LAS VEGAS — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo premieres this weekend in Las Vegas, where more than 5,400 attendees from across the chain drug retailer and supplier sectors will converge for four days of programming that NACDS said fosters "a highly personalized approach" to conducting business.
NACDS said the Total Store Expo conference and trade show, which runs Saturday, Aug. 10, to Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, is making its debut after more than two years of strategic planning. The expo unites the former NACDS Marketplace Conference, NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference and NACDS Supply Chain & Logistics Conference into one comprehensive event
The Total Store Expo will enable retailer and supplier partners to work together creatively across departments and functions with an eye toward the entire store — in turn, providing a cross-industry approach to doing business, the association noted.
"The powerful new NACDS Total Store Expo is a game-changer in how the industry conducts business. Its innovative nature builds on NACDS’ reputation for providing cutting-edge events that focuses-in on retailers’ and suppliers’ needs," NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson said in a statement.
NACDS said the idea for the Total Store Expo arose from an effort to identify ways to "revolutionize" the association’s events. After ongoing dialogue and formal outreach with the NACDS board and members, the inaugural 2013 NACDS Total Store Expo was announced at the 2011 NACDS Annual Meeting by the then-NACDS chairman, Larry Merlo of CVS Caremark Corp. The vision for the expo continued to be carried out under the leadership of the ensuing NACDS chairmen, Robert Loeffler of H-E-B and Greg Wasson of Walgreen Co.
As the new show opens this weekend, current NACDS chairman Robert Narveson, CEO of Thrifty White Pharmacy, will inaugurate the event with a ribbon-cutting, officially opening the show.
"NACDS recognizes the outstanding commitment of the NACDS board of directors, NACDS members, sponsors and meeting attendees in helping to make this inaugural meeting a success," Anderson stated.
NACDS noted that it designed high-tech tools and resources to help attendees maximize their meetings and business opportunities.
For example, the NACDS mobile app provides a dashboard of features to help attendees plan ahead and navigate the Total Store Expo. Key features include interactive maps, a schedule of events, a list of exhibitors, a photo gallery and the ability to set up a profile to connect with other attendees. In addition, the expo website at tse.nacds.org provides resources to help exhibitors and retailers plan effectively for the meeting, such as video tutorials, preparation checklists and a meeting-scheduling tool.
On programming front, the Total Store Expo will serve up 36 "high-energy, high-caliber" sessions, NACDS said.
The expo’s business programs will enable attendees to hear from key industry leaders on key industry issues, as well as keynote speakers addressing relevant and timely topics. Insight sessions and super sessions will offer presentations by experts on a range of key issues and priorities, including health care, business and logistics. Each of the sessiosn is identified by one of three subject areas: consumer goods, pharmacy and supply chain.
In the Innovation Zone, attendees can learn about the latest technological advances via a different approach to collaboration, learning, imagining and conducting business. One highlight, NACDS, will be a demonstration of 3-D printing technology.
Also at the expo will be NACDS’ Meet the Retailer program, which provies a how-to for exhibitors in doing business with retail companies, and its Meet the Market program, in which exhibitors will present their company and products to retailers through a series of 10-minute appointments arranged by NACDS, resulting in thousands of meetings.
"As with all of our meetings and conferences, NACDS is dedicated to the success of all the retailers and suppliers attending the inaugural NACDS Total Store Expo," Anderson added. "I can think of no better way to put a capstone on the 80th anniversary of NACDS than with this uniquely powerful show format that delivers the right business opportunities to foster meaningful discussions in a personalized manner."
