Name: Stephanie Olinski

College/University: University of Arizona

Graduation Year: 2012

Degree: B.S. in Retail and Consumer Sciences, General Business Minor

Why did you attend NRF’s BIG Show?

I attended the NRF Big Show to expand my knowledge of the industry I am passionate about. I thought it would be a fantastic chance to network and meet some of the most powerful people in retail. Plus, it was in New York. How could I not go?

What was your favorite Super Session and why?

My favorite Super Session was the New Luxury Paradigm with Tory Burch. It was great to hear the affects of social media today as a blogger and Twitter-er myself.

What was the most exciting thing you saw or learned?

The most exciting thing was the whole BIG show itself. I especially like the Design studio since my career interests are in visual merchandising and fashion marketing.

What other fun things did you do while in New York City?

I met up with a friend that had recently moved there and explored the magnificent 5^th Ave. I literally could have spent hours in all those stores just staring at everything. I also went shopping at Uniqlo after hearing so much about it.

What’s your dream retail job?

My dream retail job would be being CEO of a fashion and design magazine while living in New York.

Check out other student profiles from Dartmouth, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Michigan.

Name: Marvena Edmond

University: Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

Graduation Year: 2010

Degree: MBA

Why did you attend NRF’s BIG Show?

While my professional background has been primarily in the financial services industry, I have developed a keen interest for the retail industry along the way. When I heard about the NRF BIG Show, I immediately thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the professional services that are important to the retail industry.

What was your favorite Super Session and why?

The new luxury paradigm – I’m particularly interested in the luxury goods market. The speakers detailed the trends they foresee in the space while presenting their thoughts on successful strategies to be a leader.

What was the most exciting thing you saw or learned?

EuroShop Retail Design Awards at the Design Studio. The architectural designs of the winners were absolutely mind blowing, WOW describes it all!

What other fun things did you do while in New York City?

I love New York, I took the time to have dinner with friends that I hadn’t seen in awhile.

What’s your dream retail job?

In the long term, I would love to be considered for a CFO role at a leading specialty retail company.

Check out other student profiles from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan.

This was my first day EVER in New York City. I came with the University of Arizona’s NYC Study Tour and according to my itinerary, this was the only day I had to explore. We had a jam packed week ahead of us filled with super sessions, networking opportunities, and sponsored dinners.  Of course, I hadnn’t had any sleep the day before my flight (because I was so excited!), and didn’t sleep on the plane. Let’s just say coffee became my best friend again.

Under my motto of “sleep when you die” I thought it was the best decision to drop my bags at my hotel and explore the city as much as possible. That I did. I saw Times Square (very touristy), slightly overrated, but something I needed to check off my list. Then explored a little of Chelsea, experienced the Subway, caught a taxi (on my own!) and passed out knowing that the week of a lifetime was about to begin once I woke up.

Day 2

The first day of the convention was slightly overwhelming, especially being a measly college student in the world of REAL retailers. I attended the Power of Retail Design session which was very interesting because it is an area of study I want to go into after college. It was interesting to hear about the subjects we learned about at school being discussed as real ideas and projects to be implemented into stores. For instance, they spoke about brand imaging, and how to reach the international market.

I also attended David Wolf’s give his presentation on “A New Fashion Perspective.” Can I just say that he is amazing?! I completely agreed with his ideas about rethinking trends. It was so unbelievably refreshing to hear someone speak out against new trends and fashion shows unlike the teen bloggers today that pretentiously gawk over every new fashion line they see. Finally, someone who has credibility to speak about fashion!!  Wolf predicted fashion will have a new emphasis in fabric manipulations, pastel colors, rustic fabrics, and flower prints. It will be interesting to see what happens to fashion in the coming years. So pretty much, I loved his presentation.

