Retail Business Symposium offers up best practices, next big ideas

DSN Retailing Today, June 27, 2005

At DSN Retailing Today's annual Retail Business Symposium attendees had the opportunity to hear retail industry leaders speak on a number of hot-button issues including how technology in the home will transform consumer lifestyles and the creative process behind truly innovative store design. The summit was held May 25 in New York at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel and sponsored by Haier America.

Following a market overview presentation by DSNRT editor-in-chief Tim Craig, former Wal-Mart senior vice chairman Don Soderquist presented the event's opening keynote speech. Soderquist, brandishing a copy of Aesop's Fables, stressed to symposium attendees that moral absolutes exist and must be followed in order for a company to be able to move "from good to great" and to maintain long-term success.

"Error is error. Truth is truth. It is wrong to lie, cheat and steal," Soderquist said. "It is a myth to think, 'Everybody else is doing it, so we must do it in order to compete.' Wrong, wrong, wrong!"

Soderquist also spoke about company culture, and how employees and corporate vision are instrumental for traversing the path from good to great.

"If you're going to be a successful company, you have to have the best people you can get ... and you have to have a vision that is more than just the financial."

In closing, Soderquist encouraged attendees to help move their companies from good to great. "But it doesn't happen over night," he cautioned.

The symposium also featured the Hot Tech Trends roundtable--moderated by DSNRT senior editor Laura Heller--that looked at future developments in consumer technology. The panelists included Andy Berman, senior vp of new business development at RadioShack; John Mlynski, ceo of HDTV Warehouse; and Lenny Paul, vp and gm of appliances at Haier America.

"We see the future home being one with smart appliances. By using wireless networking and RFID, home appliances will talk to each other," Paul explained. "In the future, your refrigerator will create a shopping list for you."

Other presenters at the symposium included Clive Cashman, corporate communications manager at IKEA; Jim Shea, evp of merchandising and marketing at AutoZone; Steven Michaelson, president of FreshDirect; Neil Stern, senior parter at McMillian/Doolittle; Michael Westphal, senior vp of marketing at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service; Christine Augustine, analyst at Bear Stearns; Ian McGarrigle, editor and brand development director at Retail Week; and Gloria Park Bartolone, vp of the retail research group at Maritz Research.

The closing keynote speech was given by James Damian, senior vp of Best Buy, who encouraged attendees to challenge conventional thinking in regards to retail store design and to resist the fear of reinventing a successful operation.

"The greatest threat isn't change--it is complacency," Damian said. "When you have the good fortune to have success--reinvent yourself." Likening the creative process to the Big Bang theory he noted that fire and chaos was the first step in the process and order eventually followed.

DSN Retailing Today presented two categories of awards at this year's Retail Business Symposium--Hot Product of the Year (items launched between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2004, with a target market that includes all chains throughout the food, drug and mass channels) and the FIRE awards (Finest in Retailing across 10 merchandizing categories).

Hot Product of the Year winners for 2005 included Ready Rice by Uncle Ben's (food), the Executive Shredder by InnoDesk (office products/stationery), the M3Power Razor by Gillette (health and beauty), the Auto Dry Carwash by Mr. Clean (automotive), the Nintendo DS handheld game console by Nintendo (toys), the Straight-Line Rolling Tape by Irwin Industrial Tools; the Home Cafe Pod Dispenser by Applica (home goods/housewares), the iPod by Apple (consumer electronics), the Tagless "T" by Sara Lee Branded Apparel and the Hit-A-Way Baseball by Pro Performance Sports (sporting goods).

FIRE Award winners for 2005 included DSW Shoe Warehouse (apparel), Best Buy (CE and entertainment), OfficeMax (office supplies), Pep Boys (automotive), Lowe's (hardware/DIY), JCPenney (home goods and housewares), Super Stop & Shop (food and consumables), Target (toys), Gander Mountain (sporting goods) and CVS (health and beauty care).

2005 Winners

The following awards for Finest in Retailing (FIRE) and Hot Product of the Year were presented to 10 retailers and 10 manufacturers, respectively, at this year's Retail Business Symposium.

Tagtess "T", Sara Lee Branded Apparel

Home Cafe, Applica/Procter & Gamble

iPod, Apple Inc.

Ready Rice, Uncle Ben's

Executive Shredder, InnoDesk

AutoDry Carwash, Mr. Clean/Procter & Gamble,

Hit-A-Way Baseball, Pro Performance Sports

Nintendo DS, Nintendo Inc.

Rubbermaid Strait-Line Rolling Tape Irwin Industrial Toots/Newell

M3Power Razor, Gillette

Category

Apparel & Accessories

Home Goods & Houseware

CE & Entertainment