Tipping Digital and A New Content Platform

Wiley and the Digital Tipping Point

In June John Wiley & Sons, Inc. reported their fourth quarter, and year end earnings. The report was interesting not only for what it says about Wiley, but also what it indicates about the digital course materials market. In October of last year Wiley acquired Deltak, an online learning management company, for $220 million. Wiley reported that Deltak contributed 28% of Wiley revenue for the fourth quarter. Wiley's move into online education management also serves to leverage Wiley Plus adoption. Wiley Plus is their online teaching and learning solution. Wiley Plus contributed 20% of Wiley’s revenue for the quarter. Together Deltak and Plus contributed 48%, exceeding Print Textbooks at 40%. And Print Textbooks is the only revenue stream in Wiley's education division that is in decline - down 26%. Here are some excerpts from the report:

• Fourth quarter revenue grew 25%, to $63 million. Excluding Deltak ($17 million), revenue fell 9% due to a decline in print textbook sales including for-profit institutional sales.
• Fiscal year digital revenue grew $51 million to 30% of revenue vs. 15% in the prior year mainly due to the addition of Deltak revenue, +26% growth in WileyPLUS, and increased ebook sales.
• Education revenue fell 9% due to a sharp decline in print textbooks, which more than offset growth in Wiley PLUS and other digital revenue.

Nook + Microsoft Apps + Pearson Content  = Interactive Platform for Digital Content

Meanwhile on August 20, Barnes and Noble reported their first quarter earnings. With Retail down 9.9%, and Nook down 39%, College is the lead performer for the quarter, up 2.4%.During the B&N Earnings conference call, there is reference to the "exploding demand" for reading devices in education in terms of the Nook, and the "strong future" B&N sees for their College division based on their investments in digital and ecommerce. Then B&N President and CEO MIchael Huseby says that together with B&N's "primary partner" Pearson, they will develop digital products and services that "will be delivered in the near term." 

As you know, last year Pearson took a %5 equity position with the Nook by investing $89.5 million. Earlier in 2012 Microsoft acquired 17.6% equity in Noon with their investment of $300 million. So that Nook is now tracking a 39% decline does not tell us the entire story of the Nook's future. For that we need to consider B&N' s strategic goals for the device. As well as what plans Pearson and Microsoft may have for the Nook.

"With this investment we have entered into a commercial agreement with NOOK Media that will allow our two companies to work closely together in order to create a more seamless and effective experience for students."    - Will Ethridge, CEO Pearson North America

Let's return to a January article in the Financial Times, which actually originated from dealReporter, a news service focused on providing event-driven intelligence for investors. Citing "two sources familiar with the matter", it says that B&N plans to launch an interactive platform with the goal of becoming a leading distributor of electronic textbooks. A person close to B&N says that the Pearson investment could be one of several publisher partnerships to come. According to an "industry banker", developing such a digital distribution platform could be a step toward providing the software applications which the education market "desperately" needs. Hence the Microsoft partnership.

Leasing Trend Acceleration?

What might a B&N-Microsoft-Pearson (and other pubs) platform mean in terms of the growing trend of leasing college stores? College is the lead performer for B&N in their first quarter with a "strong future" based on B&N's investments in digital and ecommerce. And they refer to their first quarter growth of fifteen new leased college stores with sales totaling $35 million. 

Have you noticed the new direction of the marketing campaigns from leasing companies? Where as in the past their messages were about being as popular as an on-campus pizza franchise, or their legacy of book retailing, their new campaigns promise the digital future and a reliable connection with the student market.


From Stacy Waymire, ICBA Executive Director

ICBA President’s Update: August 2013

From David Kent, President

ICBA Board of Directors
Director, VOLSHOP, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Phone: 865.974.1042 | email me

Just in the nick of time, before you get swallowed up with back-to-school rush, I’m happy to share with you a summary of recent ICBA updates, highlights and happenings. On behalf of the ICBA Board of Directors I encourage you to contact us anytime with your thoughts and ideas.

