RCCSTORE24: addressing the issues impacting Canadian retail

RCCSTORE24 Conference featured a more impressive array of speakers, topics, solutions partners, and networking opportunities than ever before

-------

It’s not often that all of the biggest names and scores of representatives from the incredibly vast tapestry of brands and formats in Canadian retail get together under one roof, for even the shortest period of time. In fact, it happens only once every year at Retail Council of Canada’s STORE Conference. And the 2024 edition certainly didn’t disappoint, showcasing the most compelling content discussed and delivered by visionary speakers and innovative retailers to an outstanding audience filled with the industry’s decision-makers and future leaders.

Day One

Before the conference’s agenda of sessions and content kicked off on Tuesday, May 28, at the Toronto Congress Centre, opening remarks were provided by RCC President and CEO, Diane J. Brisebois, and the association’s Vice President of Member Services and Marketing, Santo Ligotti. The pair welcomed buzzing attendees amid an energy-filled atmosphere, promising two days full of some of the most engaging and thought-provoking retail content possible. What follows are highlights of the incredible lineup of RCCSTORE24 content, along with an insight or two shared by some of the conference’s dynamic speakers and retailers.

Reimaging an iconic brand

The conference’s main stage sessions began with an intimate and candid conversation between television personality Sangita Patel and Michèle Boudria, President & CEO of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, concerning the future of the hamburger icon. Boudria shared the company’s plans to innovate, leveraging technology in order to satisfy the tastes and needs of the digital consumer, with a focus on fostering community connection and strengthening partnerships with local producers.

“It’s really all about ensuring that the communities in which we operate thrive,” she says. “When we open a new location in a community, we give an opportunity to a local entrepreneur to become the owner/operator of that location. In turn, they help create jobs and contribute to the local economy. We’re also doing a lot of work with Canadian farmers, making sure that it’s an industry that continues to be successful and supported. These kinds of things reflect who we are. It’s imbedded in everything we do. And we really challenge ourselves to step up every opportunity we have.”

Harnessing the potential of generative artificial intelligence

The power and potential of generative AI is one of the most talked about topics despite where you go or who you talk to in the retail industry today. Google Canada’s Managing Director and Head of Retail, Eric Morris, and Matthew Kropp, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group, scratch the surface of the capabilities that this transformative technology presents retailers with respect to delivering the greatest possible business impact going forward, suggesting three areas to focus on when it comes to developing a generative AI strategy for the business.

“Deploy the software,” says Kropp. “Generative AI is going to seep into every piece of software that your company uses. You’ve also got to reshape processes. Think about functions like sales, marketing, HR, legal, finance, and supply chain. Any one of these parts of our companies can be partly automated in order to enhance efficiencies and productivity. And then, you’ve got to invent something new. This is a new technology. We didn’t have access to it two years ago. So, how does this change our products, services, offerings, and ways of working with our customers?”

European trends inspiring innovation

With an eye on inspiring attendees to think big and outside of the box (or border), RCC’s Senior Retail Advisor, Michael E. LeBlanc, sat down with Diana Dimitian, Global Commerce Executive formerly of Levi’s and Wolverine, to take a gander across the pond at some of the prevailing European trends and styles. Dimitian described her years in Europe working for Levi’s, sharing a lesson that she learned that retailers in Canada can apply to their businesses as the industry continues to navigate through disruption and uncertainty.

“I learned to make bolder decisions faster when it comes to addressing change,” she says. “The future is for the risk-takers. Trying to play it safe is one of the worst things you can do during transformative times. You’ve got to face headwinds with confidence and make rapid decisions with respect to innovation in order to keep up with the consumer who’s always changing and evolving.”

The impact of sustainability on business

The importance of environmental sustainability had it’s time in the main stage spotlight, with Catherine O’Brien, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Nestlé Canada Inc. engaging in dynamic conversations with three retail sustainability executives: Maya Colombani, Chief Sustainability & Human Rights Officer, L’Oréal Canada; Derrick Emsley, CEO & Founder of Tentree; and Kimi Walker, Associate Vice President, Product Stewardship, Canadian Tire Corporation. Each of the three conversations explored the notion of a circular economy, innovative technologies, and more, with the urgency of the issue summed up emphatically by L’Oreal Canada’s Colombani.

“When we talk about environmental issues today, it’s no longer about saving the planet,” she asserts. “It’s about saving us, too. We need to have the ability to say that what we have been doing is not working anymore. As businesses, we possess a lot of power within the communities that we serve. But we also have a duty, a responsibility to contribute more positively to the environment. It means we need to change how we do things, and the way we design and develop our products, considering everything, including ingredients and formula, sourcing and packaging. It’s a way of approaching the business that’s going to require a radical change of mindset for many.”

Adapting to the future

Discussing the ways in which home furniture giant IKEA Canada is continuously evolving and adapting to change to consistently meet the needs of the Canadian consumer, the company’s CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, Selwyn Crittendon, provided the closing keynote and shared a number of his team’s initiatives and goals when it comes to the impact they have on their customers, communities they serve, and the environment, while offering some advice to those seeking to properly support their own efforts.

“These are a few of the messages that get me out of bed every single day to do what’s right,” he says. “Be clear. Be clear about your intentions. Be clear about what you need to do with your business, your purpose, your brand. Be clear about who you’re serving. Be clear. Live your values. Know who you are. Be authentic to yourself. Show up. But live your values. Be consistent. You’ve got to be here today, tomorrow and the day after. Be available for those who need you every single day.”

