SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Interbike has expanded its retail education schedule for this year's show. To complement the NBDA’s popular Super Seminar Series, several additional sessions have been added as part of Interbike University, On-Floor Seminars and Tech Clinics.
Show organizers also have added two Interbike University panel discussions. Scott Montgomery, CEO of Club Ride, will lead a discussion with Chrome Industries CEO Steve McCallion and Greg Shapleigh, a senior vice president at Giro, to offer ideas on how to increase and keep apparel sales growing.
Mark Graff, co-founder of SmartEtailing and Buy Local Now, will lead a panel discussion to examine the latest facts on how customers are browsing, researching and buying the products retailers sell. This session will show how instant gratification compares with price and other factors that drive purchases, why it’s beneficial for specialty brands and local retailers to work together to achieve optimum sales, and surprising findings about consumer preferences between local and online shopping.
The Mann Group is also offering a limited free opportunity for store owners and managers to attend their Driving Performance & Profitability Through Leadership session at Interbike on Friday, Sept. 12. This half-day session will include insights on specialty retail leadership, retail tactics, retail profitability and behavior and motivation attributes. There are a limited number of seats available for this event, and retailers are encouraged to register immediately on the Interbike website.
New on-floor seminars will include a seminar titled “The Art & Science of Selling Saddles,” which will take place multiple times in the Fizik booth. Several fit experts including Dan Empfield of Slowtwitch.com, Steve Carre of Bike Effect and Christopher Kautz of Guru will discuss the language, the techniques and the fitting of saddles at the retail level.
“Keeping in line with our IBD Summit, Interbike is committed to providing top-quality educational content for bicycle retailers,” said Justin Gottlieb, communications & PR director for Interbike. “Between the NBDA’s Super Seminars and what we’ve added, I feel like we’ve raised the bar this year — and that many sessions are ones that should not be missed.”
This year's Super Seminar series includes 15-20 seminars given Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the show. Highlights include:
- "Entitlement Marketing Is Dead: Engagement Retailing Lives On," by Mike Cosentino, owner of Big Peach Running Company
- "The Seven Deadly Sins of Selling to Women," by Bridget Brennan, CEO, The Female Factor
- "Cultivating Greatness in Your Employees and Your Business," by Patrick Schwertfeger, author and keynote speaker
SRAM, Campagnolo, Shimano and Fox also will hold tech clinics during the show. For a complete schedule visit the Interbike website.