ICBA 2014 Retail Conference
February 3-6, 2014 | Marriott New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana
Store registration opened on Wednesday, July 31, and as of today, Tuesday August 13^th, there are 158 members registered. It seems everyone, everywhere, is buzzing about the ICBA 2014 Retail Conference, not only because it’s in festive New Orleans, but also because the conference program, as always, promises to provide outstanding solution-oriented education while strengthening core relationships among store professionals, as well as with vendors. Additionally, there’s a lot of excitement about the annual Large Stores Group (LSG) Meeting co-locating with us. As ICBA strives to strengthen the brand and voice of the institutional store model, we’re extremely excited about this collaboration as another way to further cultivate strategic actions and strengthen independent stores as an industry. We are also excited about Verba Software’s decision to co-locate their inaugural Boot Camp with the ICBA Conference, thus growing the value for ICBA course material managers and buyers. Register for ICBA 2014 here.

Operating Surveys Are Now Open
By now your store has probably either completed the first part of the two-part Operating Survey or you’re in the thick of it. The Operating Survey is one of the best ICBA benefits available to you, so please keep these fast-approaching deadlines in your list of priorities:

• Survey 1 – Practice and Preferences closes on August 15, 2013.
• Survey 2 – Store Profile and Supplemental Financial Information closes September 30, 2013.

In mid-July, ICBA distributed unique store-specific-links to each member. The store-specific-links make it possible for you to enter partial data, leave the survey, and then return later to complete. If you believe you haven’t received your unique link, please contact ICBA. Learn more.

LSG Partners with ICBA for Operating Survey Platform
The dynamic relationship between ICBA and the Large Stores Group (LSG) continues to grow with LSG’s decision to join us in utilizing our new KPMG Operating Survey platform. Currently over ninety percent of U.S. LSG stores belong to ICBA.

Board of Directors Mid-year Meeting
The twelve Directors making up the ICBA 2013 Board of Directors spent three days, from July 17-19, discussing the industry and making plans. In addition to standard updates and reports from Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Staff, we focused on strengthening  ICBA, improving benefits and on future solutions—firstly for members and ultimately for independent stores everywhere. To narrow in on how to best serve members, we examined the board structure, ways to empower staff and improve competence, membership types and their needs, touched on technology needs, and discussed programs and services.

During the ICBA Board Meeting not a minute was wasted. During breakfast, lunch and dinner we continued our conversations and our focus on solutions for the future. During lunches, committees and work groups took time to meet and shared these few highlights:

• Membership Committee finalized questions for ICBA Member Satisfaction Survey. Be on the lookout and let us know what you think—anytime, not just via surveys and evaluations.
• Annual Meeting & Education Committee shared that among a vast array of education for all store professionals, the Conference will also narrow in on POS developments such as mobile and social, integrating systems, system-to-system data flow, Customer Relationship Management, loyalty programs and analytics from big data to big insights. As part of this effort, ICBA has confirmed Joe Skorupa, Editor-in-Chief of RIS News, and Richard Mader, Executive Director, NRF Association for Retail Technology Standards, as presenters at the ICBA 2014 Retail Conference.
• Technology Solutions Committee reported that they continue to explore out-of-industry POS system providers as a way to help identify improvements for our industry, and how they might improve store performance. 
• The Executive Committee is striving to collaborate with indiCo, NACS, LSG and other organizations on ways to further support independent college store needs. The Operating Survey and co-location are examples already in place. Potential proposals might incorporate such ideas as establishing technology standards, centralizing data and analytics, growing industry business intelligence and digital content platforms.

To discuss the pulse of the industry, broaden our perspectives and deepen our search for solutions, three guests were invited to join us for a day. We were honored and thankful that these industry leaders took the time to meet with us: Chris Tabor, Campus eBookstore President, Canadian Campus Retail Associates President, and Director at Queens University; George Masforroll, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services at Broward College, and NACS President; and Jeff Nelson, Director of Bookstores & Card Services at Bowling Green State University, and ICBA Technology Solutions Committee Chair. The insights and outcomes were invaluable and will inevitably be interlaced into strategic actions going forward.

