The Resort & Souvenir Summit has announced that Nichole Leinbach will be the keynote speaker for the inaugural event, Sept. 19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Leinbach is founder and publisher of RetailMinded.com, a highly regarded retail industry resource that has been recognized worldwide for its leading business insight since 2007.
Leinbach’s core concentration is on independent retailers, small businesses, community, technology and how the various touchpoints of commerce influence modern merchants. She is a frequent guest and contributor to various media outlets that have included The Today Show, Forbes, Entreprenuer.com and countless B2B publications. Additionally, Leinbach has supported American Express’s Small Business Saturday as a spokesperson and is the author of the book “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business” from McGraw-Hill.
Recognized within the top 10 out of 100 worldwide retail thought leaders since 2015 – including having held the #1 spot – and a retail “futurist” for IBM, Leinbach is also the co-founder of the Independent Retailer Conference. Additionally, in March 2022, Women’s Wear Daily recognized Leinbach as one of the most inspiring 25 women in retail.
During the keynote session from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m., titled “Navigating the future of Brick-and-Mortar Retail,” Leinbach will reveal the realities of what consumers today expect from brick-and-mortar merchants. With a core focus on souvenir and resort stores, she’ll take attendees on a journey through our modern consumer marketplace — ultimately sharing actionable insight that attendees can look forward to implementing in their own, unique stores.
Attendees will:
- Gain realistic strategies to apply to their business
- Learn new technologies
- Gain real-time data on the realities of both consumer behavior and store operations that can help boost sales and marketing efforts alike.
Leinbach will also share how to gain omnichannel success with a core focus on moving inventory despite roadblocks that may steer customers off their path to purchase. Leinbach will share 10 actionable tips to navigating the often competitive and always evolving retail marketplace, offering attendees a takeaway sheet that can help them stay focused on applying these efforts once back at their stores.
Attendees should come prepared with questions for a closing Q&A experience from one of the world's top retail leaders.
"There is so much value to be gained from non-competitive but like-minded businesses, and the Resort & Souvenir Summit is the place to be to gain this expert insight,” says Leinbach. “I am thrilled to be among their speakers and more so, thrilled to connect in person with the countless retail decision makers that will be attending this event.”
Leinbach will also moderate a discussion on visual merchandising best practices that help souvenir and resort stores gain ultimate success. She’ll lead various retail store operators through a dynamic, interactive discussion on how merchandising can help boost customer engagement and sales alike.
During the session titled, “Creating Dynamic Visual Merchandising Experiences,” attendees can expect to gain step by step examples and case studies from successful retail operations that you can learn from and bring back to your own store. From front window displays to check-out area merchandising strategies to wall and rack visual examples and more, this panel discussion will teach retailers how visual merchandising can benefit their retail businesses. Attendees will also be able to participate in a Q&A experience with Leinbach and panelists.
Other sessions taking place throughout the one-day event, include:
- Six Steps to a Profitable Media Strategy
- Inventory Overhaul
- Gift and Souvenir Trends
“The educational line-up offers the perfect agenda for retailers looking to enhance their business efforts and strengthen their store success, and I am excited to contribute to this agenda as both a keynote speaker and moderator for a panel discussion," says Leinbach.
Kristin Ely, Resort & Souvenir Summit conference director, says “Leinbach’s wealth of knowledge is an incredible asset to the conference and will be an excellent way for retail owners and managers to kick off their experience for the week ahead in Las Vegas. We are honored to have someone as knowledgeable and well respected as Leinbach to cover these important areas that will help resort and souvenir stores remain competitive and relevant in an ever-changing retail environment.”
The Resort & Souvenir Summit (Sept. 19) is being held in conjunction with the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show (Sept. 20-23) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Both events require separate registrations. Register for the Resort & Souvenir Summit at www.resortandsouvneirsummit.com. Register for the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show at www.lvsouvenirshow.com.