Day 3

The U of A Study Tour and I pretty much got to walk to Expo floor and see all the booths. It was a great opportunity to network and get to know retailers and presenting companies. It was interesting, though, because people either thought we were high-schoolers, or other retailers. Obviously, they didn’t read our badges. Some people would approach us and be like “oh the University of Arizona…” and some would mention they didn’t realize that college students attended the convention.  Despite some puzzled looks we got, I still thought it was a great experience for us to meet people who could potentially hire us one day. By the way, I loved the Design Studio. If I come again next year, I will spend all my time there instead.

Day 4

LOVED!! the supper session “The New Luxury Paradigm” with designer Tory Burch and CEO of Saks Steve Sadove. They spoke about surviving the recession and adapting to the new environment to remain successful. It was reassuring to hear that retailer’s have a plan B for their company. This then brings potential to us college students to find a job out of college. Likewise, the feeling of satisfaction spreads to the consumers who get to see their favorite stores still open while the economy takes a turn. I found it funny that there are probably so many consumers who don’t even realize the behind-the-scenes of retail companies, and there I was exposed to it all. The luncheon we attended was phenomenal to be a part of. I was surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the retail world! And I got to meet Terry J. Lundgren…the namesake of our retail school!  Very many 20 year olds can tell people that they did what we did.

Day 5

The saddest day of the trip…we left for Tucson. Flying home made me realize the life changing opportunity I was a part of. It was totally worth missing the first day of school for, totally worth not sleeping all week for and totally worth all the money I worked hard for to attend. I was so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I was given through this trip and the NRF convention itself. The sessions and networking made me realize that I made a great decision to become a Retail and Consumer Sciences major.

Stephanie is a student at the University of Arizona, one of the Foundation’s college partners.

Home.

I’m sick…

I know, sad story.

But, I realized something while chugging orange juice for potential Vitamin C power to chug through the day – I’m not going to let being sick get me down.

Just as retailers are being optimistic that the worst is over, I’m going to be optimistic that I’ll get better by tomorrow and will be able to sit in on some more interesting sessions at the show.

As I mentioned in Bringing Back the Buy, that is the key to being in business. Optimism is the light of life that should guide all actions of retail. It is something that is going to get me through today and get me through the rest of my life in a world of business.

There is so much optimism behind that and it is the same optimism and drive that keeps retailers afloat throughout the changes in multi-channel retailing.

E-tailing has become a way of the present. Years ago online retail seemed something from the movie Back To The Future, but now you can make purchases from your cell phone! Online, convenient shopping is more popular than I ever could have imagined.

What does that mean for tangible, walk-in stores?

That means that fewer customers will be making their purchases in person. It is easier to sit at a computer and choose at the click of a button what you want to buy rather than travel the distance to purchase it.

What can retailers do to convince customers that getting out of their pajamas to travel to stores is a better experience?

Give them the visual experience!

Peter Graf, Chief Sustainability Officer, Executive Vice President of Sustainable Solutions, and speaker at the Sustainability in Retail session said, “Visuals drive change.”

He and Andy Thaemert, Associate Principal at retail design firm Callison and speaker at the Visual Merchandising: Infusing Artistry in Retail Design session spoke on the same topic – the theory that stimulating the customer’s experience visually can draw the customer to a store and away from a computer.

Having a strong market that is driven to shop in store is just as important as having a strong online presence. Finding the balance is what retailers need to do to maintain positive growth for both channels of retail. But, as of now, the bigger focus is keeping the attention of customers in person. That can be done through the visual merchandising.

Thaemert showed a number of slides giving a walk through of the newly opened Harvey Nichols flagship store in Jakarta. Instantly, even though I was not physically in the store, I saw through the photos a fantasy world made of unbelievably exciting visual merchandising. Looking at the photos left me breathless.

That is the effect that every retailer wants to have on a customer. That awe that draws them inward so that once they are inside, the real magic can begin.

One of the things that Harvey Nichols design team did was recycle things that were a part of Jakarta, such as steel oil drums, scooter tires, and glass bottles. They used those items to become part of the design of the store and it worked. Recycling is part of the restructuring of retailing and the way that it was shown in the Harvey Nichols store blew me away.