Overall, the meeting was significantly successful. As news and actions surface from the Board Meeting, I’ll continue to keep you updated.

Nominations for Board of Directors
In July, during the Board Meeting, directors defined how many positions and what roles would be needed for the 2014 ICBA Board of Directors. A call for nominees from the membership will be communicated from the Nominating Committee in September.

Jeff Zeilenga Departs from the Board
Jeff Zeilenga (University of Missouri) has stepped off of the ICBA Board of Directors just six months shy of completing his term, due to other commitments and obligations. Jeff will continue to serve on the ICBA Technology Solutions Committee. Thank you to Jeff for his generous service to ICBA members!

Campus eBookstore Update
ICBA partnered with Canadian Campus Retail Associates to create Campus eBookstore (CEI). The goal of Campus eBookstore is to demonstrate the capability and credibility of independent college stores as viable participants in the distribution of digital course materials.

Where have we succeeded, and where have we not? CEI has succeeded in the first two phases of CEI development; free materials (Digital Study Versions), and commercial eTextbooks, with our partner Vital Source. Where we have not succeeded is in achieving a position in the distribution of publisher access codes in the United States, although CEI is currently distributing selected publisher access codes in Canada. We are continuing to work toward achieving that goal.

Going forward, CEI will be debuting additional software services for affiliated stores including buyback pricing data, buyback price look-up and email marketing tools, competitive pricing feeds, peer-to-peer classifieds, and product reviews.

Welcome New ICBA Members
If you haven’t already done so, please welcome the following new members that joined ICBA between January 1 and August 1, 2013.

• Auraria Higher Education Center
• Bellevue College
• Big Bend Community College
• California State University, Chico
• California State University, Fresno
• Cornell University
• Flagler College
• McGill University
• Missouri State University
• McMaster UniversityPeninsula College
• University of British Columbia
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine
• University of Nevada at Reno
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of Victoria

Sincerely,

Fast Fashion Continues to be a Treasure for College Stores

At the beginning of June, two groups of savvy, college store professionals spent two full days trolling the LA Fashion District in search of hot, fashionable merchandise to meet the growing demands of their customers. The 16 professionals represented nine schools: Auburn University, Brigham Young University, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Oklahoma State University, University of Arizona, University of Texas at Austin, University of Idaho and University of Utah. 

Each school arrived with their agendas, goals and areas to focus on. While schools such as Auburn, Long Beach and Brigham Young already had established fashion sections in their stores, others such as Oklahoma State and University of Idaho arrived with express intention to kick off their new boutique store or section using the merchandise they purchased while there in Los Angeles. With current fashion apparel and accessories at 20-60% below wholesale prices, everyone was sure to “win” during this trip. 

In August of 2012, the first ICBA LA Fashion District Excursion was initiated by ICBA to accelerate members seeking new ways to capitalize on their customers’ desires for non-imprinted fashion, and to replace lost revenue caused by changes in course materials. 


With more than 2,000 shops crammed into the LA Fashion District it was agreed that without Bob and Angie from The Insiders Buying Office, an ICBA Program Vendor, navigating the area for us, choosing the most appropriate stores with the newest fashions at the best prices would have been extremely overwhelming, challenging and potentially even more exhausting than it already was.

The first day focused on “show rooms”. These shops displayed, some quite eloquently, and others not-so-much, one of each available item. College store professionals perused and shuffled through merchandise to find just the items that made sense for their customers. While one school might have found an abundance of treasure in one shop another might pass completely. The second day included warehouses where buyers rummaged through boxes and rows of hanging merchandise to reveal their next best-seller. Since fashion isn’t complete without accessories buyers were turned loose in a three-story building crammed with jewelry, bags and purses, belts, hats, cell phone covers, cosmetics and much, much more—even plush toys were discovered.

