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Programs and Events
All Programs and Events are FREE of charge. No advance registration required.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
BUYER & EXHIBITOR OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION
WINE TASTING EVENT
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Seminar: The Basics of Emotional, Sensory and Visual Presentation
Speaker: Linda Cahan, Visual Expert
Combine the six senses with excellent visual merchandising and watch sales soar! Learn how to make your store and brand memorable using emotional and sensory merchandising. You will receive a semester of practical knowledge and inspiration in an hour and a half including the basics of great design, how, why & when to use color, lighting, signage and display ideas.
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: Deck the Halls, Windows & Walls (Holiday Celebration & Displays)
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: Fall’s Abundance-Bountiful Giftbaskets Featuring Gourmet Food Items & More With an Autumn Focus
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Buyer & Exhibitor Buyer & Exhibitor Summer BBQ Reception
Washington State Convention & Trade Center
4th Floor Terrace
Get in the summer spirit while you network with your industry peers and enjoy complimentary food and live entertainment. Cash bar.
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Seminar: Find ‘em, Hire ‘em and Keep ‘em
Speaker: Rick Segel, Retail Consultant, Author
This non-traditional program offers creative means of obtaining the perfect staff and of how to create a productive work environment that builds loyalty to help your company survive and grow. Rick Segel is the author of such books as Retail Business Kit for Dummies, the #1 selling retail how-to book in the US and The Essential Online Solution: A Five Step Formula for Small Business Success. He has authored retail assessment surveys for Microsoft, is the marketing expert for Staples.com, Director of Retail Training for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and is a founding member of the Retail Advisory Council.
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: Wrap it Up (Ribbons, Paper, Trims & Bows – Dazzle the Customers)
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Seminar: Making Your Website More Competitive…A Website Review Sharing the Hot Techniques to Adopt and Adapt
Speaker: Rick Segel, Retail Consultant, Author
When was the last time you shopped the competition? When was the last time you shopped other types of stores just to get ideas? Now when did you do it online? It is difficult to shop your direct competitor but you can do it online anytime you feel like it.
The problem is we don’t. The other issue is what should we be looking for? In this program, you will not only have a guided tour of some of the best sites on the web but you will also learn some of the tricks and tools used in the sites that make them so successful. This will all be in terms that retailers understand, complete with an idea of the types of costs that are associated with them. Let Rick Segel be your mystery online shopper and uncover trends, tools, and treasures that will make you money. Let’s enjoy the ride!
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: Pamper Yourself With Products That Make You Feel Special (Candles, Chocolates, Spa Products, Jewelry & More)
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Wine Tasting – Benefit For Gift For Life
NEW LOCATION - RENAISSANCE HOTEL (short walk from WSCTC)
Join your friends and colleagues for a relaxing evening of wine tasting, featuring some of Washington’s most sought after vineyards paired with hors d’ oeuvres. There is no charge for this event and all proceeds from the wine sales will benefit Gift For Life, the gift industry’s charitable organization benefiting AIDS research.
This event will now be held in a beautiful new settting - at the Renaissance Hotel, a short walk from the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Seminar: Store Design - Tell Your Story
Speaker: Debi Ward Kennedy, Retail Designer, Speaker, Writer
Based on design work with wineries in Washington State, Retail Designer Debi Ward Kennedy will introduce the principle of Terrior - the French concept of ' Pride of Place'. Information will focus on the individual and unique story that each independent retailer has to tell. No one else can tell this story like you can!
Based on your location, your products, your customers, and your business 'personality', you can create a retail environment that tells your own story. Deb will discuss and demonstrate how to make choices and changes that will elevate your visual impact, brand image, and sales.
1. How to arrange your store, including traffic patterns, architecture, and shopping habits of your customers.
2. Planning display areas based on scale, lighting, viewpoints & perspective.
3. Making design choices to build your brand image and tell your own story: color, style, materials.
4. How to take your store’s current look and add/expand it to another style or change to keep up with the changing trends (including Eco-trends).
Even better, the idea is based on using what you already have in the way of props, fixtures, etc. and rethinking them to serve in a new capacity and with a new look. Resources include suppliers and suggestions for finding inexpensive fixtures & props, plus a listing of exhibitors at the show who have provided items for use in a dynamic stage display.
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: “The Northwest Feeling” – The Importance of Handcrafted Local Products and How to Place Them Center Stage For Maximum Profit
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Seminar: Practically Magic In-Store Promotions – The Independent Storeowners Guide to Competing With the Giants
Speaker: Bettie Edwards, Proprietor – Little House, Vashon Island
-Energize your business with in-store promotions that sizzle
-Optimize your loyal customer base to increase traffic in your store
-Make magic in your store on a tight budget
-Create an atmosphere of fun, fresh and fabulous
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Product Demonstration Theater: “The Green Factor” – Environmentally Conscious Shoppers Appreciate Your Store’s Attention to the Green Industry
Facilitator: Sue Kirby, Speaker, Author
