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2015
INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
Cultivating Community
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
Page
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
Sunday, June 21st, 2015
6:00pm - 10:00pm Opening Reception - James J. Hill House
Bus service to and from the Saint Paul Hotel 5:45pm - 10:00pm
Monday, June 22nd, 2015
6:45am Organized Walks/Runs with Board Chair Joe Nolan
Meet outside front doors of the hotel
7:00am - 8:00am Registration - Ballroom Foyer
8:00am - 10:00am Breakfast & Keynote - Ballroom
“The Knack” with Bo
Burlingham
A lot of people starting out
in business would prefer to
have a step-by-step
formula or a specific set of
rules they could use to
achieve their goals. The
problem is, there aren’t
any. Bo Burlingham shows
us that there’s a way of
thinking that allows
someone to deal with
many different situations
and take advantage of
many different
opportunities as they arise.
Burlingham joined Inc.
in 1983. An editor at
large, he is the author
of Small Giants:
Companies That
Choose to Be Great
Instead of Big. The
book was a finalist for
the Financial Times/
Goldman Sachs Business Book of the
Year Award in 2006. Burlingham is also
the co-author with Norm Brodsky of The
Knack; and the co-author with Jack Stack
of The Great Game of Business and A
Stake in the Outcome.
Follow the numbers; that’s the best way to spot problems before they
become life threatening. Keep focusing on your real goal, it would be
amazingly easy to get sidetracked by secondary concerns.
• Gross profit is the single most important number in any business.
• Don’t get so close to the problem that you lose all perspective.
• Sales do not equal cash, and cash is what you need to survive.
To be sure, having the knack doesn’t guarantee that you’ll succeed at
everything you do, but it does improve your chances significantly. You
win more than you lose and the longer you stay in the game, the more
often you come out on top.
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
10:15am - 11:30am Workshops
Finishing Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top
In the next 5-10 years, 1.36 to 2.0 million businesses will trade hands
as the entrepreneurial Baby Boomers look to retire. That represents
up to 10 trillion dollars in financial activity and we can expect twice
that level of activity over the next 20 years. In this new talk aimed at
the millions of business owners who need to think about their exit
strategy (even if it is far off), Bo Burlingham offers lessons and
presents great tips for any executive looking to increase their
company’s value.
Regenerative Ag and Carbon Sequestration
John Roulac shows how excess carbon is falling into our oceans and
creating acidic conditions, reducing the plankton that feeds whales and
provides oxygen. Regenerative organic agriculture removes carbon
from the oceans and atmosphere and sequesters it into the soil,
expanding its water-holding capacity and building organic matter.
11:45am - 12:45pm Buffet Lunch - Ballroom
1:00pm - 2:30pm Workshops
Community Outreach to Set You Apart from the Competition
Today many more stores carry the same product you do, but they
can't be a hands-on, trusted, and involved member of the community
like you can. Sarah Super and Sarah Owens will give you ideas on how
to connect with the community and have them be your marketers for
you.
So Many Tools, So Little Time: How to Make the Best Use of POS,
SPINS, and CoMetrics Data
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the mountains of data available to
you every day, Vicki Reich‘s class is for you. Discuss what each data
source offers your store and when is the best time to dig into it. Once
you know what data can be mined from each source, asking questions
about what you truly need to know at each stage of your store's
growth can easily point you to the correct data. This class won't add
more hours to your day, but it will make you more confident that
you're using the hours that you have wisely.
Food Service Part 1: The Five Key Measures for Food Service
In this seminar, Nancy Weimer will teach you about the five key areas
helping store managers manage their food service departments and
unravel this complicated world by breaking it down into elements that
make it easy to understand, oversee, and support.
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
2:45pm - 4:00pm Workshops
Food Service Part 2: Focus on Profitability
With your greater understanding of how Food Service operates, Nancy
Weimer will teach you how to fine-tune the department, resulting in
increased viability and sales. Focus on key elements to increase
profitability by lowering waste.
Merchandising: Telling Your Story with Your Sets
The products that you carry are a reflection of your store’s values and
are an important avenue to communicate to your shoppers. In Dina
Hemminger, Matt Ryan, and Andy Huth‘s workshop, explore effective
ways to build powerful promotional displays and regular shelf sets that
highlight your values and excite your customers. A variety of visuals
and voices will equip the attendee with effective, efficient, and readily
implementable tactics for their store.
Understanding the National Organic Program (NOP) and the
National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
The history of the USDA’s National Organic Program is one of America’s
finest examples of functional democracy. What began as a grassroots
movement is now generating billions of dollars in revenue just 14
years after the Organic Food Production Act. The National Organic
Program requires continuous stewardship to progress positively, effect
climate chaos, and build a healthy food future. In this seminar, Mindee
Jeffery and Mark Squire will discuss the development of the standards
and opportunities for Retailers to impact the future of Organics.
4:00pm - 5:30pm Meet Up - Ballroom
Thank you to our 2015 Conference Sponsors!