One of the best rewards of the buying trip was the peer-to-peer networking. With each person openly lending their opinions and experiences, store-to-store sharing and learning happened at every juncture. When I asked participants what they liked best about the buying trip, among references to variety of products and great deals, they said,

• “As a first time participant and new Fashion Store opening, it was very helpful to talk to others and get ideas for our store.”
• “…finding out what other store college stores are doing in this merchandise category.”
• “I also love going with other college stores and hearing what works in their stores.”
• “I enjoyed meeting everyone and exchanging ideas.” 

Everyone can learn from the LA Fashion District Buying Excursion. This list is comprised of pointers I collected from Bob and the buyers:

   

• Be ready to do business. Before travelling, notify your credit card company. Bring your business tax certification/number. It’s also a good idea to let your shipping department know your purchases could arrive before you return or before you have time to complete the in-store procedures. Many products require that they are shipped the same day they’re purchased, while others can be held for later ship-dates—it depends on the vendor.
• Budget, plan and be prepared to bend. Have an idea of what your budget is and what you plan to buy, but be flexible and open to items you hadn’t considered. Ideally you want to know where every item will go in your store, but if you don’t, don’t let it stop you from moving forward. With hot new products at low prices it could be a low-risk way to test a new style, category or product. 
• Price to sell. With apparel and accessories at 20-60% below wholesale prices you should be able to sell most products at a high enough margin that even if you have to mark something down to 50% off, you’re still making a profit and not losing it. Advice shared among buyers was to set two or three price points that you know your customers are comfortable spending and then select merchandise priced to support those price points.
• Pay attention to sizes. Many fashion items are created with different customers in mind. LA Fashion District merchandise may not be designed for the traditional college student, but rather for the smaller frames of Asian and Latino customers—an important thing to pay attention to.
• Make it your own. In some warehouses cut or missing labels is the norm. Large companies, such as Forever 21, may drop an order and let a warehouse sell it, but only with labels cut or removed. Many collegiate retailers turn this into a branding opportunity by creating and using their own tags.
• Buy now. Be decisive and ready to buy what you see when you see it—what you see today won’t be there tomorrow. Knowing your customers’ likes and dislikes makes this much easier.
  
• Don’t overbuy. It’s okay to pass. If you have to think on it too much you may want to pass on it. As critical as it is to buy the right thing, it’s just as critical not to overbuy. 
• Don’t get pushed around. Vendors are not allowed to pressure or push you into buying. Remember this is your business and you know your customers best. It’s your money—not theirs. This rule applies in the store and everywhere.
  
• Trust yourself. If you’re new to the fashion merchandising category, have a little patience while you learn the ropes. Remember you can tap on your peers for advice, do research and find the education you need. I overheard a buyer saying something along the lines of, “I just know what to buy now. I used to agonize over every item, but I’ve been doing this for a while and now when I see something I just know right away if it will work or not.”

Overall, the 2013 LA Fashion District Buying Trip was considered extremely successful for those that attended. Having had such overwhelming success and interest for the first two years, it is likely ICBA will continue to help coordinate group buying trips for members. Be on the lookout for the next ICBA treasure hunt—and if you have any ideas please feel free to let us know.

For a fast fashion jump-start, try these:
We encourage you all to learn as much as you can, share your knowledge and successes about retailing fashion merchandise and take advantage of merchandise available from Insider’s Buying Office, an ICBA Program Vendor.

• ICBA Fashion Group on Facebook, for ICBA members, is filled with photos, promotions and great ideas. To join the ICBA Fashion Group: 1)  Log into your Facebook account. 2)  Find for “ICBA Fashion Group”. 3)  “Request to Join”, it’s found on the top right hand side of the page. 4)  Once your request is approved, you will be added to this private group.
• ICBA College Stores LinkedIn group is perfect for asking your questions, adding to conversations and searching for what you might have missed. Though it’s fantastic for your fashion questions/research, it’s also the prime place for any topic. 

