Top Reasons Why We’re Attending This Year’s STORE Conference

Cyber crime in Canada. Cutting-edge global retail trends. Amazon and Alibaba’s goals for world domination. Results of a first-ever Canadian e-commerce benchmark study. These and other topics are why we’re attending this year’s Retail Council of Canada STORE Conference in Toronto, on June 2 and 3. It’s the largest retail industry conference in Canada, attracting over 2,000 leaders from the retail, supplier, and consumer products community. There’s still time to register. Here’s our top picks for why we’ll be attending, including some fascinating presenters discussing a wide range of retail industry topics. 
 
First off, cyber crime. Now that the U.S. is introducing card chip technology, it’s forecasted that criminals will turn their attention to Canada. FBI Cyber Operations Section Chief Christopher Stangl will be discussing the topic, including trends and what retailers can do for protection. He will be joined by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Michael Eubanks for the session Cyber Crime: A Modern Threat to Retail Security. 

Saks Fifth Avenue is coming to Canada, and improvements continue to be made to Hudson’s Bay. Both topics have gained thousands of readers on Retail Insider, and Hudson’s Bay Company CEO Gerald Storch will discuss the future of retail, including his company’s plans to significantly beef up e-commerce operations to compliment skyrocketing brick-and-mortar sales. 

Uber. Airbnb. Etsy. Shopify. These disruptors can teach retailers a lot, as they’re breaking the rules and winning while doing it. Shopify’s Chief Platform Officer will moderate a three-person panel discussing exciting innovations in the session titled Digital Disruptors Symposium: Learn From the Innovators & Rulebreakers!
 
We consider this presentation to be very important– the results of a first-ever Canadian e-commerce benchmarking study will be revealed at the conference. Forester Research assisted with the study and results will be discussed the morning of June 2 at Breakthrough Exclusive Research: The 1st Annual RCC eCommerce Benchmark. 
 
Another big trend, video, is now helping transform the way people shop. Founder and CEO of Joyus.com, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, will provide a fascinating presentation on how video is becoming a critical component of what defines an engaging e-commerce site in her presentation How Video is Transforming the Way People Shop. 

Behemoth Alibaba is, by far, the world’s largest online marketplace. It’s growing rapidly, and it’s also a great way for Canadian retailers to reach the massive Chinese market. Sherri Wu of Alibaba will present the topic Scaling the Great Wall of China: A Conversation with Alibaba.  
 
The world’s second-largest online player, Amazon, is using groceries to connect with consumers more frequently. ‘Retail Prophet’ Doug Stephens will join Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon to provide an insider’s perspective on the ultimate retail disruptor. They’ll discuss how Amazon is disrupting retail through innovative technology such as Amazon Dash – a device in your kitchen where you scan products to be sent to your home. Amazon is also looking to get into the brick-and-mortar game, as it looks to reinvent the role of the store. 
 
There’s even a contest called the ‘ReBoot Challenge’. You can vote from a selection of startup companies which provide support (including technology) to retailers – they will briefly discuss their businesses, and the winner gets to present their winning product or solution to the RCC Board of Directors. Judges include Freshii CEO Matthew Corrin, a top 40 under 40 who also won last year’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Learning from the best often means looking internationally, and the conference will feature speakers from popular Italian food concept Eataly, as well as the founder of super-innovative Dutch food retailer Bilder & De Clercq. We’re eagerly anticipating the session Retail Without Boundaries: Innovation Around the World. We’ll also be attending Store Operations in the Modern Age of Retail, featuring COO’s from The Running Room, Roots Canada, easyhome Ltd., and the charismatic Kevin Graff of Graff Retail Inc. 

Come join Retail Insider in Toronto for the Retail Council of Canada STORE Conference next week. The education and networking opportunities will be priceless. To learn more and to register, visit www.storeconference.ca.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: May 25, 2015