Without a doubt, retailers have to connect with their customers. The way to do that is through the visual merchandising. It is always going to be about the product itself, but instead now retailers need to spend a little more time focusing on how the product is showcased. That is what is going to bring the target customer into the physical, retail, store and keep them from the competitors.

If you can capture your audience in that way, you have done your job as a retailer and will capture audiences for years to come.

Jena Glick is a freshman at LIM College, one of the Foundation’s college partners.

I am a college student who does not have any household bills to pay, does not have children to support, does not have any regular monthly expenses. Period. I have a job, which means I have the money for the frivolous spending that my age group is so well associated with.

What’s the problem with that?

Well… I’m not spending.

I sat on the outskirts of the recession and watched as it hurt countries and nations. Many have lost their jobs and the income that they once believed would withstand any recession. It did not quite affect me. I grew up in a middle-class family and my mother has always had a stable job. Luckily, she is the only one who can do her job. Simply put, I’ve got the money, but I’m not using it.

Well, what am I waiting for?

I’m waiting for prices to drop. I’m waiting so I can have money in case of crisis. I’m waiting to save. Save for what? Well I’m not quite sure yet. As of now the only major expenses I’m concerned about is the price of college textbooks. (Really? $ 200.00 for a book I’m only going to use once?)

I’m waiting for a good enough reason to spend – like a nice new outfit and an amazing pair or turquoise heels to wear to the NRF’s Big Show.  I am the potential buyer which retailer’s love. But, when I don’t make any purchases, retail dies a little.  How can retail survive if many are waiting it out to spend their disposable income instead of spending it right now?

That is the question that speakers at the Big Show have posed various answers to. Some said give change – introduce something new to entice the target customer. Some said it is not something new that should be the focus; it is the quality of a product or service. Sustainability of a product is the key to selling it.

And then, there is the opposite approach…the answer is not in the product at all, it is in the service. Showing expert customer service no matter what item you are selling will prove to be a top technique for retailers worldwide.

As mentioned by Mark Williams, President of Financial Service for Best Buy Co., Inc., the “blue shirts” are memorable not only because of the uniforms, but indeed because of their product knowledge that is reliable and helpful.

During the Super Session, Execute or Be Executed, Williams noted that there were challenges that  Best Buy Co., Inc. faced during the worst points of the recent recession. Those challenges were faced and dealt with when they adopted and perfected the theory that high quality customer service wins the hearts of a potential buyer. Even if the customer opts out of making the purchase today, they will stick with that retailer in the long run, because they know that the retailer had expertise knowledge of every product.

Well, here’s what I have to say. One answer cannot stand alone as the key to the revival of our economy after a recession – it is the combination of all of them. (The combination of having a helpful employee sell me some lovely turquoise high heels that will not hurt my poor feet and will be durable for many years of wearing). That is what is going to bring back the buy.

Jena Glick is a freshman at LIM College, one of the Foundation’s college partners.

The students’ final designs included displays for DVDs, coffee, linens and an overhead “skyline” fixture for self check-out kiosks. The semester-long project was documented by the students in a dedicated blog, which features their research findings and final concepts and serves as a resource to the larger design community.

The SmartCard Kiosk — an attempt to solve the issues that come with shopping for greeting cards.

At the outset of the project, students explored retail spaces and interviewed store personnel to gather insights about day-to-day re-stocking and merchandise visibility challenges. Based on their findings, students developed concepts for in-store fixtures and point-of-purchase displays to address the needs of the retailers, such as broken fixtures and overcrowded shelves.

Students also experimented with the properties and design flexibility of Eastman Spectar^TM copolyester. Guided by Eastman’s experienced engineers, they learned about thermoforming, heating, freezing, bending and decorating Spectar. Exploring the design possibilities of the material helped students further conceptualize their designs.

“From merchandise sprawled on the counter tops to a tower of disposable lids inching ever closer to covering the floor, we had a great opportunity to collaborate and solve a problem,” said Alex Spurrier, design student, whose concepts were solutions for a local coffee shop.

