We’re just weeks away from STORE 22, the largest in-person meeting of retail minds in Canada in three years, set to take over the Toronto Congress Centre’s North Building on May 31 and June 1, 2022.
It’s been a volatile-yet-innovative time for Canadian retail – and STORE promises to keep businesses breaking new ground in this post-pandemic world this Spring.
Here are seven sessions and eight speakers you won’t want to miss later this month. Oh, and if you don’t have your tickets yet, be sure to secure them along with your travel and hotel options. To learn more about these speakers, check out STORE 22’s agenda.
Susan O’Brien: Chief Brand & Customer Officer – Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited
Canadian Tire has a new guiding principle: Make Life in Canada Better. It’s part of a greater brand evolution sparked by the company’s 100th anniversary and emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic.
O’Brien arrives at STORE 22 to speak on how Canadian Tire’s culture is thriving back at its roots in Canadian communities and how this brand purpose is bringing her organization forward.
Kate Ancketill: CEO and Founder – GDR Creative Intelligence
Half of Canada’s population will be GenZ and GenAlpha by 2030 – are retailers equipped to accommodate the massive cultural shift this will bring? Ancketill dives into that and more in a fascinating presentation on the future of retail.
How will physical stores support omni-fulfillment? What about approaching ever-growing non-traditional channels? And, perhaps most interestingly, what is the opportunity the looming metaverse presents?
Rocky Ozaki: Founder – NoW of Work Inc. and the NoW-Academy
Have you ever asked yourself how Silicon Valley decision-making – experimental, thorough and quick – can come to your business? Rocky Ozaki is the Founder of NoW of Work Inc., a group that elevates businesses to create innovative and agile teams, just like those seen in northern California, can answer exactly that at STORE 22.
Paco Underhill: Founder and former CEO, Envirosell
A legacy player in retail and grocery, Paco Underhill takes the stage to dissect the rapidly evolving Canadian diet and its impact on grocery, food service, and the retail industry. Underhill will share insights from his latest book How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink – a look at how successful businesses must provide not only products but also a positive shopping atmosphere to make the most out of progressive shopping behavior.
Gillian Stein: CEO – Henry’s
The only Canadian CEO to announce a mental illness diagnosis, Gillian Stein will speak to something near and dear to her at STORE 22: her bipolar disorder and ongoing advocacy for mental health in the workplace. Stein will show employers how they can not only accommodate folks with mental health concerns, but help them flourish in work and life.
Kostya Polyakov – National Industry Leader for Consumer and Retail Practice – KPMG Canada
As the Chinese market tackles concepts like integrated social commerce, leveraged technology in brick and mortar, and the concept of “boundaryless retail,” its as important as ever for nimble Canadian retail to learn from the now largest retail sector in the world.
Building off a pivotal session in 2021, Polyakov explores the buying behavior of consumers in China and how these trends shape the retail industry.
Mat Povse – Senior Vice President, Retail & Geek Squad Services, Best Buy Canada & Ron Wilson – President, Best Buy Canada
As the retail industry reflects on the great acceleration over the course of the pandemic, the adoption of technology is at the forefront. From selling immersive experiences for home, to maximizing the customer journey through digital opportunities, ‘enriching lives through technology’ has been Best Buy Canada’s guiding light through this time of great innovation
Wilson and Povse will sit down with Michael LeBlanc, Senior Retail Advisor with Retail Council of Canada to discuss how they are evolving to exceed today’s customer expectations.
