AWMA Expo 2015 Aims to Deliver Competitive Edge

FAIRFAX, Va. — The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) plans to use innovation, information and insight to help attendees of the 2015 AWMA Marketplace & Solutions Expo build sales and profits in today's competitive environment. This year's event will take place Feb. 24-26 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person in history to summit Mount Everest, will serve as keynote speaker, as CSNews Online previously reported. Weihenmayer will speak during the general session on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Also speaking on Thursday is Charlotte Beers, former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy & public affairs and national advertising agency CEO of Ogilvy & Mather and Tatham-Laird & Kudner, who will address attendees at the annual AWMA Women's Leadership Initiative Breakfast. Beers, author of the book "I'd Rather Be In Charge," was once named the "most powerful woman in advertising" and known as the "queen of Madison Avenue," according to AWMA.

The opening general session on Feb. 25 will feature a presentation on overall industry and consumer trends by Kelly Tackett, U.S. research director for Planet Retail. Tackett will examine how consumer trends are driving a shift toward convenience formats which, along with discount stores, are expected to generate the fastest pace of growth among physical retail channels in the next five years.

Four one-hour category spotlight sessions will be held on the trade show floor. During these sessions, industry experts will discuss trends, reveal current data and offer projections for the future, providing a view into how product categories have been performing by category, subcategory, manufacturer brand and SKU. Presenters for these sessions are:

• Candy — Kit Dietz, principal, Dietz Consulting LLC
• Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products — Nik Modi, managing director, RBC Capital Markets LLC
• Electronic Cigarettes & Vaping — David Bishop, managing director, Balvor LLC and Ray Johnson, operations manager, Speedee Mart Inc.
• Salty Snacks & Alternative Snacks — Kit Dietz, principal, Dietz Consulting LLC

A new edition to this year's event is the Next Generation Conference, designed for emerging leaders in the convenience distribution industry, and the Executive Leaders Forum, for owners, CEOs, presidents and vice presidents from convenience distribution businesses. Additionally, an InfoMetrics Distributor Users Training Seminar will be offered to users of AWMA’s exclusive InfoMetrics data program.

Further information on the 2015 AWMA Marketplace & Solutions Expo is available at www.awmamarketplace.com.