Future Stores 2025
Site Tours: June 03, 2025 | Main Days: June 04 - 05, 2025
JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE
Day One: The Retail Experience is Everywhere
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Registration & Breakfast In The Innovation Lab
8:30 am - 8:40 am
Welcome Remarks & Ice Breaker
8:40 am - 9:20 am
Panel: Defining Your Physical Presence: The Purpose and Future of Retail Spaces
Courtney Hawkins -
SVP, Global Retail,
Mejuri
Neil Morgan -
Head of Strategy,
Filson
Kim Heidt -
Chief Retail Officer,
Tecovas
Angela Jaskolski -
Chief Revenue Officer,
Madison Reed
Melissa Daniels -
Senior Reporter,
Modern Retail
While the customer craves greater seamlessness between online and offline shopping, how are you defining the physical retail space in the customer journey? Our panelists from across retail will share how they are:
- Determining what the customer is looking for from your physical presence
- Operationalizing the store for blended, connected commerce shopping
- Leveraging location in the way you interact with the community
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Keynote: Designed for Life at Lovesac: An Evolutionary Retail Design to Fit an Ever-Evolving Customer Landscape
Shawn Nelson -
CEO,
Lovesac
Shawn Nelson, CEO of Lovesac, delves into the company’s visionary approach to design, innovation, and the evolution of retail in the digital age. Shawn will speak to the brand’s commitment to designing products that are built to last and designed to evolve with the customer’s home.
- Creating an immersive and compelling shopping environment for customers
- How Lovesac’s design philosophy is interwoven into the fabric of the showroom experience
- Adapting retail spaces to meet the evolving expectations of modern consumers
9:40 am - 10:00 am
Partner Keynote: Retail Store Technology: Aligning Technology with the Customer Journey
Craig Witsoe -
CEO,
Elo
Join Craig Witsoe, Elo’s CEO, in this must-see keynote as he discusses the rapidly evolving retail landscape and its pivotal shift towards customer-centric technology. As consumer expectations continue to evolve, retailers must adapt their store technology to seamlessly integrate with every step of the customer journey. This keynote explores how forward-thinking retailers are leveraging innovative technologies to create immersive, personalized, and frictionless shopping experiences.
10:00 am - 10:40 am
LoveSac Book Signing & Refreshments in The Innovation Lab
10:40 am - 11:00 am
Case Study Presentation: Beyond the Four Walls: Extending Your Brand into Non-Traditional Formats
Kirby Meindl -
Global Head of Retail Design and Experience,
bp
Kirby Meindl brought her retail design experience to BP, a global mobility and convenience company with over 20,000 fuel retail sites around the world, with the aim of customer centricity and brand transformation. In reimagining the BP retail experience, Kirby goes back to the origin of the convenience store, with emphasis on “convenience”. Kirby will talk through how she and her team are exploring:
- How to move beyond what we’ve always done to an exciting new unknown
- Stepping beyond the traditional fuel site format to support the rapidly evolving to trends in hybrid and electric vehicles
- Positioning BP as a more integrated provider of convenience to customers, beyond typical fuel and charging missions
11:00 am - 11:20 am
Partner Keynote: How Office Depot is Creating a Modern Store Experience
Matthew Guiste -
Global Retail Technology Strategist,
Zebra Technologies
Kim Ferdin -
Senior Manager of Communications and Training,
Office Depot
Office Depot is a leading specialty retailer providing innovative products and services to support the productivity and organizations of small businesses, home office, and education clients. They are on the cutting edge of solving the challenge of how to satisfy shifting customer expectations while engaging and retaining employees. Learn how Office Depot is using Zebra Workcloud solutions and Zebra devices to enable stores to become more operationally efficient, improving employee productivity and customer satisfaction.
