Welcome Reception
Location: Osceaola CourtyardJoin us and other early arrivals for food and drinks at this relaxing pre-conference networking reception. Connect with old industry friends and make new ones while you prepare yourself to enjoy the next few days of learning, business-building and inspiration.
Special Events
You are also required to check-in for each special event at the special event desk the morning of your selected activity to secure your spot. If you do not check-in at least 10 minutes prior to bus departure time, you forfeit your place to an attendee on the wait list.
Click here for more information on the CRU special events.
Wild Florida: Everglades Boat Ride and Explore Wildlife Park (retailers only)
Take this one-of-a-kind opportunity to get a closer look at alligators and other exotic wildlife as you glide through the Florida Everglades, 4,200 acres of untouched nature preserve, on an exclusive airboat. Following the boat ride, stroll through the wildlife park where you can see lemurs, sloths, zebras and more.
| 7:30am - 8:00am | Check-in and Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Bus Departure |
| 9:00am | Everglades Airboat Tour |
| 9:30am | Gator Demo |
| 10:00am | Explore Wildlife Park on your own |
| 11:15am | Bus Departure |
| 12:00pm | Arrive to Rosen Shingle Creek |
Store Tours (retailers only)
What better way to see the latest innovations in c-store design and merchandising than to visit the stores themselves? CRU’s Store Tours Program takes attendees along on a curated agenda of store visits to see what some of the area’s top operators are doing. Participants will view strategies in action within key categories and experience signature features of each location. The consumer and retail space is evolving rapidly, and you can’t afford to miss out on this competitive learning opportunity.
| 8:00am - 8:30am | Check-in and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30am | Departure |
| 8:30am - 11:30am | Store Tours |
| 12:00pm | Arrive to Rosen Shingle Creek |
Disruption Watch
Consumers are shopping online more and driving less. Automakers and technology companies alike are pouring money into self-driving cars and alternative fuels. Convenience itself is being redefined as consumers increasingly spend time staring at their mobile devices instead of each other. What do these changes mean for convenience? Cut through the noise for a series of can’t-miss conversations on trends that matter with Jackson Lewis, CSP’s resident expert on disruption, together with revealing consumer insights and retailer data courtesy of Incisiv, to learn how to avoid being left behind in today’s ever-changing times.
| 8:30am - 9:00am | Check-in and Breakfast |
| 9:00am - 9:45am | Session 1: Technomic |
| 9:45am - 10:30am | Session 2: Shopper Expectations You Can't Ignore |
| 10:30am - 11:00am | Networking Break |
| 11:00am - 12:00pm | Session 3: Panel Discussion - Adjusting to Disruption |
Session 1: Frictionless Shopping: Future of Retail?
Amazon Go was only the beginning. The very idea of the point-of-sale is quickly becoming obsolete as Skip Checkout, Zippin, Standard Market and others follow the explosive growth of no-checkout technology. Join CSP’s technology editor Jackson Lewis, one of the first in the industry to experience Amazon Go, for a conversation on frictionless shopping and what it means for the future of retail.
Associate Editor, Technology | Speaker
Winsight Media
Session 2: Shopper Expectations You Can't Ignore
These days, your competition goes beyond the corner store across the street. Mobile-based services spanning from Uber to Netflix are reshaping consumer expectations across industries. No matter what your gut tells you, backing business decisions with intelligently sourced and collated data is imperative in today’s ever-changing retail landscape. That’s where leading insights firm and executive network Incisiv can help. Incisiv’s custom research benchmarks digital performance across all consumer industries, and Gaurav Pant, chief insights officer at Incisiv, will lead a CRU-exclusive session on a host of important insights and unique analysis. This must-see session will draw data from 6,500 U.S. shoppers across categories, including food, drug and convenience, in addition to more than 50 c-store retailers, 100 retailers across formats and 150 consumer industry startups. Don’t miss this exclusive chance to get the inside scoop on where your stores stand in today’s crowded retail field.
Chief Insights Officer | Speaker
Incisiv
Session 3: Panel Discussion - Adjusting to Disruption
Learn from other business owners on the front lines of the disruption wars in this retailer panel on changes in consumer behavior and how convenience stores can keep up with their ever-changing customer base.
Associate Editor, Technology | Moderator
Winsight Media
Opening General Session
Location: Panzacola Ballroom G1 & F1-2E-commerce, delivery, alternative fuels, competition – these and other market forces are pushing the industry in new directions, but the primary disruptor is consumers’ evolving definition of convenience. The very foundation of this industry is shifting, presenting both threats and opportunities for c-store retailers and their supplier partners. Join Technomic’s Donna Hood Crecca to explore what “convenience” means today, who’s winning and the implications for c-store offerings, amenities and prospects for future growth.
Principal
Technomic
We tend to think about “the future” as something programmed by experts and engineers. In this keynote, futurist and innovation expert Ari Wallach rejects “the official future” that we’ve been handed. He argues that all of us can take action to actively build the futures that we desire for ourselves, our organizations, and society at-large. But to do so, we need to think strategically about the transformational shifts that are shaping tomorrow’s world.
