It is said that the devil is in the detail; so let me tell you about all the important details as to why you can’t afford to miss this year’s ‘How to be a retail champion’ themed iDay.
The NEG Conference, ‘A Digital Response to a Digital Age’, is in its usual November slot – this year being on Sunday 6 – with iDay following on Monday, November 7.
Detail 1: Awesome keynote speakers
I am delighted that our principle keynote speaker, opening and closing this years conference, is independent retail guru Clare Rayner. Clare is a business owner, retail expert, consumer champion, high street campaigner and micro business backer. Her expertise has led to her becoming a popular and highly respected speaker and media commentator, sharing her knowledge on a wide range of retail and consumer topics. She is frequently invited to appear on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, BBC, Sky, and Channel 5 News, as well as several radio broadcasts to offer advice and ideas for retailers.
Clare (pictured left) is engaged as a retail consultant, business coach and mentor and has spoken at conferences and events around the world. Her topics include all things retail, the changing consumer, and the future of the high street. Clare’s actively involved in the Support for Independent Retail campaign and the Future High Street Summit.
A best-selling author, Clare wrote The Retail Champion: 10 Steps to Retail Success, 2012. This was shortly followed by How to Sell to Retail: The Secrets of Getting Your Product to Market in February 2013.
Joining Clare are two CEOs with completely different approaches and offering for the market. Firstly, there is CrossEyes founder Søren Møller who comes from a non-optical background and got into the business by chance on a visit to Hong Kong back in 2009. A 27-year old Søren visited his good friend Ryan (now partner and co-founder of CrossEyes Eyewear) and as they were catching up over a beer, the conversation quickly turned to Ryan’s new edgy glasses. That was the moment when the idea of CrossEyes Eyewear was born. Søren extended his stay, they travelled around South-East Asia to meet manufacturers of high quality frames and lenses, deciding that only the best of the best would do.
Søren will share his insights into optical retailing and the CrossEyes business model. He very much thinks of his business as being independent and he has an interesting approach to optical retail, that I am confident delegates will benefit from hearing. While not everyone will agree with his views it can only be healthy to better understand your competition and, you never know, some might pick up a few good tips.
In addition to Clare and Søren bringing expertise from outside optics, I am pleased that our second CEO, Imran Hakim, has agreed to speak at iDay once again. He is a big supporter of our event following his debut speaking in 2010. As you might expect from the man who invented the iTeddy, Imran understands the importance of embracing technology. I know delegates will enjoy his insight into how technological developments can help independents align their product and service offering with the needs and wants of their customers.’
Detail 2: Strong supporting cast from the independent sector
The strong supporting cast are top speakers from the optical industry and will pick up on some of Clare’s ‘10-steps to retail success’. These speakers are all optical professionals who have ‘walked-the-talk’ and offer tremendous experience and expertise in the subjects they have agreed to cover.
How to be a retail champion main symposium programme for Independents Day, Monday, November 7, 2016
Identifying your ideal customer
First up is Scottish optometrist Ian Cameron. Ian is managing director of Cameron Optometry, a practice of the year winner in 2013. Those who remember his debut in 2010 will know he is a man not afraid to speak his mind and who demonstrates the courage of his convictions. Ian has gone to great lengths to identify his ideal consumer and importantly the type of patients he wants in his practice. He will share how he has got to a level where he knows his ideal customer so well that they are as familiar as an old friend.
Creating a range plan and stock mastery
Conor Heaney is an unusual optometrist, in that he loves selling eyewear. As such this has been the focus of his practice, Jones & Co, for many years. He has strong views on ‘selling’ and brings this conviction to clients of his consultancy the Optical Success Academy. He is passionate about selecting the correct product range and keeping on top of stock holding. He will present how to construct a range plan and how to make range planning robust and repeatable, as well as the common mistakes made.
Designing your customer engagement process
In the afternoon fellow CLO and marketing guru David Samuel will discuss the four-step cycle of customer engagement – attraction, conversion, retention and finally recommendation. I have known David for years and he has always had a glass half-full approach to life and business. David has been at the helm of independent group Eyesite in the south of England as CEO for many years, overseeing its growth to its six current practices. He also coaches and speaks on a wide range of topics, always challenging independent practitioners to examine their own businesses to improve and enhance their practice performance, reputation and value.
Implementing your pricing and promotional strategy
Following David is an optometrist well known to iDay delegates and a great speaker on the circuit, Andy Clark. He is the founder of marketing consultancy Practice Building and I could not think of a person better qualified to cover this aspect of the marketing mix. He will share his experience in helping hundreds of optical practices with their pricing architecture and promotional planning. He will also discuss how price and promotion impacts positioning.
Detail 3: Complimentary copy of The Retail Champion
In what I think is an optical conference first, delegates who register for iDay can receive a companion copy of Clare’s excellent book, The Retail Champion: 10 Steps to Retail Success. This best selling business book retails for £25 and I am delighted to offer a free copy to the first 100 delegates to book their place.
Additionally, once the initial 100 have gone, delegates will be able to buy a copy of the book at a preferential price when they register online. The book enables retail business owners, to develop robust and repeatable processes and systems to create scalable, profitable and ultimately saleable enterprises. Whatever the price I believe it offers excellent value and I am sure it will prove to be a valuable and ongoing business companion to help those attending the conference to follow through their action plans.
A digital response to a digital age programme at NEG conference, Sunday, Novemeber 6, 2016
‘iDay has always tried to focus on how to achieve business success by giving simple, practical and often low-cost advice from experts in their field. So the book seems an obvious way of extending this thinking by providing an ongoing point of reference for delegates, way beyond the conference itself.’
Detail: 4 non-business owners track – visual merchandising for beginners
Once again we are running and alternative track for all non-business owners. We have long welcomed all the professional practice team to iDay, including optical assistants. This is clearly demonstrated by our practice price that makes attendance more affordable for a business looking to bring the wider team. Additionally there is content suited to the whole practice and this year we have a parallel workshop, sponsored by Hoya, that will take a hands-on look a merchandising and in particular creating visually interesting and impactful window displays.
Detail 5: iNight headlined by Mock the Week comedian
Many delegates joke with me that Independents Night is one of the main reasons they come along to iDay. The opportunity to enjoy the company of one’s peers in a relaxed atmosphere with great food and entertainment is clearly not to be missed. This year we are delighted to have comedian and rising TV star Gary Delaney as our ‘not-to-be-missed’ after dinner entertainment. Dress code is casual and, for just £135 for dinner and bed and breakfast, it is always a great way to relax, catch-up with old friends as well as meet new ones, while celebrating all that is great about being independent.
Detail 6: Sponsor CET workshops
While NEG and iDay are all about business and not CET, we do appreciate, that it is always nice to pick up a point or two while taking valuable time out and so there will be plenty of CET points provided on the NEG programme and via our sponsors workshops.
Conclusion
So there it is – the detail to help you excel at retail. I must say that this year’s line-up is probably the strongest we have ever programmed. As always the experts have ‘walked the talk’ and so can offer genuine top tips and pearls of wisdom, from the experiences gained in their own business.
Finally do not forget NEG members get a very special iDay price of just £99 and can attend their own conference for free.
For more information visit independentsday.co.uk.
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