The multi-purpose coffee display that is a simple principle
yet also generates a distinctly Hi-Viz experience.

Eastman Spectar^TM copolyester’s design flexibility and impact resistance enables retail designers to deliver unique shapes, textures and effects because fabricators can cut, saw, drill and bond sheet. The material’s clarity also enhances the visual appeal of merchandise on crowded shelves, and its durability allows it to stand up to repeated customer abuse.

“The students of today are the designers of tomorrow, and they will shape the future of innovative retail environments,” says Adia Delaney-Jackson, Market Development Manager for Visual Merchandising at Eastman Chemical Company. “Providing students the opportunity to exercise their creativity with Spectar represents our commitment to sharing our material expertise with designers, who play an increasingly vital role to creating cutting edge retail environments.”

For more information on the collaborative design project between Eastman and the Department of Industrial Design at Auburn University, visit the project blog or the Eastman Visual Merchandising Online Newsroom.

January 10, 2009 – Day 1
I woke up excited to start traveling. This was only my second time flying and while I was a bit nervous about it I couldn’t wait to get to NY!!! I met Kelley, faculty adviser for RLS, at the XNA airport and we went straight to check in. I thought that it would all be standard procedure, but I was wrong. When we got up to security I found out that my ticket had been randomly selected for additional security checks. I am so lucky! They pulled me off to the side and gave me a friendly pat down and bag search. How embarrassing, really, the officer even commented on the nice shade of red my face had turned. Don’t worry my fun didn’t stop there. We then flew into Atlanta, GA where the weather was 60 degrees. Too bad it was raining and our flight got delayed an hour. I can’t complain too much though because the two flights before us and the two flights after us got canceled. So, I said goodbye to warm weather and left for NY. We flew into Newark, NJ where it was snowing of course. I didn’t care though I was getting ready to hop a cab for NY. My first time ever to NY! I couldn’t help thinking of all the things I wanted to see and do while I was there. I even asked the taxi driver to make sure and let me know as soon as we crossed over from Jersey to NY. He laughed a little, but was nice enough to point out an amazing view of the city. Finally after what felt like forever in the cab (really only like 15 minutes) we made it to our hotel. I was too excited to go to sleep so Kelley and I decided to take a walk. Two blocks in and we turned the corner right onto Times Square! My head was completely swimming. Billboards painted the sky with neon lights. People were everywhere. Every time I turned around there was something new grabbing my attention. I was like a kid in a candy store pointing out everything I saw. The 2009 New Years Eve ball, Hard Rock Café, Plant Hollywood, I even started pointing out all of the people selling stuff on the street. I couldn’t have imagined anything like this in a million years. No amount of TV had prepared me for what I was experiencing. Several hours later and many, many pictures later we walked back to the hotel so we could get some sleep and start our conference the next morning.

January 11, 2009 – Day 2
6:50 am the alarm clock started going off in my ear (note to self: I really need to find a less annoying tune to wake up to). Time to get up already, I felt like I had just gone to bed. I was ready to start the day though. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the conference, all I knew was that I was excited to go. In Arkansas all of our meetings are in auditoriums and hotel ballrooms. This was definitely not an auditorium. We shuttled to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and I was completely amazed at how beautiful this building was and how long (note to self: find more comfortable heels to walk in). We arrived early to make sure that we could get a good seat to see Daniel Moe speak on at the session, Are You Truly a Customer-Centric Retailer? Daniel is on our Retail Advisory Committee at NWACC and I was anxious to hear him speak. It was great to learn more on this topic, but I have to tell you my favorite part was when Daniel showed us the Best Buy commercials from years past and today. It is really amazing to look back and see how marketing strategies have changed. I also had the opportunity to attend a session on The Global Powers of Retailing 2009. About 15 minutes into this one I was thinking how grateful I was that I had already taken an Economics class. My final session for the day was Holistic Approaches to “Green” Retail Strategies. I always love to hear topics on the environment and sustainability discussed, but I was particularly intrigued by this one, mostly because I have an ex-boss that uses the word holistically all the time, but also because I got to listen to the story of Half Priced Books and how it was founded. All in all I would say day one at the conference was a success my head was full of new knowledge and my red bag they gave me was full of more reading material.

