Editors Share Their Most Memorable RIC Moments
The 2019 Retail Innovation Conference, set to take place a little more than two months from now on May 6-8 in NYC, will give retail executives the chance to gain key insights from today’s leading industry innovators, to help them meet and exceed their own business goals.
As past RIC events have shown, there are plenty of “a-ha” moments from the thought-provoking keynotes, panel discussions, breakout sessions, Store Tours — and even from fellow attendees during the event’s many networking opportunities.
The RTP editors share their favorite memories from past RIC events, and why they stood out. What will you remember best from RIC 2019?
Debbie Hauss, Executive Director, Content: Each year, I’m excited to bring together a variety of retail leaders, experts and innovators to share their stories and motivate their colleagues. I’m looking forward to hearing from our fantastic speaker lineup May 7 and 8. One feature of the event that I’m particularly thrilled about for RIC19 is our exclusive annual Store Tours, scheduled for Monday, May 6. This year we’re bringing groups of execs to the newest retail destination in New York City — Hudson Yards! I toured the site (still under construction) last week and I know it’s going to be an impressive, unique first-time look at some of the most innovative retail spaces in the center of the retail world. We’ll be announcing the tour visits shortly, so stay tuned and register for RIC19 to secure your spot!
Adam Blair, Editor: My sharpest memory of the Retail Innovation Conference goes a long way back, to May 2016 (well, that feels like a long time ago). Keynote speaker Ken Hughes came up with what I consider a perfect explanatory metaphor for the ways consumer attitudes and behavior have changed: the “Blue Dot.” He unfolded a clumsy paper map (remember those?) and noted that in order to use one, an individual had to know where he was in relation to the wider world. But Google Maps, etc. now automatically place each consumer at the center of the map, creating a “you are here” Blue Dot. “That consumer is not a small part of a big world; they are the world, and they are at its center,” said Hughes. “Today in retail, everything is about the shopper.” The expectations consumers have today — not just that they are at the center of the world, but that they can expect to be guided through their journeys/transactions, step by step — seem even more relevant in 2019 as they did nearly three years ago.
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: Last year, I covered a session with analyst/consultant Steven Dennis, in which he explained a lot of the challenges many retailers were experiencing in the midst of Amazon’s growth. The session stood out so vividly because this RIC was the first one following all the “retail apocalypse” doom-and-gloom headlines of 2017. It was good to see a lot of the reasons why companies had faltered, and what they could learn going ahead. Of all the pieces of advice for what retailers needed to do, Steve’s was some of the bluntest — “don’t be boring.” Steve gave seven steps, with real-world examples, showing how retailers could ensure they weren’t boring or “straddling the middle,” where they “end up not really good at anything.” At a time when many retailers were scrambling to figure out their own strategy for relevance, this session hit hard with practical advice that I keep note of whenever I see retailers continuing to struggle.
Bryan Wassel, Associate Editor: For me, the most memorable speaker at RIC18 was Chris McCann, President and CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, who explained how his company has remained ahead of the curve for more than three decades. That, to me, was at the heart of innovation: not just hopping on the latest trend and riding it for as long as you can, but actively searching for each upcoming breakthrough and getting in on the ground floor. Even the company’s name tells that journey, combining the well-known 1-800-Flowers brand with an acknowledgement that e-Commerce has completely supplanted phone-based and catalog retailing. This was the retailer that was investing in mobile technology during the Great Recession — a time when its competitors were cutting back and smartphones were still in their infancy. That fact has made McCann’s observations stick with me, and I think retailers would do well to follow in the company’s footsteps and get their conversational commerce platforms up to speed.