Day Two

A matter of belonging

Main stage content on the second day of the conference commenced with a genuine and engaging conversation between Steve Worthy, Founder and CEO of Worthy Retail, and Thomas Haupt, Country General Manager for Sephora Canada, about people, culture and belonging at Sephora Canada. Haupt explains the way in which the company views diversity, the strategy it employs to ensure its actuality, and the need for senior leaders to be involved in the work and process.

“As leaders, we have an obligation to create environments in which people can succeed and have really rich conversations,” he says. “What I’ve learned as I’ve grown within my role and worked with teams doing incredible work, is that it’s not just about saying that we need to be more diverse as an organization. We need to role up our sleeves in order to ensure the most impactful transformation. We need to make sure our insides match our outsides – that we aren’t just saying it – and that as senior leaders, we live alongside our teams and take part in the work being done so it gets done in a meaningful way for all.”

Turning challenges into opportunities

One of the most influential, albeit at times controversial, speakers currently touring the retail circuit is the Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens. Exploring the unique timestamp the industry is currently working within, one that’s presenting a plethora of challenges to overcome and opportunities to realize at the intersect of innovation and disruption, Stephens shares his pillars of future competitive advantage, proposing that retail leaders view competition and their quest for profit through a slightly different lens moving forward.

“I want you to think about what you want,” he says. “Put your company aside for a moment. We know what they want – they want a good quarter and a good year. But what do you want? What do you want for your family and your children? What do you want for your community? Now imagine that what you want is what everyone in the Canadian industry wants. Imagine that they feel just like you, that they believe that we as an industry can not only do better for society, but we can capitalize on that as well. Now imagine if every retailer in the world felt the same way. If that’s the case, I promise you that retail will save humanity.”

Leveraging the customer journey to full effect

In a data-intense session that attempted to highlight and tackle some of the more significant issues impacting Canadian retail today and businesses efforts to grow, Jan Kestle, President and Founder of Environics Analytics, illustrates how retailers and their teams can leverage the latest tools and technology to translate daily headlines into actionable plans.

“Data presents retailers and their teams with an incredible amount of potential to help understand key demographic changes, economic headwinds and market forces that can impact the business,” she says. “Combined with artificial intelligence, data can support and inform marketing and the messaging that’s developed for the consumer. It can also help measure things like response. In the end, we as an industry have a responsibility to use the technology and the data we collect to engage and delight customers and deliver the best experience possible.”

The creation of exceptional retail experiences

In the end, retail will always be about creating experiences that delight, excite and meet the needs of the customer. With this notion and objective in mind, Peter Hughes, National Customer Experience Practice Leader with KPMG Canada speaks with both Tommaso Brusò, CEO of Eataly North America, and Sylvain Michel, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Change at Holt Renfrew, about today’s omnichannel retail shopping experience, and ways to push customer service to new heights.

“Our focus is really on continuing to develop our brands and establishing exactly who we are as a company,” said Holt Renfrew’s Michel. “This includes facilitating community connection through big events which can really help us express nationally as well as locally what’s happening with the brand. We’re looking at strengthening our connection with our high value customers and continuing to push the envelope concerning the ways we provide them with special experiences. By doing this, we continue to reenforce the foundations of the company, setting us up for the future.”

Navigating challenge and change

Closing out the conference’s incredible lineup of content was a hotly anticipated session that featured a conversation between Patricia Baker, Founder & CEO of Waterford PB Consulting, and Canadian Tire Corporation President and CEO, Greg Hicks, about the challenges involved in navigating a rapidly changing world. Hicks discussed the company’s strategy to address current and emerging challenges, while sharing with attendees where he thinks the most meaningful and significant opportunity is for retailers to grow going forward.

“Where I think there’s real opportunity around emotional connection is through the customer experience,” he asserts. “By leveraging data and the insights that it makes available, retailers can really enhance their understanding of the customer, as well as the way they serve them. But you’ve got to structure the data properly and govern it properly, enabling it to be democratized across the organization with a single view of the customer. It’s a lot of work getting there. But creating that 360-degree view of the customer is what today’s breakthrough technology is enabling, providing retailers with a means to modernize their business and the way they do things.”

A conference to remember

Whether attending dynamic sessions delivered by first class speakers, perusing the exhibitor floor filled with the latest cutting-edge retail solutions, networking with industry colleagues and associates, or soaking up some of the excitement at the star-studded retail awards galas, RCCSTORE24 attendees will have left the event with their fill. And, RCC’s president and CEO Diane J. Brisebois hopes that they left feeling more passionately about the industry than they did when they arrived.

“We’ve all got the opportunity to work within such an incredible and exciting industry,” she says. “And I think it’s difficult to come to an event like RCCSTORE24 and not feel inspired, energized, renewed and full of pride to be a Canadian retailer today. The achievements that this great industry has enjoyed over the past year, forging ahead and innovating during such challenging times, are truly amazing. It really is encouraging to see retailers from coast-to-coast show up to celebrate everything that’s great about this industry, and we hope to see them back again next year for RCCSTORE25!”

For more information about RCCSTORE24, and ways to become involved at RCCSTORE25, visit the conference’s official website.