• Apparel Off-Price/Insider’s Buying Office, an ICBA Program Vendor, makes it easy for you to buy contemporary fashions at 20-60% below wholesale. View their program online when you login to ICBA. See all ICBA Program Vendors. You can also contact sales@appareloffprice.com for more information, please be sure to mention ICBA.

• What vendors do you use? Click here to tell us which companies you use to fulfill your fast fashion needs. Though we’ll take the information anytime, it’d be great if you can let us know by Friday, September 13,2013. From what you and others share we’ll create a valuable resource that you can use to expand and enhance your department assortment.

Written by Sadja Pals, ICBA Marketing & Membership Manager

Top Products at the D&H BTS Expo

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to attend the D&H BTS Expo. If you’ve ever attended the event, you know how grueling, yet rewarding, the expo day can be. If you’ve not attended, think of a three minute speed date with 75 different vendors. Like the ICBA PRIMEtime event, you meet with each vendor there to learn what’s new and best sellers. And with that, here are some of my highlights of this year’s D&H Expo.

Streaming, or Bluetooth, audio is a hot category. I really liked the mobile speaker from bēm Wireless. They are a new vendor with D&H. I first met bēm Wireless at the ECRM Electronics Retail Summit in March and fell in love with the rich sound that came from this small cube—only 2.5". The speakers come in black, white, red, green orange, and purple, plus 24 “school” colors. MSRP is $69.99.

Many of you may already be familiar with Twelve South. They offer beautifully designed accessories exclusively for Apple products. The “BookBook” cases for MacBook Pro, Air/Retina, iPad, iPad mini and iPhones offer the vintage look of an old classic book. The cases are crafted in genuine leather and feature a zipper closure. MSRP ranges from $59.99 to $79.99. 

Braven Bluetooth audio speakers have been around

for a couple of years and continue to offer a great product with a great sound. The highlight of the line is the BRV-1 waterproof speaker. To demo the unit, water was poured directly onto the speaker grill while streaming music. The water danced on the grill, giving the fountains at the Bellagio a run for their money. D&H is offering a summer special of $15 off the regular wholesale price. MSRP is $179.99.

The next item is one of those “why didn’t I think of that….” type products—Guerilla Calculator Cases. We have cases to dress up and protect our smart phones and tablets. Why not the graphing/scientific calculators? Guerrilla has designed and perfected an extensive array of personalization items for the Texas Instruments line of graphing calculators. They offer protective silicone cases in a variety of colors, plus interchangeable faceplates, and themed image slide cases. MSRP is only $19.99 and is the perfect add-on to your students’ calculator purchase. 

Seems like everywhere we go, there is a GoPro camera close by recording the events. GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture company. Their demographic is inclusive of your store’s customer—18-25 year olds, who embrace technology and social media and are looking for ways to capture life as it unfolds. They offer a great program through D&H, complete with a 2 ft. product display featuring a monitor to highlight what can be seen and experienced with GoPro cameras. MSRP on the cameras range from $199.99 to $399.99, with a wide variety of accessories that can help build add-on sales and margin.

In the headphone category, SOL REPUBLIC continues to be strong with their Collegiate Series. Collegiate Series SOL REPUBLIC Tracks are the first interchangeable headphones to deliver incredible sound, style and technology featuring your college or university. SOL REPUBLIC offers a kiosk program through D&H (for new accounts only) which offers different options to display your product. MSRP for the Collegiate Series is $129.99. Other earbuds and headphone styles range from $39.99 to $179.99.

Finally, the neatest and most simplistic products of the day were the cases and sleeves from Papernomad offered by Griffin Technology. Papernomad is an amazing, and patented, paper composite that has plastic's durability and is water resistant. Papernomad’s patented paper composite is created from several layers of paper and biopolymers. The items arrive as a blank page. You can mark it, draw it, paint it or more to customize your own personal case. Their products fit MacBook Pro 13" and 15", MacBook Air 11" and 13", iPad, iPad mini, iPhone, and Galaxy S III. MSRP ranges from $39.99 to $69.99.

