2020 Conference Schedule
Tuesday, April 14
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8:00 a.m.—-1:00 p.m.
9:30—11:00 a.m.
11:00-11:15 a.m.
11:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
12:15-12:30 p.m.
12::30—1:30 p.m.
1:30—-4:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
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Registration Open
Opening Keynote—Teresa Lewis
Leadership from Within; Re-igniting the Passion We all have numerous leadership roles; at work, at home, in our communities and in service organizations. With increasing demands and competing priorities, how can we keep inspired to lead and be effective role models at work, and in all areas of life? Learn how in this engaging presentation and leave refreshed and ready to tackle challenges! At this session, you will:
Teresa Lewis is an inspirational speaker and mindset coach based in Fargo ND. Her background includes 16 years in human resources leadership, four years on a Christian radio morning show and several years of working with organizations to provide solutions for employee well-being. She is currently a Talent Management Consultant with Sanford Health. Teresa and her husband have two college-age daughters plus one who came in the form of a foreign exchange student. Connect with Teresa on Facebook and LinkedIn at TeresaInspires Break
Building Healthy Supplier Partnerships—Jon Bibo, CEO, ICBA
Finding common ground between retailers and suppliers to mutually build sales and profits is more important than ever, so find out why sharing data, developing closer collaborations, and mutual problem-solving is essential to success for all parties (including consumers!). A free Supplier Scorecard/Rating tool, developed by ICBA with input from Member Stores and Vendor Partners, will also be discussed and shared with attendees. Break
Business Luncheon
Vendor Show
Dinner and evening entertainment
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Wednesday, April 15
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7:30—-9:00 a.m.
9:00 —10:30 a.m.
10:30-10:45 a.m.
11:00 a.m.-12:00p.m.
12:00-1:00 p.m.
1:00-2:00 p.m.
2:00-2:15 p.m.
2:15-2:40 p.m.
10:30—11:30 a.m.
2:40-3:15 p.m.
3:15-3:30 p.m.
3:30-3:50 p.m.
3:50-4:15 p.m.
4:15-4:45 p.m.
4:45-5:00 p.m.
5:00-7:00 p.m.
5:30-7:00 p.m.
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Breakfast
Breakout Sessions
Successfully Managing The Evolution of Course Materials: Highlights and Key Takeaways from the 2020 ICBA Course Materials Institue—Sonda Uitermarkt, ICBA VP of Membership & Operations ICBA recently conducted an extensive educational institute focusing on Course Materials with over 60 students and more than 15 faculty members. This session will share excerpts, highlights, and key takeaways to help you succeed in this rapidly changing businesses. The key theme of the content will be: “Where Have We Been? Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going? What’s The Path To Success?” With that in mind, various topics will be addressed including:
Successful Strategies for Assortment Planning—Joh Bibo, CEO, ICBAS Growing sales is more important than ever but developing the right strategies for managing product and category assortments challenging. To achieve success, retail must develop clear philosophies and implement smart techniques to develop product assortments that match your goals and to appeal to your specific customer base. This session will discuss assortment strategies that can apply to stores of all types and sizes. Topics that will be addressed include:
Break
Round Tables
Lunch
Transportation to Blue 84
Tour of Blue 84 Facility
The Blue 84 facility is state of the art (no pun intended!) and we always get rave reviews from our showing it off. It’s educational, entertaining (depending on the tour guide), and interesting. The Blue 84 Story, as told by the CEO
Hear from our co-CEO and/or president how we started, and how we ultimately became a successful $100 million dollar manufacturing powerhouse here in little old Detroit Lakes. Spoiler alert – our culture plays a big role, and we view it as a significant competitive advantage. We’ll tell you all about it. Social Responsibility
Blue 84 was recently accredited by the Fair Labor Association, and it really is a big deal. It matters a lot to us, and we’re hearing that it matters a lot to some of your customers. Folks nowadays want to know that the goods they buy were manufactured under fair circumstances, and we’ll show how you can leverage the halo effect of partnering with a vendor like us that actually walks this talk. Employee Engagement
In 2020 Blue 84 is basically at full employment, and acquiring and retaining employees is incumbent for success. That certainly applies in Detroit Lakes, yet we do better than anyone in town. Here we’ll share details of what sets us apart from other employers and keeps us as the favorite place to work in the area (and it’s not because we pay the most, either). Break
Grab a snack and/or a drink, check some email, stretch the legs. Product Development
What’s new in college apparel and accessories? Don’t get us started. We’ll share all the newest styles, fits, art, and trends. Plus we have access to some incredibly cool co-branding opportunities that will really get the creative juices flowing. Lifestyle/Resort Crossover
Every campus has those unique touchstones that are completely unique to them – a lake, activity, saying, building, etc. They’re beloved by students and alumni alike, and they offer a chance at a unique look that is outside old-school college apparel. These designs are driving incremental sales for our customers (they aren’t being bought in lieu of traditional college garments, they’re being bought in addition), they’re much easier to get placed from a licensing perspective, and we have a massive library of resort artwork that allows the process to get fast tracked. Hot Market
Yeah, we know that most of your schools aren’t going to and winning prestigious bowl games. That being said, even smaller schools can have massive events that are unique selling opportunities that require logistical execution that is precise. College Game Day at SDSU and the Johnnie/Tommy game at Allianz Field are two such examples just within the past couple of months. We’ll talk about how these unique opportunities can be wrung for all they’re worth, as they’re worth massive amounts. Day Recap/ Q&A
Certainly questions will be entertained throughout the day, but here we’ll open it up to any topic you have – either subjects we covered previously, or new ones altogether. Refreshments & Dinner
Hang out for some refreshments and dinner on us. We’re not sure exactly what we’ll serve yet, but promise that it will be good, the drinks cold, and that Joe’s famous peanut butter balls will be making an appearance. Transportation to the Holiday Inn
Depart for home. Safe travels. See you next year in Duluth.
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