From launching a product via crowd-funding to partnering with Amazon, the innovative strategies available to help housewares suppliers reach their target market will be explored during the 2015 Chief Housewares Executive SuperSession (CHESS), Oct. 6-7 in Rosemont, Ill.
Addressing the theme of “Concept to Consumer: Innovative Strategies for Reaching Your Market,” the program’s featured speakers will include Carmen Nestares, director and category leader, Kitchen, at Amazon; Dana Telsey, retail analyst, CEO and chief research officer at Telsey Advisory Group; David Houle, brand futurist; and a panel of crowdfunding experts including Terry Romero of Kickstarter.
CHESS is the strategic and networking event for industry leaders. It is designed for chief officers of all IHA member companies and their top decision-makers, and features sessions on design and innovation, brand marketing, eCommerce, the Chinese market, supply chain revolution, retail trends and more.
The program opens Oct. 6 with the annual keynote session featuring a blue-ribbon panel of housewares CEOs. Moderated by Peter Giannetti, editor-in-chief of HomeWorld Business, this year’s panel will discuss “Lessons Learned Along the Innovation Continuum.” Futurist David Houle will then explore “Brand Shifting: The Future of Brands and Marketing” with insight on what brand marketers must do to navigate the current and future disruptions of the next five to 10 years. Afterward he will sign copies of his book “Brand Shift: The Future of Brands and Marketing” for attendees.
The afternoon will close with a panel discussion on “Crowdfunding: The New Multi-Billion Dollar Launch Pad” moderated by Evan Dash, CEO, Storebound. Crowdfunding, Kickstarter and IndieGogo are just a few of the multitude of new avenues that allow anyone with a product concept to raise capital quickly. The panel will explain the basics of using the crowd, pros and cons, common pitfalls and positioning for a successful campaign. Panelists include Terry Romero, Kickstarter; Mark Dziersk, managing director, LUNAR; and Michael Liebowitz, founder, Solid Design.
Day 2 opens with a keynote presentation by retail analyst Dana Telsey, offering a retail market analysis reporting on the leaders and laggards in the industry. She is a regular guest analyst on CNN and CNBC. Following Telsey, John Manzella, president of Manzella Trade Communications, will examine the U.S.-China trade and investment relationship, separating myth from reality, offering strategies for companies doing business in China and analyzing issues causing friction, the emerging bilateral political and economic landscape and what’s ahead for President Xi Jinping.
The implications of eCommerce on the housewares supply chain and what companies must do to perform up to consumers’ expectations will be explored during “The Supply Chain Revolution” by Lee Clair, partner, Zubrod/Clair. Clair will share up-to-the-minute insights into the changing role of the 3PL in today’s housewares supply chain, with real-world examples of different business models for both brick and mortar and direct-to-consumer fulfillment.
Closing CHESS 2015 will be Amazon’s Nestares with an overview of how housewares suppliers can use Share of Heart to their advantage in partnering with Amazon.
Networking breaks, luncheons and a cocktail reception and dinner also provide time for attendees to network and meet informally with speakers, industry service providers and their colleagues—the most valuable part of the program according to past participants.
To register for CHESS or for more information, visit the CHESS website at www.housewares.org/chess or contact Judy Colitz of IHA at jcolitz@housewares.org.
The International Housewares Association is the 77-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US)$322.6 billion at retail worldwide in 2013. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the International Home + Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data through Housewares MarketWatch, executive management peer groups, a unique Web-based community at www.housewares.org and group buying discounts on business solutions services.
