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blog: By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator
At the International Home + Housewares Show in March, the Innovation Theater in the Lakeside Center (formerly called the Housewares Design Theater) will present 20 educational programs, every hour beginning Saturday afternoon and ending Tuesday afternoon. The Theater, which was located in the Level 3 Lobby, moves to Room E350 (near the entry to the Level 3 Lobby) where experts in new product development and launch will discuss critical and timely topics in our industry. As the Show approaches, we’ll introduce you to the presenters with a series of blog stories. Be sure to mark your calendars for these exciting programs! Check www.housewares.org regularly for updates on the schedule of Show events.
Knowing Innovation: Jim Klar, Global Sales Director, Easy2 Technologies
Innovation Theater, Lakeside Center Room E350, Tuesday, 11:30 am—12:20 pm
Easy2 was founded in 1999 and is a global leader in interactive merchandising content and technology that drives sales. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in the UK and a presence in Benelux, Australia and New Zealand, Easy2 serves many markets: home improvement, housewares, appliances, sporting goods, consumer electronics and juvenile products. Easy2 was founded with the goal of using interactive technology to bring the in-store experience online. Now the technology used on smartphones and tablets can bring the online experience in-store, a full circle. Since 2006, Easy2 has offered a platform that allows a self-service or full-service experience to create and syndicate product demos and product selectors. The platform is currently licensed by more than 180 major consumer brands that renew at 90% per year.
Jim, what inspires your passion in your work or area of expertise?
I am excited by the interplay of technology and the universal human desire to buy stuff. Every major leap in communications technology has been followed closely by a way to use it to sell things. As soon as newspapers appeared, we had ads for real estate. As soon as the first radio stations went on the air we had sponsored radio programs. Same with television. The Internet was opened to commercial activities in 1991 and four years later, Amazon went online. Technology is always new, always changing, but always makes buying (and selling) stuff better!
Why did you choose to speak at the International Home + Housewares Show?
Easy2 has a great deal of experience in interactive technology as it relates to marketing, merchandising and sales, particularly for high-profile clients in the housewares industry. Our company philosophy has always been to consult our clients and partners, not just “sell,” because we’re only successful when clients have benefitted significantly from their relationship with us. We want to see every brand and retailer in the housewares industry succeed so we’re extremely pleased to help educate and inform them about how technology can help them achieve their goals and increase their sales.
Tell us what you will be speaking about and how and this topic is important for Show audiences.
We’ll be covering “Smart Merchandising for Smartphone Shoppers” and discussing how brands and retailers should embrace the prevalence of mobile devices to connect with shoppers. Giving them the information they need at the exact moment they need it, whether they are researching, price shopping, or standing right there in the aisle can turn shoppers into buyers.
This is your first time as a speaker at the Show, what are you expecting?
This is my first time speaking at the Show although I have attended for many years. I look forward to engaging with the audience and helping them learn about what smartphone technology can do to increase their sales and create a much stronger connection with their shoppers.
How does the Innovation Theater help you spread your message?
A forum to discuss innovation always leads to the exchange of new and more creative ideas. Being able to consult manufacturers and retailers and help them understand what types of technologies are available to connect with their smartphone shoppers is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding!
What kind of impact as a whole can the speakers of the Innovation Theater have at the Show?
Without trying to sound overdramatic, you can really change the industry because all of its movers and shakers are there – the people who make decisions and get things done! Reaching them and engaging them with valuable information can inspire the entire housewares industry to embrace the innovative ideas presented. Growth comes from innovation, and I hope that our presentation enjoys spirited discussion.
What are some of today’s trends or issues that new product development professionals face in the housewares market?
The largest issue with new product development has always been “how do we communicate to shoppers that they need this product?” We firmly believe that demonstrating it to see its benefits is the secret weapon! Letting them see how it works, what it looks like from all angles, how to assemble it or take it apart makes it easy for the shopper to make a purchase decision. Instead of relying on them to imagine how it operates, show them! Be their imagination.
