| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 |
| .8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
Registration (Hilton Center Foyer) |
| .12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
Silent Auction (Hilton Center Foyer)
Bid on great prizes—all proceeds benefit AWMA’s government affairs department. |
| .5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. |
The REAL DEAL Welcome Reception (Hilton Pavilion 11) |
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 |
| .7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
Registration (Hilton Center Foyer) |
| .7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
Silent Auction (Hilton Center Foyer)
All proceeds will benefit AWMA’s government affairs programs. |
| .7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. |
Industry Breakfast (Hilton Pavilion 11) |
| .7:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. |
Welcome and Opening Remarks (Hilton Pavilion 9)
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Sherwin Herring
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2009 AWMA Chairman Sherwin Herring welcomes you to the AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO. |
| .7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. |
General Session: Tobacco Taxation and Regulation (Hilton Pavilion 9)
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Michael Shannon
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John Hoel
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Henry Turner
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Dave Riser
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The new Congress and Administration promise to bring new challenges to our industry. Will these changes bring even more restrictive regulation and taxation? And, what can we do to ensure that our lawmakers and those responsible for public policy recognize the value of the distribution channel? The stakes couldn’t be higher – distributors have depended upon profits from tobacco for many years and new legislative initiatives threaten that prosperity. You’ve heard it said that “forewarned is forearmed” – understanding the new legislative landscape is key.
Join us for an enlightening panel discussion on what these recent government changes will mean for the tobacco business and for distributors in particular. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn firsthand what challenges lie ahead and how our industry can best meet those challenges in order to successfully operate in the future. Join moderator Scott Ramminger, President & CEO of AWMA, as he asks the hard questions of industry leaders Mike Shannon, Lorillard Tobacco Company, John Hoel and Henry Turner, Altria Client Services Inc., and Dave Riser, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. |
| .8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. |
Break |
| .9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. |
General Session: "Maximizing Distributor Information Assets" (Hilton Pavilion 9)
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Viv Penninti
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Tom Tambellini
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Viv Penninti and Tom Tambellini, InfoRhythms, Inc., discuss the increasing importance of distributor retail sales data for category management and sales tracking applications. At the same time, industry consolidation and the current economic crisis is likely to increase margin pressures over the next several years. The new AWMA Data Program is a critical effort to help the distributor community maximize the value of its information assets. The talk covers (a) the need, (b) what it means, and (c) the benefits of the program. Please join us for this presentation that ushers in the “Information Era” to the AWMA distribution community. |
| .9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. |
General Session: Boosting Candy Sales & Profits (Hilton Pavilion 9)
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Kit Dietz
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The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA), the National Confectioners Association (NCA), and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) representing convenience retailers, their distributors, and the manufacturers of candy and gum have joined together to sponsor an in-depth study to help generate increased sales and profit of confection products in convenience stores across the U.S.
The confections category is an important sales and profit driver for all AWMA Distributor Members. Chocolates, Non-chocolates, Gum & Mints provide a fairly consistent margin, cube/weight relationship in the supply chain, which translates into profitable incremental sales opportunities in this highly impulse driven consumer category. Building a better understanding of the consumer in each of the confections segments and using that information to influence category management at very granular level will assure the development of best of class planograms to capture greater consumer sales within the channel.
Innovation and new items are major contributors to category growth and core brands are the anchors of the confections category. How can we improve our new item execution? What is the upside opportunity? What tactics can we deploy to improve our speed to shelf? How can we more effectively deal with product failures? How can we improve our in-stock position on core brands at retail and what is the upside?
Please join us for this presentation that is designed to bring you new insights and executable tactics to help you gain greater sales and profitability in all segments of the confections category. |
| .10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO (Las Vegas Hilton Center) |
| .4:45 p.m. |
$2,500 Prize Drawing (Resource Central)
Drop off your tickets at Resource Central before the drawing. After the winner’s name is drawn, they will have 5 minutes to get to Resource Central to claim the prize. |
| .5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
The AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO Thursday Reception (Hilton Pavilion 11) |
| Friday, March 20, 2009 |
| .7:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. |
AWMA Board of Directors Meeting (Hilton Pavilion 11) |
| .7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
Silent Auction (Hilton Center Foyer)
Bidding will end at 12:00 noon on Friday and the winners will be posted at 12:30 pm. All proceeds will benefit AWMA’s government affairs department. |
| .7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Registration (Hilton Center Foyer) |
| .8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. |
Industry Breakfast (Hilton Center Foyer) |
| .8:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. |
General Sessions: (Hilton Pavilion 9)
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Al Bates
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Managing Through the FET Increase
The increase in the FET on April 1, 2009 will be the largest increase in history, and the effect of this on our industry has generated serious distributor concern. Join Al Bates as he discusses the impact this increase will have on distributors’ financial performance as well as other potential changes that may occur and provides some perspectives on the issues involved.
Maximizing Profit on Every Customer
The reality for most AWMA members is that they generate the lion’s share of their profit from only a few customers. The remaining customers are often only marginally profitable or may even be costing the firm money. There are two challenges associated with this issue—measuring the actual profit generated from each customer and then doing something about it. Join Al Bates, Profit Planning Group, as he introduces the latest AWMA Customer Profitability template for measuring profitability. This tool is designed to allow firms to measure the profitability of each account quickly and easily, and it will be available to AWMA members at the time of the REAL DEAL EXPO. In this session, Bates will also provide specific guidelines on how distributors can make improvements in profitability by knowing where to work and how to develop a philosophy of profit improvement. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to maximize customer profits. |
| .10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
AWMA REAL DEAL EXPO (Las Vegas Hilton Center) |
| .2:00 p.m. |
Buyer Reward Program Drawings (Resource Central)
Drop off your tickets at Resource Central before the drawing. Winners for each prize will be announced and must be present to win. They will have 5 minutes to get to Resource Central to claim the prize. |
| .2:45 p.m. |
Grand Prize Drawings (Resource Central)
Drop off your tickets at Resource Central before the drawing. After the winner’s name is drawn, they will have 5 minutes to get to Resource Central to claim the prize. |