After the conference we rushed back to the hotel so that we could get in some more site seeing. Our first stop was the TKTS booth in Times Square for some half-price tickets to my very first Broadway Musical. The line wasn’t very long, but I went ahead and let Kelley get the tickets while I found some strangers to talk to. Just kidding, they weren’t really that strange. Some of the guys handing out fliers were nice of enough to tell me where to find some odd locations that I wanted to check out while in NY. One of them even knew where Sarah Jessica Parker lived, but not having a clue where I was I knew that I would never find where she was. So I gave up that mission and we headed to the Empire State Building. What a view! I can’t even describe what I could see from 86 stories up. It was absolutely breathe taking and well worth the cramped ride in the elevator to see. Back down to solid ground and off to our Broadway Musical. Since we has a little time left before it started I decided that I had better try a little more NY culture and had me a “dog” with kraut and mustard. I’ve got to tell you it really just tasted like a hotdog with kraut and mustard. A little disappointing, but the musical was not… We walked into to a gorgeous room with balconies and box seating. The walls had pillars with ram’s head carved into them. It was amazing, my bottle of water was even lined with gold, well it should have been it cost $4. Anyhow, I laughed, I clapped, I even sang along. Mamma Mia was a hit! I loved every minute of it. I have never had an experience like that and I am so glad I got to go. We finished up the evening at the Hard Rock Café for some supper. Very awesome place, I even had Ringo’s drums sitting on the wall behind me. Day 2 in NY was great, a day of learning and an evening of memories.

January 12, 2009 – Day 3

Up bright and early again today after a long night, but well worth it.  The conference kicked off today with Lee Scott speaking.  I have heard Lee speak on several occasions, but this was a great experience for me to see him speak in this kind of environment.  Everyone was hanging on every word he said, including me.  He is such a powerful speaker.  Also in the Super Sessions we had Weathering Retail’s Storms: How to Navigate in a Turbulent Economy.  It was lunch time after the two sessions and Kelley and I decided to do a little exploring.  I was on a mission to have a slice of NY style pizza.  First we headed to Central Park for a short carriage.  The view is beautiful.  There were several people skating at the rink, the carousel, and I even got to see the bridge where the filmed part of Home Alone 2.  Anyhow, back to the pizza.  Our cab driver told us about the famous John’s pizza so we head straight there.  I was a little disappointed when I got there to find out that they didn’t serve pizza by the slice, but when they brought out our “pie” I could have ate the whole thing.  Now that is some good pizza.  Feeling very full we went back to the conference where we met up with Daniel Moe.  I also attended Financial Business Case for Improving Supply Chain Efficiencies. I am going to be taking supply chain soon so this was a great insight to what I have coming up.  The speaker was Kyle McIntosh from Patagonia.  I love their website and the story of their supply chain.  I recommend everyone checking it out.  After the conferences for the day we headed back out for some more adventures.  Completely exhausted at this point we made it a quick adventure though.  Since our hotel was close we walked down to Grand Central Station to get on the nearby subway.  This was my first time on a subway.  If you have ever thought reading a map was hard be glad you have never had to figure out what subway you were suppose to get on. Geesh !  I was a bit confused to say the least, but we did arrive at our destination in China Town.  Now I have to tell you I was asked by several people to come back with them I love NY tshirts and I finally found some that were good quality in China Town.  So I went ahead and bought 5 for $10 and was glad I did my friends loved them.  We of course ate some great Chinese food while there and crossed over briefly in to Little Italy.  We were going to go to SOHO, but were way too tired and went back to the hotel for some rest.