These are only a handful of the new and unique products shown over 75 different companies at the D&H BTS Expo. If you attended the expo and found a new product for your store, reply to this blog and let me and the other ICBA members know. We’ll share your discovery with everyone.

We hope to have each of these vendors and more in the D&H Pavilion at ICBA 2014 PRIMEtime, February 3-6, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information about these and other D&H companies, contact your D&H Account Manager. 

For information on ICBA 2014 PRIMEtime, visit www.icbainc.com/icba2014forstores

ICBA offers its member stores FREE registration (a $595 value), FREE airfare (up to $500) and a ground transportation allowance. A limited number of these are available, so register early. Registration is scheduled to open July 31. NO other organization or event in our industry offers this benefit to members or attendees.

Written by Marty Duncan, ICBA Program Manager

ICBA Concentrates for 2014

ICBA Concentrates for 2014

At member request, the ICBA 2014 Conference will begin with arrival on Monday, and end with departure on Friday. This means for our Strategic Direction, Apparel, iTech, and Academic Resources Course, the program will be one day shorter (Marketing, and Supply programs already departed on Friday).

So how do we make the Conference one day shorter, and continue to deliver the strongest solution-oriented professional education in the industry? ICBA is bringing a renewed focus to our Conference design. We are going to let the value of the content drive how the programs are structured and delivered. We are aiming toward more intimate exchanges, greater flexibility, and setting aside the typical industry rules about timing. ICBA will continue to provide the formal and informal networking that members rate as the highest value. In fact, some programs will find expanded networking time built into the program. Ultimately we believe these changes will deliver more value and benefit to our members. And we are confident that you will let us know if you like it.

Because Apparel and iTech have the most substantial PRIMEtime venues, buyers have requested that their programs offer education and networking both before and after PRIMEtime. For 2014 we are excited to announce the launch of our new Apparel and iTech Symposiums.Scheduled for 4:30 to 6:00pm on Monday, the Symposiums will deliver formal presentations and discussions, coupled with informal chatting, mixing, and mingling - and, of course refreshments!



From Stacy Waymire, ICBA Executive Director

Cure your clammy hands

Whether it’s a casual elevator speech, new student orientation, discussion with a customer, or a formal presentation to Dean of Students, presentation skills are critical. Clammy hands, heart pounding, shaky voice; yes we all know that flustered panicked feeling that prevails before giving a presentation. Just in case you've forgotten what your college speech professor lectured about on proper presentation etiquette, here is your crash course to successful speeches

• Short and sweet. State your purpose with clear and concise points and support those points with valid and intriguing information. Keep your presentation from going too long and get straight to the point so that you don’t lose your audience in unnecessary information.
• Rehearse not record. Practice does make perfect but be sure to not make the rookie mistake of memorizing your speech and sounding like a recorded message. Rehearse enough so that you know what to say and how to illustrate your points. The objective is to talk naturally to your audience not rigidly talk at them.
  
• Break the ice. Hook your audience by opening with perhaps a (short) story or anecdote that directly relates to your topic. This is similar to writing technique used by journalists called a lead. Its purpose is to catch the reader’s interest and seamlessly lead them further into the story.
• Take a stance. Be mindful of your body language meaning no fiddling of hands, clothing, or shuffling of feet. Stand up straight and keep your audience engaged with consistent eye contact.
  
• Diamond in the rough. Polish up your presentation with compelling images or videos though internet is not always reliable. Overuse of added visuals can make your presentation look rushed and unprepared. Try and only use them when they best illustrate your point. And always be prepared in case of equipment failure.
• Perfect your poker face. It’s all in the attitude; even if you are nervous pretend that you are exceedingly confident ergo you inherently start to be confident. Never apologize for nervousness, be passionate about your speech, and always believe in the fact that your presentation will go better than you think it will.
• Make friends. If possible, converse with your audience before your presentation. It may help you relax as you get to know the very people you are going to be speaking to.
• Interact with your audience. Ask your audience questions: what are their opinions, thoughts, or feelings. Create an active discussion and answer all questions to the best of your ability.
  

