. In addition, a
MySTORE meet and greet reception was held
at the end of the first day of the conference to
provide an opportunity for networking.
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