January 13, 2009 – Day 4

Getting some sleep sure was nice.  I feel excited to start the day off.  We went to a great conference on The Sky Has Fallen: Now What?  It was held with a panel of experts which discussed the economy.  The entire NRF conferences have been great in recognizing the struggling economic times we are in.  It’s been such a great learning experience to hear what Retailers are doing to pave their way in the future through this turbulence.  I also made it to Rising Stars: Succession Planning that Builds Future Retail Leaders and took some time to go through the Value Expo and the Convention Expo.  I loved to see what is out in the market now and what some upcoming trends might be.  The final session I went to for the day was my favorite throughout the whole conference.  VIRC is the New BRIC: Emerging Markets.  Learning about what is being seen as new upcoming markets was one of the best learning experiences I had.  The presenter was very knowledgeable and the entire presentation was so well prepared.  The entire audience was participating by asking questions and sharing their stories.  It was very inspiring.  We had only grabbed a quick bite to eat at the conference since we were so busy there today so we decided to go somewhere nice for dinner.  When we got back to the hotel I asked the lady at the front desk if she could recommend somewhere nice where I might run into “someone famous”.  She recommended a destination and off to the subway we went, well there was the quick detour to Rockefeller Center first.  I loved getting to see the skaters and people all watching them.  I didn’t feel like the only tourist in NY while I was there.  It was fun, but let me tell you what; don’t go to the Village for someplace to run into famous people.  I thought at first we had gotten lost or maybe didn’t take the right subway stop, but we ask a police officer and a cab driver who both confirmed that we were in the village, but they didn’t know off anywhere nice for us to go eat.  After wandering the streets (note to self – probably not my best idea) we grabbed a cab and headed off to the Shark Bar in Manhattan.  Much better.  The food was great but I am going to give you all a tip…  I am a southern gal and I love sweet tea.  This restaurant had more of a home-style cooking style to it so I though, okay I will give the tea a shot.  It was great!  It was so great that I had 3 glasses of it.  It was not $9 great.  Seriously… they charged me $3 per glass, no free refills.  I was shocked, but couldn’t give it back at that point.  I needed to do some more souvenir shopping, couldn’t leave NY without getting a present for my mom, so we ran back down to Time Square and I found a couple of things I couldn’t live without, of course, and then headed back to start packing.

January 14, 2009 – Day 5

I woke up feeling sad.  I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to NY.  I knew in a few short hours though I would have to leave so I went ahead and finished packing up my belongings.  After we both got ready we went ahead on the conference.  What an inspirational closing day.  I went to Harvesting the Low Hanging Green Fruit and The Digital Channel: Retail’s new growth engine.  This was another great session.  We talked about Boarder’s website.  Much like Patagonia I was impressed by Boarder’s website.  There is a lot of innovation on Boarder’s website and you can tell they are a company that is truly listening to what their customer is saying.  We also went to the super session Inspirational Leadership: What Differentiates Great Companies and Why.  We had to head right back to the hotel after that to change and get our stuff locked up until it was time to go to the airport.  With just a little time left we went to the Guggenheim.  I never thought in a million years that I would ever get to see an actual Picasso, but I did and it was breathe-taking.  My best friend was an art major so I have always had an appreciation thanks to her and I really wished at that moment she could have been there.  They were doing a lot of remodeling, but I still loved everything that I did get to see.  We had to start towards the airport at this point, but we needed to get some stamps so that we could mail out our postcards and have them stamped NY.  The cab driver couldn’t tell us where the Post Office was, but luckily there was one only a few blocks from the hotel so we mailed out our post cards then off to the airport.

I guess all of the reading material I was taking back with me weighed too much because my luggage was overweight.  I dug it all out though and found room in Kelley’s carry on to store it.  After that was all over we headed down to security where, you guessed it, I got selected for additional security checks again.  At least I wasn’t alone this time because Kelley got the joy of the pat down too. Hey, at least the planes were all on time and our luggage was in Arkansas when we got back.

What a great time and what wonderful memories I have created.  Learning and site seeing, I will not soon forget my first time in NY.