11:20 am - 11:50 am
Panel: Connecting Communities: Fostering Customer Engagement In-Store and Beyond through Community Building
Drew Green -
CEO,
Indochino
Juliet Scott-Croxford -
President, North America,
Brompton
Matt Werder -
VP, Retail Operations,
Fleet Feet
Kambiz Hemati -
Executive Creative Director,
Workshop Blue
As brands work to strengthen their relationships with consumers, retail leaders know that the physical store can help brands create, connect with, and grow communities. Our panelists will discuss how:
- Making strategic decisions around store openings in new and emerging markets
- Engaging with existing communities relating to the company brand outside the four walls of the store
- Staffing the retail location for store operations as well as community engagement
11:50 am - 12:15 pm
Fire-Side Chat: Expanding Brick & Mortar for Specialty Retail
Chad Lundeen -
VP, Real Estate,
Saatva
Freddy Cameron -
Senior Director, Retail Operations,
Cookies
Michael Greeby -
CEO,
work.shop
- Understanding where your customer is and the different market opportunities to unlock
- Determining mall and lifestyle center leases and what works for your brand
- Personalizing approaches for different markets
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Networking Lunch for All Attendees
Track A: The Next Generation of Store Design
1:15 pm - 1:55 pm Panel: The All-Inclusive Retail Experience: Designing for Blended Retail Sarah Tava - Global Director, Retail, Fjallraven Andrew Lande-Shannon - VP, Visual Merchandising, Design, & Store Innovation, Madison Reed Kambiz Hemati - Executive Creative Director, Workshop Blue
Track A: The Next Generation of Store Design
1:55 pm - 2:15 pm Partner Case Study: Transforming Visual Merchandising with AI Tom Erskine - CEO, One DoorAI has the potential to radically transform Visual Merchandising processes, from store design to in-store execution. In this session, One Door will share a vision for how AI can be deployed to improve Visual Merchandising performance and drive sales, and describe how it is already being used today to deliver value on the salesfloor.
Track A: The Next Generation of Store Design
2:15 pm - 2:35 pm Case Study Presentation: Back to Basics: Delivering Great Product and a Great Customer Journey in Untraditional Retail Donna Genesky - VP, Retail, Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Wes Trump - Director, Brand Environments & Merchandising, Delaware North
Track A: The Next Generation of Store Design
2:35 pm - 3:05 pm Future Stores Tonight: Mastering Store Planning and Design for Maximum Impact Paul Diamond - Store Design Lead, Microsoft Angela Kendall - Director, Retail, Velvet by Graham & Spencer
Track B: The Future Associate Experience
1:15 pm - 1:55 pm Panel: Empowering the Frontline with the Tools for Exceptional Customer Service Robyn Martin - Senior Director, Store Operations, Mattress Firm Sid Arigapudi - Director, Omnichannel & Retail Technology, Vans, VFC Janis Avila - Customer Experience Strategist, Janis Avila
Track B: The Future Associate Experience
1:55 pm - 2:15 pm Partner Case Study: Intelligently Automating for Empowerment: Reframing Workforce Management Michael Spataro - Chief Customer Officer, Legion Technologies Kristin Brennan - VP of Marketing, LegionJoin us as we dive into how workforce management (WFM) is evolving from its traditional focus on labor efficiency to becoming a powerful tool for employee engagement. This engaging talk, backed by the latest insights from the 2024 State of the Hourly Workforce Report, highlights the transformative power of full automation in WFM. We’ll demonstrate how automating the entire WFM process not only reduces the grind of administrative tasks but also empowers employees to focus on what really matters—like customer interactions and strategic initiatives. Discover how the new wave of WFM can boost both productivity and satisfaction in your workforce. Ready to rethink how we manage and empower your teams? Let’s explore the exciting possibilities together!
Track B: The Future Associate Experience
2:15 pm - 2:40 pm Case Study: Cultivating Success: Crafting an Associate Roadmap for Retail Excellence Alex Powers - Senior Managers, Communications, Culture, & Engagement, Office Depot
Track B: The Future Associate Experience
2:40 pm - 3:05 pm Case Study: Leveraging Your Associates for Brand Success Kim Rila - Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner, TheRealReal
3:05 pm - 3:35 pm
Afternoon Refreshment Break
3:35 pm - 4:35 pm
Collaborative Roundtables
Joshua Bailey -
Director, Store Design,
Todd Snyder
Eileen Siraki -
Senior Manager, Retail Experience,
Benjamin Moore & Co.
Dwight Howell -
Director, Store Design,
Target
Elena Stungis -
VP, Sales, US & Canada,
Majorica International
Chad Lundeen -
VP, Real Estate,
Saatva
Eric Bergstrom -
Director, Global Retail,
Burton Snowboards
Choose one of the below topics to discuss and benchmark with 10-15 of your peers.
- Crafting Compelling Microworlds: Designing Inviting and Unique Spaces for the Modern Male Customer - Joshua Bailey, Senior Design Architect, Todd Snyder
- Revitalizing Stores at Scale: Determining Pace and Process - Eileen Siraki, Senior Manager, Retail Experience, Benjamin Moore & Co.
- Building a Diverse Talent Pipeline in Store Design - Dwight Howell, Director, Store Design, Target
- Expanding Horizons: Entering Physical Retail as a Global Brand - Elena Stungis, VP, Sales, US & Canada, Majorica International
- Working with Landlords to Streamline Store Development - Chad Lundeen, VP, Real Estate, Saatva
- Calculating ROI & Identifying Metrics for the Brick & Mortar Store - Eric Bergstrom, Director, Global Retail, Burton Snowboards
