True Value reunites in Orlando
ORLANDO, FLORIDA—True Value’s Fall Reunion took place Sept. 9-11 at Orlando’s sprawling Orange County Convention Center.
The event marked a departure from past True Value Reunions in that it did not include a general session, in which the distributor’s leaders usually rally dealers around new programs and practices.
“Reunion is our opportunity to strengthen the ways we uniquely partner with our retailers and vendors to drive their growth. This fall show, we leaned into that in a new way by investing in the support areas we already do really well, primarily our education offerings,” True Value CEO Chris Kempa said. “This move was based on direct feedback from our attendees and is rooted in our promise of being Here For You. We refreshed our Retail Best Practices Conference, focused our business updates in the ways most relevant to our audiences, and spent as much time as possible on the show floor with all of our partners.”
True Value's Retail Best Practices Conference, which was held the day prior to the show floor opening this year, featured keynote speaker Troy Hazard along with five education tracks led by a variety of industry experts. True Value also hosted an open forum for its co-op members to receive business updates, as well as a Vendor Summit for its supplier partners.
On the show floor, there was no shortage of activity for the estimated 2,100 True Value retailers and over 1,800 vendors in attendance. The event included practical and tactical guidance for store owners, ranging from incorporating live plants into an inventory mix, to tackling business financing and participating in True Value Foundation programs.
Attendees were also treated to an outing at nearby Universal Studios.
True Value University (TVU), which facilitated the show’s educational sessions, showcased a multitude of services available for retailers, including on-demand business-bolstering education like Microsoft training (Word, PowerPoint and Excel), marketing guidance, creating playlists, vendor product training and more.
Cybersecurity and fraud prevention were hot topics, with several educational sessions focused on helping store owners protect sensitive data and avoid a costly hack. Larry Baumann, an IT expert with True Value, shared how to create a small business cybersecurity plan, which includes:
- Listing your digital assets.
- Determining compliance with laws and regulations (local, state and national).
- Conducting risk assessments.
- Developing security policies and procedures.
- Budgeting annually for IT.
Joanne Brennan, True Value’s director of category vendor management, shared how the company is striving to create more substantive connections between retailers and vendors to maximize benefits for all parties.
Meanwhile, Kristie Quaderer, who oversees the company’s power tool accessories division, shared how True Value makes data-driven decisions in partnership with retailers to determine which products land on shelves. That includes regional building preferences and hands-on testing to ensure products are user-friendly, she says.
Products and product demos were the stars on the showfloor. There were plenty of new items on display, along with new True Value vendors, such as Spyder. Among the new products and packaging on the showfloor were Quikerete’s Zip and Mix pouches, a Zero Gravity framing saw from CMT, and a machine-washable air filter made by Airthreds.
