Agenda

Mastermind Toys’ CEO Sarah Jordan shares her journey of reinventing a beloved Canadian brand, while empowering their renowned team of Play Experts in stores, their Warehouse and Play HQ, to deliver moments of wonder for customers. Sarah dives into lessons learned in leading a purpose-driven organization, from defining and articulating your brand purpose to creating a culture of customer obsession by focusing on the employee experience. Through launching a market-leading digital ecosystem to unveiling a new sub-brand and namesake private brand collection, Mastermind Toys is on a growth trajectory and, in this session, Sarah shares how the power of authentic storytelling to all stakeholders ignites a retailer’s potential.

Today’s remarkable retail experiences are empowering and engaging the customer enabling them to shop however, wherever and whenever they want. In this session retailers discuss how they are leveraging digital opportunities to engage and delight customers be it online or in-store. Learn what it takes to be a digital leader and the intrinsic value for the newest generation of consumers.

Fast Five Sponsor Highlight

Digitization for Retail is top of mind and understanding how to take your security technology to the next level will enable you to make it a profit centre. Rick Snook, Director Business Development, Telus Business, shares the more important information about cloud technology and how it enhances business, security and customer experience so you can make better decisions going forward.

The uncertainty isn’t over as Canadian face a significant shift in economic conditions with skyrocketing inflation. How will this impact decision making for customers and what opportunities does it present for retailers? Attend this session for an informative update from Leger’s Jason Allsop with a focus on consumers in Western Canada.

Leading retailers are not just driving diversity through their HR Strategy, but also developing initiatives to increase diverse representation through the products they sell. Best Buy’s Zayn Jaffer, Chief Category Officer sits down to chat about the Best Buy strategy to support and engage Indigenous and Blacked owned businesses coming to market. 

In the face of rapidly changing internet technology retail marketers are challenged to build strong bonds between their brands and consumers. With the demise of the third-party cookie, building and measuring this bond will become even more of a challenge. In this session, Scott Feldman, Canadian CI360 Solutions executive with SAS shares how to capitalize on the opportunity of “madtech”, the convergence of marketing and advertising technology and how to prepare from a consumer experience perspective. Retailers can now feel confident about how to build a holistic, compelling customer experience across new digital channels such as streaming, in-game, and in-app as well as new environments like the metaverse.

Finding and recruiting top talent is a priority for all retailers. In a wildly competitive employment market what does it take for your brand to stand out and have the offer accepted? In this session our panel debates the best practices for hiring, keys to retention and modern compensation expectations. Discover what tweaks to your process can have the biggest impact in bringing aboard the newest and strongest team members.

Digital surfaces have become the epicenter of product discovery, transforming the shopping journey, moving people from ‘Going Shopping’ to ‘Always Shopping’. How do Retailers ensure that they are meeting the right people at the right time? From hyper-personalized content, to influencer led discovery, to the personalization and digitization of the print flyer, attendees will hear the latest in discovery commerce trends from Meta before diving into a panel discussion on how retailers are applying this thinking to marketing approaches and driving ROI.

Expectations of consumer engagement in retail are growing and retailers of all sizes are leveraging the power of influencers to connect with new audiences and deepen relationships to humanize their brands and build community. This session explores better strategies to engage influencers, what you might not know about community building across various platforms and how this can be leveraged to increase sell-through and create scalable programs built to grow brand engagement.

Retailers across Canada are eager to understand the mindset and behaviours of the more than 1.8 million Chinese-Canadian consumers. In a reality where shopping is truly becoming boundless, what is the new learning retailers can incorporate from the behaviours of Chinese consumers as it relates to the evolving meaning of “buy whatever, whenever and wherever”. KPMG’s National Leader for Consumer and Retail, Kostya Polyakov, explores buying behaviors and how these trends are continuing to shape the retail industry. A special focus will be given to how these trends are amplified in Western Canada.

Fast Five Sponsor Highlight

In 2021, the retail industry in B.C. had an injury rate of 2.32, which was higher than the provincial average of 2.24. In addition, time-loss claims costs in the industry totaled nearly 95 million dollars. More than one-third were due to sprains and strains caused by overexertion and repetitive motion, also known as musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) and include disorders of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, nerves, blood vessels, and soft tissues. Megan Martin, Manager of Consultation and Education Services at WorkSafeBC, shares insights on how to prevent injuries in the workplace and keep workers safe from MSIs.

Calgary Co-op’s CEO Ken Keelor is shaking up the future of grocery by reimagining how their co-operative can better serve its members while creating a more sustainable future. Ken Keelor sits down for a fireside chat to discuss how the in-store experience is evolving, becoming more sustainable and how they are serving smaller communities with the strength of the network. Calgary Co-op is not only focused on targeting food insecurity but is ensuring equitable access to grocery goods be it online with their new ecommerce solution, shopping in store, or with their partnership with local foodbanks, proving they know exactly what it means to put Calgarians first.

As retailers emerge out of a pressure filled period that accelerated plans and instigated change, leaders are charting a new path. Christine Day, co-founder and CEO of The House of LR&C, joins us to discuss the evolution of retail strategy with insights that include 20 years experience as head of Starbucks Asia-Pacific division and time as CEO of Lululemon Athletica. From global footprints to modern start ups, Christine chats about the changing retail cycle, challenges of customer acquisition and the way in which business models are informed by the way customers are shopping now.