Never forget that everybody gets nervous. Everybody. Those who say they don’t are expertly lying to themselves. Trust in yourself, your ideas, and your ever-dying will to succeed. Best of luck.

Want more? Check these out:
Practice makes perfect. Join a local Toastmasters International club
http://www.toastmasters.org/

12 Easy Steps for a perfect pitch
https://www.openforum.com/articles/12-easy-steps-to-a-perfect-pitch/?extlink=sm-openf-sb-promos

3 Techniques Bill Clinton Uses to WOW an Audience
 http://www.fastcompany.com/3001087/3-techniques-bill-clinton-uses-wow-audience?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29&goback=%2Egmr_3374868%2Egde_3374868_member_161851589

How to sell (for people who hate sales):
https://www.openforum.com/articles/how-to-sell-for-people-who-hate-sales/?extlink=of-syndication-sb-p

Posted by Sadja Pals, ICBA Marketing & Membership Manager

ICBA PRIMEtime Celebrates 10 Years

ICBA PRIMEtime redefined how business is done in the college industry. At ICBA 2014, February 3-6 in New Orleans, Louisiana, PRIMEtime will celebrate its 10th anniversary!

In 2005, after recognizing individually focused meetings as productive, profitable, and cost

effective for buyers and vendors, Independent College Bookstore Association introduced private one-to-one meetings to the college retail industry. PRIMEtime (Planned Retail Innovation and Marketing Exchange) is a series of pre-scheduled appointments between collegiate retail buyers and senior level vendor executives. These meetings provide valuable time for focused presentations and discussions of products and marketing opportunities, to set strategic directions, merchandising strategies, new lines, new items and promotional initiatives.

When buyers and vendors arrive at PRIMEtime, they find a markedly different atmosphere than at a typical tradeshow. PRIMEtime has a business-focused, upscale and exclusive feel. The proactive environment of PRIMEtime appointments helps breed creativity and innovation.

What our attendees have to say about PRIMEtime:
“ICBA PRIMEtime is the all-meeting event designed for buyer and vendor success. Over the past years, PRIMEtime has grown in popularity. Participant surveys indicate the all-meeting format is overwhelmingly preferred by both buyers and vendors.” —University of Missouri-Columbia

“Meeting vendors at ICBA PRIMEtime and seeing the new lines, colors and styles is a great way to begin the buying season! ICBA handles all the details and makes it very easy to attend. Their help with travel expenses enabled us to attend.” —Davidson College

“At PRIMEtime there was no wasted time! What a great way to see so much, so fast. The overview of what vendors have and what's new and different was an excellent education. By the time I was finished I had a pretty good mental image of what my selling floor will look like next fall.” —North Carolina Wesleyan College

“The best thing about PRIMEtime is the interaction between all involved. There is time to meet upper management vendors, as well as being introduced to companies, that in other tradeshow formats, you would probably just walk right by without giving a chance.” —University of Utah

Since the first PRIMEtime meetings in 2005, we have scheduled over 23,500 buyer-vendor

meetings. Owing to the success of PRIMEtime, ICBA has reimbursed member stores over $545,000 in registration and travel costs during this period. This has allowed more than 1,160 buyers and managers to attend at minimal expense and benefit from our annual Retail Conference which offers the strongest solution-oriented professional education in the industry.

At ICBA, we are committed to introducing new ways of doing business with a more personal and intimate approach that helps grow relationships and increase business for all who attend. The most important quest in business is to create and foster human connections. Creating high performance connections in today’s retail environment is critical to your success. PRIMEtime is an event that breeds innovation, interaction, discussion and efficiency.

We hope you will join us in New Orleans, February 3-6 for ICBA 2014. Registration for vendors will open in mid-June and for stores in late July.

For more information about ICBA PRIMEtime and the ICBA 2014 Retail Conference, please contact Marty Duncan, ICBA Program Manager at MartyDuncan@ICBAinc.com or 1-866-841-ICBA (4222).