Peter Giannetti and Sonya Ruff Jarvis at the 4th annual Home Improvement eRetailer Summit
What were you doing last week? I had the honor and privilege to gather with a group of professionals in the home improvement Retail DIY space. We were all focused on eCommerce and trying to learn, meet, and collaborate with one another. I believe that life-long friendships were made last week.
A special shout out to a life-long industry friend of mine, Peter Giannetti who is the editor and chief of HomeWorld Business magazine. We started to get to know one another in 2004 and found out that he went to Syracuse University at the same time as one of my brothers, grew up in a town where my father-in-law was raised and is very familiar with my husband’s hometown (a small suburb of Albany, NY). It wasn’t surprising that when I asked Peter to be my co-master of ceremonies that he said yes; and, he was an amazing facilitator, moderator and all-around rock star! Thank you, Peter and HomeWorld Business magazine!
Content was QUEEN at the Summit!
Laura Heller, Forbes Contributor and David Weiss, MacMillan Doolittle kicked us off with a robust conversation around global retail trends and what is driving the industry. Hint the word “trust” came up a lot! A room curated to be a safe haven to speak the truth and even these two didn’t agree on everything!
Laura Heller and David Weiss
The NPD Group never disappoints with fresh data, trends and insights. Thanks to Leen Nsouli and Shay Kraft with their expertise on the home improvement eCommerce industry. There were a number of big takeaways here, one that population changes are very favorable for the home improvement channel.
Leen Nsouli, Industry Analyst, The NPD Group
The DIY Playbook’s presentation on Influencers and how to measure ROI with Michael Finn and Casey Finn. They literally opened their playbook and walked us through a home improvement account and how it all works. Plus, the numerous retail conversations had during panels, networking groups and one-on-one meetings.
Casey Finn and Michael Finn from The DIY Playbook
Transform Holdco LLC, True Value and Firefly Buys
We all gained something NEW ... new learnings, new connections, new business and new industry friends.
Spreetail and Eco Flo …
Rakuten Super Logistics and Rock Solid Supply
Thanks to all of the attendees and speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to spend last week in Chicago with the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit. A special thanks to the Summit‘s 2019 sponsors the National Hardware Show, VESTA, EZ AD, E.A. Langenfeld and OneStone. We hope to see everyone next year, September 30 - October 2, 2020 back in Chicago celebrating the Summit’s 5th anniversary!
Sonya Ruff Jarvis, is the Managing Member of Jarvis Consultants and the Founder of the eRetailer Summit and JC Event Group. An expert in her field, Sonya has been published in numerous retail industry b-to-b publications. Sonya shares her experiences in her book series Mindful Minutes: A Marketer’s Journey Through Business. In addition, Sonya collaborated in publishing an anthology, Mentoring Moments: 14 Remarkable Women Share Their Breakthroughs to Success.
Sonya has a M.B.A. in Marketing. She is married and has a daughter and they live in Trumbull, Connecticut.
Follow Sonya on twitter at @jarvisconsult or @eretailersummit