Wallach gives us a view of the 21 megatrends affecting the futures of politics, sociology, the environment, arts, religion, and much more. More important, he helps shift our thinking to engage the futures actively, with empathy for coming generations in our communities, companies, and the world. To stay competitive, leaders need to broaden the framework of what they do, and how and why they do it. Wallach’s talk is invaluable for any purpose-driven organization that wants to adapt, stay relevant, and build accountability and empathy within the transforming communities and markets of tomorrow.
Founder and Executive Director
Longpath Labs
C-Store Product Gallery
Location: Panzacola Ballroom G2 & F3-4Be sure to join us for the Grand Opening of the C-Store Product Gallery! This is the focal point of our sponsor and retailer interface, set within a real life functioning convenience store environment while enjoying fabulous food in a setting unique to our events. There is no better way to engage with people and products then to network and discuss building business. Use this opportunity to schedule time to meet with fellow attendees!
General Session
Location: Panzacola Ballroom G1 & F1-2They are the tireless CEOs of their respective sections—the category managers who navigate a labyrinth of complexity. Amid mounting pressure on profits, turns and market-basket synergies, the best category managers are committed professionals balancing new products and customer favorites to enhance their stores’ operations. The Category Manager of the Year Awards recognize these often-underappreciated specialists, who were nominated by their supplier and wholesaler partners.
The tried and true ways of marketing have turned into tired and old, not to mention ineffective. The ability to build relationships and be heard by your market has never been greater, but overwhelming when trying to determine what tools to use. This session, lead by the effervescent Scott Stratten, president of UnMarketing, covers both online and offline methods of staying in front of your target audience, so when they have the need to buy, they choose you. From social media, to traditional local events, there are proven ways to connect more than ever before and after this session you have the practical tools to implement the tactics right away.
President
Un-Marketing
CRU Workshops (Choose 1 of 5)
The essence of CRU is the educational curriculum available to all attendees, providing insight, key trends and data, and valuable ideas to implement in stores. Regardless of your sphere of responsibility within the convenience industry, you will find the workshops informative, enlightening and engaging.
A number of retailers are changing the paradigms of how products get into the hands of consumers! In this session, we will explore how some of these disruptive concepts are turning into reality. Amazon Go is targeting to open 3,000 stores. Convenience retailers are already experimenting with employee-free locations. We will show how robots, third-party delivery and a rapidly expanding micro-market concept threaten share of the dollar for c-stores. Yes, amazing things are really happening! Are you ready?
Founder and CEO | Speaker
Food Concepts, Inc.
608.830.5018
CRU Workshops
The essence of CRU is the educational curriculum available to all attendees, providing insight, key trends and data, and valuable ideas to implement in stores. Regardless of your sphere of responsibility within the convenience industry, you will find the workshops informative, enlightening and engaging.
CRU Key Category Forums
Convenience is under siege – and everyone knows it. Online retailing, third-party foodservice delivery and declining fuel fill-ups are challenging c-store retailers’ in-store performance. So maximizing category success has never been more important.
To help retailers grow sales amid this retail revolution, we’re providing Key Category Forums. In the nearly four hours of category-specific deep dives, we’ll go into key trends, product innovation and customer strategies that will help retailers grow their business and stay relevant for years to come.
Each forum will feature experts to inspire fresh ideas and new ways to engage customers. We also want to hear from retailers, which is why we’ll spend part of the time brainstorming together. Whether you’re a one-store operator or work for a chain of 5,000 units, you are guaranteed to go home with new insights and actionable solutions.
The presentation options will include Tobacco/OTP, Packaged Beverages, Foodservice, Dispensed Beverages, Center Store, Operations/Fuel & Forecourt and the Connected Customer.
- 1:30pm - 2:00pm, Guest Facilitator: Welcome & Presentation
- 2:00pm - 2:45pm, Subject Matter Expert Presentation
- 2:45pm - 3:15pm, Networking Break
- 3:15pm - 4:15pm, Key Category Panel
- 4:15pm - 5:00pm, Guest Speaker Presentation
- 5:00pm - 5:30pm, Editorial Category Innovation Tour of Product Gallery
Category Manager, Cigarettes & Tobacco | Guest Facilitator
Circle K - Heartland
Director of Category Management, Tobacco | Panelist
Cumberland Farms
Senior Vice President | Speaker
Management Science Associates, Inc.
Senior Editor | Subject Matter Expert
CSP Magazine, Winsight Media
Category Manager, Cigarettes | Panelist
RaceTrac
General Session
Location: Panzacola Ballroom G1 & F1-2The key to raising leadership performance lies in the ability to actively listen, embrace change, and close Performance Gaps (the gap between knowing and doing). This can only be achieved by utilizing effective strategies for guarding your time, filling your bucket (so you can pour into others), and investing your focus in the present moment.
In this powerful session, Alan Stein, Jr., a performance coach, consultant, speaker and author, teaches participants how to master the unseen hours by utilizing the mindsets, rituals, and routines of world-class athletes and coaches. Regardless of title or tenure, this program is essential for anyone who wants to raise his or her leadership performance and personal influence.
Attendees walk away with actionable steps that can be implemented immediately to:
• Heighten self-awareness
• Improve productivity
• Create winning habits
• Inspire teamwork
• Maximize impact
Performance Coach, Consultant, Speaker and Author