What is the best advice you could give someone trying to get into your area of expertise?
Work hard, do lots of independent research and keep your eyes open – There are always needs to be filled, but not always solutions for those needs. Keep an open mind and solutions will present themselves because great stuff is happening all around you all the time, and there is never a better time to learn than now.
Thanks, Jim, for sharing your pre-Show enthusiasm with us.
We encourage exhibitors, retailers and other Show attendees to come to hear Jim speak at the Innovation Theater, Lakeside Center, Room E350 on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. If your work touches upon email marketing, website development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click media campaigns, or online merchandising, this program is for you. Jim can help you increase your sales through the use of online and mobile merchandising technology and integrating it with your traditional marketing mix.
Learn more about Easy2 and its services by visiting www.easy2.com
John Tighe is senior vice president and general merchandise manager of home for jcpenney. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. is one of America’s leading retailers. The $17.8 billion retailer operates over 1,100 jcpenney department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, jcp.com, serving more than half of America’s families each year. Tighe started his retail career at Filene’s followed by Meier and Frank, before joining jcpenney in 2002. Since joining the retailer, Tighe has held the positions of senior buyer for denim, divisional merchandise manager for junior sportswear and senior vice president and director of jcp.com. He was promoted to his current position in 2010. jcpenney is recognized as the leading corporate advocate for the afterschool issue, partnering with leading youth organizations to make life-enriching programs accessible for working families. Through its legacy of supporting youth and charitable organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Y, National 4-H, United Way and FIRST® Robotics, jcpenney formalized its commitment to the afterschool cause by establishing the jcpenney afterschool fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Since its inception, more than $100 million has been distributed to afterschool programs across every jcpenney community, thereby making it possible for more kids to spread their wings.
Vincent Naccarato is currently the chairman of Molto Capital and serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Design at IIT. He started his career in the housewares industry at Wilton Enterprises in 1969, then known as Wilton Industries, and purchased Wilton when it was a public company in the mid-1980s. Under his leadership, the business realized exceptional growth through the expansion of product categories and an undivided focus on the consumer in an effort to build a strong consumer brand. With the addition of such brands as Copco, Rowoco and Weston Galleries, along with an intense organic expansion of product categories, the niche cake decorating business became a major player within the housewares industry. Naccarato serves on the board of Iowa Wesleyan College, is chairman of the Naccarato Family Foundation and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. He is Trustee Emeriti of the DuPage Community Foundation for his many years of service and was a member of the IHA Board of Directors from 1996-2002, serving as Chairman in 2000-01.
Both Neil and Jane Golub are actively involved with their ‘Family in Business.’ Neil most recently was Price Chopper’s CEO and now serves as executive chairman of the board. Jane is the director, in-store marketing programs. Based in Schenectady, N.Y., the Golub Corporation owns and operates 128 Price Chopper supermarkets in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont. The American-owned, family-managed company prides itself on longstanding traditions of innovative food merchandising, leadership in community service and cooperative employee relations. Together, Neil and Jane have dedicated their efforts to support causes that inspire positive change and instill hope. For more than two decades, they have served as regional chairs for the Special Olympics and played a pivotal role in underwriting the Wildwood School and The Center for Disability Services, both of which provide support and assistance to the mentally and physically challenged. Their other philanthropic endeavors include: annual support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation; endowment of the Neil and Jane Golub Breast Care Center at Ellis Hospital/Bellevue Campus; co-chairing Ellis Hospital’s Health Care System’s Fund Campaign; Neil’s chairmanship of the board of Paul Newman’s Double H Hole in the Woods Ranch, Adirondacks, N.Y.; Neil’s service as the local co-host of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and national Vice President for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for nearly 30 years; Jane becoming the first woman to receive the “Boy Scouts Citizen of the Year Award”; and Jane’s service as a longtime spokesperson for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
