All Industry Conference Sets Educational Line Up

February 28, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 1, 2011

Western Home Furnishings Association and National Home Furnishings Association named speakers for the Home Furnishings Industry Conference, April 30€“May 2.

The event takes place at the Westin River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. Educational headliners for the event include Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas of USA Today's Common Ground column; Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics; and John Moore, marketing mastermind behind Starbucks and Whole Foods.

The Home Furnishings Industry Conference agenda is geared to help retailers move their business into the future through workshops, general sessions, after sessions, and an Expo with more than 40 vendors from around the country.

The event will kick-off with an opening keynote from Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas of USA Today's Common Ground column. These two politically savvy and politically different analysts take their differences and find the "common ground" that unites all Americans. Although Beckel and Thomas have different opinions on almost every subject imaginable, the goal of Common Ground is to show our audience of retailers and suppliers that bridges can be forged between differences, and agreements can be made.

Social media guru Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, will make a presentation on the implications of social media, and how businesses can tap into the power of this new marketing power to increase sales, cut marketing costs and how to communicate and reach consumers directly.

The marketing mastermind behind the Starbucks and Whole Foods brands, John Moore, will present a keynote on "The Bigness of Smallness." Moore says that the smaller a business is, the bigger it must look and conversely, the bigger a business is, the smaller it must get. This paradox of growth serves as the foundation for this playful, informative presentation on how businesses can get bigger by acting smaller. Using examples of established and emerging brands, Moore will show the audience how small businesses can thrive in a crowded marketplace and how big businesses can continue growing when faced with upstart competition.

The closing session, "Diversity in America: How to Market to People Not Like You" by Kelly McDonald will take actual results from the 2010 census and will show you how to market to your customers and people different than you.

The conference also includes numerous breakout educational sessions led by industry experts. That line-up features: Margi Kyle, The Designing Doctor; Mark Green; The Family Business Consulting Group; Kevin Doran, R&A Marketing; Brad Huisken, IAS Training; Dave Bruno, Escalate Retail; and Craig McAndrews, Mattress Firm.

"As president for NHFA, I feel that the 2011 Conference in San Antonio will be the highlight of the year," said Dianne Ray, Garden City Furniture, Garden City Beach, S.C., and NHFA's 2011 President. "What a great opportunity for retailers, vendors and suppliers to share, learn and listen to one another on a one-on-one basis. I look forward to the conference with the opportunities to learn from everyone attending and, most of all, having fun visiting with all of the great folks who make the furniture industry a great place to work. Come join us for the most exciting and invigorating days of your year and enjoy being a part of the home furnishings industry."

Members of WHFA, NHFA, and all their affiliates and designated partners can take advantage of a "buy one, get one free deal." One registration of $495 must be purchased and the second person can attend for free. Additional registrations for other team members are $199 each. This makes it easy for businesses to bring multiple people from their store and learn even more valuable tools for business.

Click here to learn more about the Home Furnishings Industry Conference and register.