Center Stage at SPECS 2017
Retail and restaurant executives, architects, suppliers and other industry professionals involved in store design/planning, construction and facility management gathered together for Chain Store Age’s 53rd annual SPECS conference.
The event, held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Fla., focused on the evolution and innovation of physical stores in a digital age, and explored industry trends that are transforming how stores are designed, built, operated and maintained.
The show combined a packed slate of educational sessions with an exhibit floor, pre-scheduled individual business meetings and plenty of networking opportunities. The winners of CSA’s annual Breakout Retailer Award — Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, Sugarfina, MOD Pizza and Warby Parker — were honored during a special awards presentation.
The formal program kicked off with a keynote session that provided attendees with a look at the state of the U.S. economy. The SPECS Economic Summit was moderated by CNBC’s Ron Insana, who was joined by former presidential candidate and publishing giant Steve Forbes and Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandt.
Other keynote highlights included an address by Gen. Raymond Odierno, retired U.S. Army chief of staff, who discussed cyber security risks and risk-management strategies, with the latter drawn from his own career.
Sessions
The educational part of the program featured more than 25 individual workshop sessions, with many offering continuing education credits. The agenda covered a broad range of topics, from innovations and technologies that are transforming store development and maintenance to operational basics.
The program lineup also included a presentation on Samsung Electronics’ new Samsung 837 flagship, which offers customers the chance to test drive products in an immersive, experiential environment. Additional sessions provided attendees with an up-close look at the impact of virtual reality technology on the store design and construction process, and insight as to how the Internet of Things is impacting the customer experience and facilities management.
In addition, such core topics as project close-outs, hazardous building materials, ADA compliance, energy management were covered.
SPECS is a high-profile event, and the conference offered plenty of opportunities for attendees to collaborate with high-level decision-makers across the industry. There were business partnering opportunities both on and off the show floor, as attendees met at workshop sessions and for meals and evening receptions.
There were also one-on-one meetings at the Face-to-Face Information Exchange, which gave retailers a chance to meet with suppliers for pre-scheduled, time-efficient meetings.
Next year, SPECS returns to the Lone Star State. The 54th SPECS conference will be held March 18–20, 2018, at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas. Updates will be posted at specsshow.com.