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Four Days of Conference Sessions and Expo Buying from Over 200 Select Vendors for Nonprofit and Independent Retailers

The Museum Store Association (MSA) will hold its annual Retail Conference & Expo April 17-20, 2015 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Conn. The 2015 MSA Retail Conference & Expo offers four days of dynamic learning sessions, learning excursions and opportunities to network with 300 museum store professionals and more than 200 select vendors who offer products and services for nonprofit and independent retailers.

Conference sessions will be presented by today’s leading thinkers in nonprofit and for-profit retail who will share knowledge about the latest topics in nonprofit and small business retailing. Sessions include Open To Buy Workshop, Retail Boot Camp, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Retailers, Sales Guaranteed: The Only Four Things You Need to Know to Improve Museum Store Sales, Perspectives On Fair Trade, 29 Tech Tools to Create Cool Content for Social Media, Looking at Business Through Your Customers’ Eyes and eCommerce A to Z: Selling the Museum Experience Online.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Roderick Buchanan, director of buying at the British Museum Company; and award-winning National Geographic and U.S. Army combat photographer Dick Durrance. Session presenters include Paul Flickinger, former vice president at Event Network; authors Olga I. Mizrahi and Beth Ziesenis; retail consultants Kevin Mullaney and Andrew Andoniadis; Stuart Hata, director of retail operations at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; and David Rekuc, marketing director at Ripen eCommerce and contributor to Entrepreneur magazine.

“Retailers often find themselves doing a balancing act every day, performing a variety of functions and responsibilities,” said Jama Rice, MSA Executive Director/CEO. “They balance inventory control, staffing, merchandising, displays, financial management, marketing and even event planning, and at the same time they must stay apprised of all that’s happening at their institutions and stores. The 2015 Conference & Expo will provide tools to help balance the balancing act.”

The four-day event includes conference sessions, admission to the Expo, networking events and select meals. MSA Retail Boot Camp along with a one-day Expo Pass is available for $299. Learning excursions to the Preservation Society of Newport County Mansions, and the Mark Twain House & Museum and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center can be purchased separately. Special conference rates are available at the Marriot Hartford Downtown. Registration, hotel and travel information museumstoreassociation.org.

Now in its 60th year, the Museum Store Association is a nonprofit, international association dedicated to advancing the success of nonprofit retail professionals in extending the brand and contributing to the bottom lines of their institutions. MSA serves over 1,500 members in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Asia and Europe. With eight regional chapters, MSA offers products and services for the retail industry including the Nonprofit Retail Professional Certificate program; ShopTalk, MSA’s online community; monthly webinars; programs and networking events at regional trade shows; and publications including the 2014 Retail Industry Report.

I don’t think I could have had a better introduction to Las Vegas than heading there for their terrific new Las Vegas Market! I had never been to Vegas before (shocking, I know…) so I decided that seeing this new show, finding some new vendors, and thanking our new partners in person was like hitting the trifecta (note gambling reference). MSA has created some educational programming in tandem with the organizers of this relatively new market and I wanted to check everything out in person.

Everything about Vegas is big: the city, the hotels, the casinos, and the welcome mat that was put out for the many buyers from MSA by Sarah Jones, Angelia Singleton and Dorothy Belshaw. They are brilliant folks behind the establishment of this exciting new market and they went the extra mile (maybe more!) in making me feel welcomed and assisted in all aspects of my trip. The curated tours, small gatherings, useful info about the show, the vendors, and the permanent showrooms were offered in the most gracious way possible.

As buyers, we are always in the hunt for new sources, and hitting a show in an entirely different region can give you an added boost when it comes to finding “the new.” I found one new housewares line (very contemporary) and I asked if I would see them at the NY Gift Show. They said they didn’t have a booth in NY, only showrooms in Vegas and Atlanta. Now I do love NY and it is a huge source for all the departments our store buys for, but it can be really rewarding to find that awesome new thing you just weren’t going to see otherwise.

The old notion of the “City of Sin” that many people grew up with has been altered to become an enormous tourist destination. Sure, there are still the massive casinos filled with gamblers. But there are also the amazing restaurants in every hotel, most created by celebrity chefs. There are fountains with “dancing waters” and a life-size replica of the Eiffel Tower and the Rialto Bridge. Did I say everything is BIG??!!? The new “strip” is a bit like a Hollywood back-lot—on steroids. And, even in summer, the streets were filled with tourists, most there for the attractions of the city and not the “gamblers paradise.” (Confession: lost a whole $3 in a slot machine. True story.)

AND I stayed at the Venetian. OK, the suite was big (there it is again!) and totally comfortable. I know the psychology for the gambling public is “make them so comfortable they won’t want to leave.” But isn’t that the psychology of the whole hospitality industry? Anyway, large, comfy and gracious is the way to go. If you can get a deal at one of these places, it really makes a difference. Bring comfortable shoes as well. It is a bit of a hike to anywhere… and that includes inside the hotel!

I have to say that it really was a blast and a total immersion in an American cultural experience. So Las Vegas was a TRIP in every possible way. And yes, it is a dry heat

David Duddy
Deputy Director for Operations, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
First Vice President, MSA