NACS Show Offers Education, Speakers

By Robin Mather

The 2018 NACS Show and Conference runs from Sunday, October 7, to Wednesday, October 10, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. A full slate of educational sessions complements the new product exhibits and expo.
Bonin Bough, a much-lauded marketing executive with experience at Mondelez International, PepsiCo, Weber Shandwick and Ruder Finn Interactive, will speak Sunday at a general session from 3:45 to 5 p.m.
Joe Sheetz and Scott Stratten speak together in a general session on Monday from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., and Henry Armour and Ideas 2 Go speak in the same time slot on Tuesday.
Television host, writer and actor Mike Rowe speaks in a general session on Wednesday from 8 to 9 am. Rowe is perhaps best known as the star of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” and CNN’s “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.”
Educational sessions this year include small-operator modules on developing in-store training, preventing complains and handling unhappy customers, developing employee incentives, positive upselling, growing your customer base through gasoline, store, and car wash pricing strategies, and getting the most out of managers.
Other sessions include “Be-Friending Social Media,” “Improving the Execution of Fresh,” “Foodservice Trends: Now, New, Next,” and “Meal Delivery: Partner, Do It Yourself or Something Else?”
The NACS Show attracts more than 23,500 buyers and sellers in the convenience and fuel retailing sector. The “Cool New Products Preview Room” features products in seven categories: Green, Health & Wellness, New Design, New Flavors, New to the Industry, New Services and New Technology. The Tech Edge program partners with industry organization Conexxus to showcase new tech products and solutions appropriate for convenience store owners.
For more information, visit the NACS website at www.convenience.org.