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
6:30pm - 10:30pm Conference Party with Industry Partners Harriet Island, Saint Paul, MN
Bus service to and from Saint Paul Hotel 6:15pm - 10:30pm
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015
6:45am Organized Walks/Runs with Board Chair Joe Nolan
Meet outside front doors of the hotel
8:00am - 10:00am Breakfast & Keynote - Ballroom
Combat Mass Slippage, The Next Generation
The natural retailer is under assault - trusted brands continue "slipping
to mass" and now highly credible supplement brands are under attack
in a way that is going to get much worse before it gets better. Robert
Craven will update the audience on the latest trends & present ways
the natural retailer might utilize "Big T" transparency to maintain &
develop a deeper level of trust in their community; leading to
enhanced loyalty & sales.
10:30am - 2:30pm: Tabletop at RiverCenter
Show Only Specials Offered!
3:15pm - 4:30pm Workshops
Organic Industry Update
Understanding the fundamentals of organic advocacy is the first step
to being an active member and a thought leader in our industry.
Melody Meyer highlights the latest in organic policy and advocacy in
this session. Unravel some of the current controversies as well as
uncover emerging technologies in our supply chain. You will walk away
empowered with next steps on how to get involved.
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
3:15pm - 4:30pm (Continued)
Turning the Internet from a Threat to an Opportunity:
Strategies and tactics for INFRA retailers as consumer buying patterns
shift online.
More than 10% of consumers are now buying some groceries online,
and that percentage increases for personal care and supplements. PJ
Stafford gives you an overview of the strategies available to you to
better serve your current customers and gain new ones, both locally
and nationally. Learn about various options you have to sell online as
well as a host of digital and social media tactics you should be doing
even if you have no interest in having your own online store.
Moving the Department Dial: Closing the GAP
Vicki Reich, Lindy Bannister, Brian Cole, and Pat Rector will give you
new skills for motivating your team to improve overall department
profitability by applying the principles and understanding the impact of
combined sales growth, gross margin, gross wages, margin minus
labor, and inventory turns. You too will see ways to be stronger every
day.
5:30pm Reception - Ballroom Foyer
6:00pm Annual Membership Meeting and Banquet - Ballroom
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
Wednesday, June 24th, 2015
6:45am Organized Walks/Runs with Board Chair Joe Nolan
Meet outside front doors of the hotel
7:30am - 8:30am Breakfast - Ballroom
8:30am - 12:30pm
Simplifying the Technology: ECRS
John Asher with ECRS will introduce new briefcase report writing
options that greatly enhance the opportunity to dive into the data at
store level. Open questions and answers will follow.
Taking SPINS to the Next Level
Jeff Greenwood and Lisa Grudzinski of SPINS show you how to use
new and existing SPINS tools to identify trends, growing attributes,
hot products, and pricing priorities to grow your sales. Taking real
world INFRA store information SPINS can demonstrate ways to access,
analyze and create reports based on your stores values in specific
categories.
Bus Tours
(Tours are subject to change depending on member interest)
• Tour A: Take a wagon tour of a 100-acre certified organic farm and
greenhouses. Visit their website at www.gardensofeagan.com to find
out more.
• Tour B: Start your day at the Peace Coffee roastery and end with a
tour of Saint Paul’s Summit Brewery, where you can sample their
new organic beer and learn about their non-profit brewing partner,
Finnegans, “turning beer into food” to fight hunger for over ten
years.
• Tour C: Visit The Wedge Co-op and Seward Co-op, who are both
expanding to open new locations, and end your morning with a tour
of the Peace Coffee Roastery.
12:30pm - 1:30pm Lunch for ECRS/SPINS/Tour Participants - Ballroom
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net
Cultivating Community:
Sharing the Work, Sharing the Reward
Please see the INFRA website for the most updated schedule. Contact Erica at
eschulte@infretailers.com for more information.
The Saint Paul Hotel
350 Market Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
• Single Stream recycling for paper,
cardboard, steel, aluminum, and glass.
• Light fixtures are retrofitted with high
efficiency fluorescent and LED bulbs
when possible.
• District Energy provides heating and
cooling to the hotel and is a national
leader in providing reliable service from
renewable sources including biomass
and solar.
• Linens, furniture, towels, soap, and
silverware are donated to local shelters.
• Energy Star rated appliances are
sourced when possible.
• China, silver, glass, and linen are used in
place of plastics and Styrofoam in dining
and meeting facilities reducing the waste
stream.
Register your team for the conference
http://www.naturalfoodretailers.net/2015-infra-annual-conferenceregistration
Reserve your hotel room at the Saint Paul Hotel
Visit www.saintpaulhotel.com, enter your arrival and departure dates, select,
“Group/Block” and enter 150617INFRA
or
Phone the hotel directly at 1 (800) 292-9292 and ask for the Independent
Natural Food Retailers Association group.
2015 INFRA Annual Conference
June 21-24, 2015 Saint Paul, MN
info@infretailers.com
www.naturalfoodretailers.net