SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Interbike said it has completely revamped its educational content offerings for its 2018 show. Headlining the show's content will be keynote speaker John Venhuizen, the CEO of Ace Hardware Corporation.
The show said it has invested heavily in its educational offerings for next year's show, which are being called "The IBD Summit at Interbike."
Pat Hus, the vice president of Interbike, said retail attendees can expect a slate of new speakers, dynamic panel discussions, relevant subjects, and more tactical takeaways than ever before.
"One of the ways in which we are going to reinvent the show is by bringing in higher levels of education and speakers," said Hus. "Our new retailer advisory board members were adamant that we needed to step up our game on seminars at Interbike. The only way to do that was to take complete ownership on that content and start curating all of it. We will still be working with the NBDA and others on specific tracks for the show, but we will be driving the overall direction moving forward."
Interbike expo hours will start later than in recent years to accommodate educational events before the show opens; more on-floor education will be integrated as well.
The show has more than 75 sessions slated.
"This is the perfect opportunity to revamp and rebrand our new educational platform with a name that is synonymous with high level education — our IBD Summit," said Justin Gottlieb, PR & communications director for Interbike. "We are also exploring a number of new topics to help IBD's grow and succeed, which will be announced soon."
Venhuizen, who leads the world's largest hardware cooperative, has faced similar challenges to the bike industry and has found ways to succeed and grow in its 93-year-old history.
Venhuizen said, "Ace's impressive string of store growth and consecutive increases in sales and in-store traffic is powerful evidence that our model — rooted in local entrepreneurialism — is agile enough to adapt and bend where needed, without ever breaking our conviction to fortify around the timeless retail principles of servant hearts and human interaction."
He will lead a session titled, "The Battle for Relevance: How Brick & Mortar Businesses Can Win the Battle for Relevance and Consumer Preference," where he said he will share how Ace's 5,000-plus store owners compete and win against some of the biggest, best and well-funded companies on the planet.
More details on Interbike's education and conference will be released in the coming months. Interbike Marketweek will take place in California's Reno Tahoe region beginning with a new consumer demo and festival in North Lake Tahoe, Sept. 15-16, followed by OutDoor Demo on Sept. 16-17,and then the Interbike Expo, Sept. 18-20.
