Tickets are now on sale for the premier event in the convenience sector, ACS Summit16.
This year’s conference, to be held in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on April 19th 2016 will set out to inspire retailers and suppliers to think differently about the way they do business and provide practical ideas that will make the difference between running a good store and a great one.
At Summit16, we are delighted to be welcoming Chris Gheysens, President and CEO of Wawa, the globally-renowned chain of more than 700 convenience stores located across six states in the USA. Wawa is ranked in the top 40 of Forbes annual ranking of the Largest Privately Held Companies, and features one of the top ten employee stock ownership programs in the country. Chris will be providing his unique insight into the convenience sector in the USA and the lessons that can be learned by UK retailers.
Summit16 attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from SPAR Managing Director Debbie Robinson, who will share her views on the sector, the development of the SPAR brand and her vision for the future. Debbie oversees SPAR’s 2,400+ stores and a turnover of over £3bn and has over 20 years experience in convenience.
Conviviality Retail CEO Diana Hunter is another headline speaker at Summit 16, looking at the challenges and opportunities for the UK’s largest franchised off-licence and convenience chain with over 500 franchise operated stores. Before joining Conviviality, Diana worked at John Lewis Partnership, overseeing the company’s expansion into the successful ‘Little Waitrose’ format in over 50 sites across the UK.
One of the most exciting trends in modern convenience stores is great food to go. Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of London fast food chain Leon, will share his expertise on how to create a great food to go offering by using sustainable natural ingredients and the importance of memorable customer service. Leon currently has 28 restaurants in the UK, with more expansion planned in 2016.
We will also be hearing from some of the most enterprising independent retailers in the UK at Summit this year, with a chance to hear from multi-award winners Patrick Sewell (Sewell Retail), Dean Holborn (Holborns), Paul Stone (Stone Spar) and many more. Dean and Paul will be leading this year’s Battle of the Best, as they take a camera crew to some of the most innovative convenience retailers in the country and share their films about what they have taken away from the experience.
There will also be a virtual trip to stores across the globe as ACS Commercial Director Paul Chamberlain shares the best ideas from his visits to stores in the USA, Japan and Europe.
Closing Summit16 this year will be a keynote speech from the leader of one of the most exciting new formats in the convenience sector. My Local owner Mike Greene will share his wealth of experience in the retail industry and inspire those in attendance to make the absolute best out of their business in the future.
Summit16 will be followed by a brand new evening event, the Summit After Party. This is a great opportunity for retailers and suppliers to network after the main conference and enjoy an evening of entertainment, great food and fun. Our previous evening event, the Variety Night, hosted over 250 delegates and we expect this year to be bigger and better than ever.
For more information about tickets and to book your place, visit http://www.acs.org.uk/acs-events/summit-16
