ACS Moves Up a Gear with Summit 06
26 May 2006
The rebranding of the Association of Convenience Stores’ (ACS) annual conference to Summit 06, sponsored by Camelot and Cuisine de France, has certainly captured the interest of the key players in the convenience sector. Taking place under the theme of ‘Convenience Innovation’ the event saw some 300 delegates travel to the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham.
Business speaker Karren Brady impressed the audience with her account of how she turned the fortunes of Birmingham City Football Club round from a club with financial difficulties into a multi- million pound business. Her themes of professionalising the business culture of the club, motivating a variety of people in the business and never giving up, were as applicable to c-stores as to a football club.
Summit 06’s industry speakers all dealt with the topic of innovation in c-stores. Mike Taylor from MBL gave some insightful ideas on how MBL make local sourcing a key element of their business providing their stores with a point of difference to the major multiples. Andrew Davis of BP discussed practical innovations which were applicable to any independent retailer, as well as helping to drive BP’s developments in c-store retailing.
Mark McCammond of Henderson’s gave an inspirational talk on how a SPAR forecourt store took on the might of a Tesco Express next door and won, Mark discussed the need to invest and plan for the entry of competitors into the market. Peter Kealy from BWG, the Eire-based SPAR distributor, shared his experience of the age of ‘new convenience’ and the crucial importance of understanding your customer and giving your store “something to be famous for”.
Susan Beetlestone from United Co-op and Suzi Ford from Unilever gave a joint presentation on a cutting edge ‘virtual store’ which they have used to understand why and how shoppers use c-stores. The shopper mission based approach was a good example of retailers and suppliers working together using innovative approaches to market research.
David Cullen from Nisa- Todays discussed the importance of an effective chilled supply chain in a market where fresh is key. David was followed by Nisa retailer Eamon Maher from Hazlemere Food Hall who explained the importance of fresh produce to his store.
Summit 06’s overseas speaker, live via videolink, was Chet Cadieux CEO of US forecourt convenience retailers Quiktrip. Chet talked about how the focus of his company is people, and explained how Quiktrip go the extra mile to recognise and motivate their staff.
Ending the day’s events was renowned sports coach Frank Dick, who gave an amusing and inspiring motivational speech in which he applied his coaching knowledge into the field of business.
Summit 06’s chairman was John Waite, presenter of the worlds’ longest running daily consumer affairs programme “You and Yours” on BBC Radio 4. John drew out the key points of the day in interviews with the speakers and ACS’ Chief Executive David Rae and Chairman Mike Sherwood.
David Rae, ACS Chief Executive, said: “The rebranding of this year’s conference to Summit 06 has proved a real success. All the speakers explored the theme of innovation in convenience and we heard some fantastic presentations which inspired and motivated the audience. We are absolutely delighted that Summit 06 has drawn so many key operators and made this the principal c-store event of the year".
Summit 06 had kicked off with a Gala dinner, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, prior to the conference. Martin Bayfield, the former England International Rugby player, entertained delegates as guest speaker with many amusing tales of combining life as a rugby player with his work as a policeman.
The Gala dinner saw the prize giving of ACS’ inaugural Community Heroes Awards, also sponsored by Procter & Gamble, to Gillian Smyth a SPAR retailer from Belfast. Gillian and husband Martin were awarded the £1000 prize for all their hard work that their store provides the local community. This includes a ‘Check Up at the Checkouts’ day to promote healthy eating and providing a free Christmas dinner for the elderly residents.
Business speaker Karren Brady impressed the audience with her account of how she turned the fortunes of Birmingham City Football Club round from a club with financial difficulties into a multi- million pound business. Her themes of professionalising the business culture of the club, motivating a variety of people in the business and never giving up, were as applicable to c-stores as to a football club.
Summit 06’s industry speakers all dealt with the topic of innovation in c-stores. Mike Taylor from MBL gave some insightful ideas on how MBL make local sourcing a key element of their business providing their stores with a point of difference to the major multiples. Andrew Davis of BP discussed practical innovations which were applicable to any independent retailer, as well as helping to drive BP’s developments in c-store retailing.
Mark McCammond of Henderson’s gave an inspirational talk on how a SPAR forecourt store took on the might of a Tesco Express next door and won, Mark discussed the need to invest and plan for the entry of competitors into the market. Peter Kealy from BWG, the Eire-based SPAR distributor, shared his experience of the age of ‘new convenience’ and the crucial importance of understanding your customer and giving your store “something to be famous for”.
Susan Beetlestone from United Co-op and Suzi Ford from Unilever gave a joint presentation on a cutting edge ‘virtual store’ which they have used to understand why and how shoppers use c-stores. The shopper mission based approach was a good example of retailers and suppliers working together using innovative approaches to market research.
David Cullen from Nisa- Todays discussed the importance of an effective chilled supply chain in a market where fresh is key. David was followed by Nisa retailer Eamon Maher from Hazlemere Food Hall who explained the importance of fresh produce to his store.
Summit 06’s overseas speaker, live via videolink, was Chet Cadieux CEO of US forecourt convenience retailers Quiktrip. Chet talked about how the focus of his company is people, and explained how Quiktrip go the extra mile to recognise and motivate their staff.
Ending the day’s events was renowned sports coach Frank Dick, who gave an amusing and inspiring motivational speech in which he applied his coaching knowledge into the field of business.
Summit 06’s chairman was John Waite, presenter of the worlds’ longest running daily consumer affairs programme “You and Yours” on BBC Radio 4. John drew out the key points of the day in interviews with the speakers and ACS’ Chief Executive David Rae and Chairman Mike Sherwood.
David Rae, ACS Chief Executive, said: “The rebranding of this year’s conference to Summit 06 has proved a real success. All the speakers explored the theme of innovation in convenience and we heard some fantastic presentations which inspired and motivated the audience. We are absolutely delighted that Summit 06 has drawn so many key operators and made this the principal c-store event of the year".
Summit 06 had kicked off with a Gala dinner, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, prior to the conference. Martin Bayfield, the former England International Rugby player, entertained delegates as guest speaker with many amusing tales of combining life as a rugby player with his work as a policeman.
The Gala dinner saw the prize giving of ACS’ inaugural Community Heroes Awards, also sponsored by Procter & Gamble, to Gillian Smyth a SPAR retailer from Belfast. Gillian and husband Martin were awarded the £1000 prize for all their hard work that their store provides the local community. This includes a ‘Check Up at the Checkouts’ day to promote healthy eating and providing a free Christmas dinner for the elderly residents.