Gildenberg to Address NARMS Retail Leaders

Retail industry leaders gathering at the NARMS International Spring Conference & 14th Annual Meeting next April will hear a retail industry trend perspective shared by Bryan Gildenberg, Chief Knowledge Officer of Management Ventures, Inc., a retail research and consulting firm supplying breakthrough retail insight, analysis and thought leadership. Gildenberg last spoke to the NARMS leaders in 2006.

Gildenberg will keynote the opening general session of the NARMS Conference on Sunday afternoon, April 5. As MVI’s Chief Knowledge Officer since 2004, Gildenberg oversees MVI’s Analysis and Insight efforts and is often cited as a global expert in retail insight by leading business publications and electronic media worldwide.

The annual NARMS spring conference is a gathering point for hundreds of retailers, manufacturers, retail support service specialists and associate member service personnel.
NARMS is also widely known for its professional retail job recruitment web-hosting via the JobBank database and other on-line tools, including The Recruiter, Career Connection and on-line training modules.

NARMS International’s 506-member companies perform over $3 billion in merchandising services, sales marketing, event marketing, demonstration and other retail services annually. The international trade association promotes and establishes industry standards and provides critical industry research and educational information about the industry with member companies servicing such classes of trade as: grocery, drug, mass, department, home & building centers, computer & office supply, electronic, value retailers, specialty and convenience retailers.

Additional information about NARMS and retail industry positions are available at www.narms.com with details to follow about the 2009 NARMS Spring Conference & Exposition at The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO on April 4-7.

Contact:
Ken McKenzie, Vice President
National Association for Retail Marketing Services
2417 Post Road #A
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: 1 888 52 NARMS
kmckenzie@narms.com

ABC News Highlights NARMS

ABC News highlighted NARMS as one of the best sources for Mystery Shopping jobs.  The report aired on ABC News and posted on their website on July 2nd, 2008. [Read more]

Never Too Early to Start Thinking Conference

With Spring almost in the rear view mirror and Summer fast approaching, it is time to start putting together the building blocks for the 2009 NARMS Spring Conference and Exhibition. The 14th annual event will be held on April 4-7 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Division committees are busy making travel plans for their annual summer meetings, new ideas and features are currently being discussed and sponsors are already getting on board.

There is very little rest for the NARMS staff, Board of Directors and Divisional Committees as they converge in the next month or two for their annual mid-calendar year planning sessions. At the very top of each agenda will be development of new and exciting educational and networking opportunities for those traveling to Colorado next April.

Several new ideas are making the rounds including the inclusion of a Member Services Expo, which would be a B-to-B meeting venue for members and potential customers. The Expo would be accompanied by some form of digital support on www.narms.com. The committees and the board will give this idea much consideration to see if it is feasible and viable for the organization.

Another idea being kicked about is the inclusion of a Virtual Trade Show in support of the committed 2009 Spring Conference Exhibitors. The exhibiting companies will be eligible to participate in a graphically-rich web page on www.narms.com. Each company will be able to offer a video, link to their website or a static graphic describing the services available. The Virtual Trade Show will run on the NARMS website from January through April and will only be offered to those who are also exhibiting in Colorado Springs. The thought here is that the more than 2 million views per month will entice exhibitors to commit to the show earlier in order to reap the benefits in the months leading up to the show.

And speaking of support, many members and others have already committed to a 2009 Spring Conference sponsorship. The following companies have already committed to being a sponsor and thus will have their names appear in the July edition of the NARMS TODAY and in the Spring Conference Sponsorship Brochure that will be distributed later this summer: Synergy Systems, NaturalInsight, Notable Impressions, Mosaic, Prism, Lawrence Merchandising, bds marketing, Nintendo, and Crossmark. If you are interested in joining this list, contact Dan Borschke right away so you can be included in the print pieces. You can choose to not be billed until January 2009 or be billed immediately.

With all this activity, you can see that the leadership at NARMS is always on the job for you. As always, your ideas and support are always welcome. Contact NARMS HQ or a member of your Divisional Committee with your thoughts and actively participate in the process.

NARMS Conference Chair for 2009 Announced

Jim Louder, Director – Broker Operations for Campbell Sales Company has been named the 14th Annual NARMS Spring Conference Chair scheduled for April 4-7, 2009 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Don Koller, President of Lawrence Merchandising and Chair of NARMS International Board of Directors in making the appointment reflected on how far NARMS has evolved over the 13 years of existence as an association.

“Jim will be the first Manufacturer representative to Chair the Spring Conference and is just one more action taken by NARMS to build a total community of not only retail service companies but a membership that encompasses manufacturers, retailers and associate companies that see diverse value in an association that can attract all elements of the retail industry. We are proud of Jim’s involvement in NARMS and we look forward to his insights and leadership in making the 2009 Conference even more successful than its predecessors,” says Koller.

Kim Kiner, Vice President of Business Development for Crossmark has accepted the role as Vice Chair for the 2009 Conference and will become the Chair of the 2010 NARMS Spring Conference scheduled for April 17-20 at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

NARMS’ 501 member companies perform well over $3 billion in merchandising services, sales marketing, event marketing, demonstration and other retail services annually. The association promotes and establishes industry standards and provides critical industry research and educational information about the industry with member companies servicing such classes of trade as: grocery, drug, mass, department, home & building centers, computer and office supply, electronic, value retailers, specialty and convenience retailers. Additional NARMS information is available at www.narms.com.

For information on the 14th annual NARMS Conference, Annual Meeting and Expostion in Colorado Springs, CO April 4-7, 2009, visit the conference center.

Newly Elected Board for 2009 at NARMS

Action by the gathered membership at the NARMS International annual business meeting reveals the following:
 
Newly elected to the NARMS Board of Directors in two-year terms: 
 
Jim Hall, Riteway Sales & Marketing, Lakeland, FL
Steve Horowitz, Co-Sales Southern California, CA
Steve Donzelli, Chuck Latham Associates, Parker, CO
 
Re-elected to continue in a second, two-year board service were:
 
Don Koller, Lawrence Merchandising Services, Plymouth, MN
Tom Caddell, Alliance Marketing Group – Central, Westminster, CO
 
Also placed into service by board of director appointment to serve an unexpired term is Lance Anderson, CROSSMARK Sales and Marketing, Inc., Plano, TX
 
Elected to serve as officers in the coming year were:
 
Chair:  Don Koller, Lawrence Merchandising Services, Plymouth, MN
Vice Chair: Mary Jo Bastuba, Nintendo of America, Marietta, GA
Secretary: Ed Martin, The Ready Set Companies, Elk Grove Village, IL
Treasurer: Ethan Charas, Stratmar Retail Services, Port Chester, NY
 
Recognized for their retirement from board service were:
 
Don Cox, Co-Sales Company, Phoenix, AZ
Chip O’Hare, JO’H New England/Albany, Billerica, MA