IRDC Keynoter

Will Ander, senior partner, MacMillan|Doolittle LLP (Chicago) and co-author, with Neil Stern, of the book “Winning at Retail: Developing a Sustained Model for Business Success,” will be a keynote presenter at VM+SD’s VM+SD International Retail Design Conference), Sept. 21-23, 2005, in Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel.

“Pretty good isn’t good enough in retailing anymore,” says Ander. “Average retailers are disappearing from the landscape at a rapid pace, either through acquisition or just plain old Chapter 11. Winners have a clearly defined customer proposition and are outstanding at executing and communicating that proposition.”

In presenting the key elements of his and Stern1s book, Ander will discuss the important consumer trends driving retail success. He will outline and demonstrate via case examples his model for defining and predicting the winners and losers. He will also will discuss and provide critical insight on key segments at their inflection points, including department stores and traditional supermarkets, as well as provide observations on where the category killers and specialists are headed and why, and what retailers have to do to avoid the large “Black Hole of Retailing.”

As an IRDC keynoter, Ander joins “The State of The State of Retail,” a reflective and perceptive presentation on the global condition of retail in 2005 by Christian Davies, vp, retail design strategy/creative director, of FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati); “Retail Unbound,” an interactive problem-solving work session by M.J. Munsell, Joan Insell and Crystal Inge of Callison Architecture (Seattle); and a presentation by the 2005 winner of the VM+SD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year Award.

The full program will appear in the June issue of VM+SD and will soon appear, as well, on the conference web site, www.irdconline.com. In the meantime, you can go to the web site for information on attendance or sponsorship or to sign up for conference updates.