The NPD Group Will Facilitate Management Conference Workshop

MOUNT PROSPECT, IL – Dee Warmath, vice president of retail insights at The NPD Group, will make a special presentation and facilitate a workshop for retailers at the 45th Annual NSGA Management Conference May 3-6 at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas.

Warmath will discuss a phenomenon known as “market blur,” which occurs when what is believed to be true about the market has changed, causing retailers to be less able to identify threats and opportunities using traditional assumptions. This creates a blur effect that signals a need for a new model that will help retailers see opportunities and threats more clearly.

In this session – to be held Tuesday, May 5 – NPD will present a new model built from a strong recognition of the core factors driving the reshaping of the market – the long-heralded, now-here age of consumer control and the increased complexity of consumer needs. This model was built from the original NPD Retail Landscape Study with more than 32,000 consumer responses and then refined for the athletic market with an additional 5,000 responses.

Following the presentation, attendees will participate in a workshop. Using case studies, attendees will prepare strategic recommendations using the new model of the landscape.

Table leaders already confirmed for the workshop include Catherine Gammon, Russell Athletic Group; Jim Hoff, Asics America; Andy Krafsur, Spira Footwear; Mark Lundvick, MC Sports; Ken Meehan, Dunham’s Sports; Tom O’Riordan, American Sporting Goods Corp.; and Cathy Pryor, Hibbett Sports.

“This is a great opportunity for retailers to explore a more sophisticated consumer model and then use it to address some real-world situations,” said NSGA Chairman of the Board Bob Dickman, general manager of the Sport Supply Group Team Dealer Division. “The case studies, from other retailing segments, will allow retailers to explore options that might solve the problems faced by those companies.”

After the workshop, Mickey Newsome, chairman and CEO of Hibbett Sports, will host a networking lunch for any attendee who wishes to take part. Attendees will be able to discuss issues or topics of their choice. In 2008, more than 60 retailers, dealers, manufacturers and other industry leaders attended the first-ever informal networking lunch.

Team Dealer Summit co-sponsors are Mueller Sports Medicine, Russell Athletic Group (Russell Athletic, Bike, Spalding, Huffy Sports, Moving Comfort, Brooks Sports and American Athletic, Inc.), The SportsOneSource Group, Sporting Goods Dealer Team Business and the NSGA Team Dealer Division.

Conference & Summit sponsors include ADT Security Services, Inc., Champion Athleticwear, Cruzin Cooler, Edifice Information Management, Gatorade, GE Money Sport Finance Program, Glenview Health Systems, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Messe Műnchen GmbH (ISPO), Mizuno USA, Inc., Mueller Sports Medicine, Inc., M.J. Soffe Co., Inc., New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., NIKE, Inc., The NPD Group, Inc., NSGA Team Dealer Division, Russell Athletic Group (Russell Athletic, Brooks Sports, Spalding, Bike, Moving Comfort, Huffy Sports, American Athletic, Inc.); SGD TEAM Business; Sporting Goods Business; The SportsOneSource Group, Wild Sales, LLC – Tailgate Toss; and Wilson Sporting Goods Co.

Scholarship providers include Alleson Athletic; All Star Division/Ampac Enterprises, Inc.; American Sporting Goods Corp.; Bison, Inc.; Irwin Broh & Associates; Champion Athleticwear; Cramer Products, Inc.; Holloway Sportswear, Inc.; Leisure Trends Group; McDavid Sports; Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc.; Russell Athletic Group (Russell Athletic, Brooks Sports, Spalding, Bike, Moving Comfort, Huffy Sports, American Athletic, Inc.); Skechers USA; Spira Footwear; Sportline, Inc.; Twin City Knitting Co., Inc.; and Wilson Sporting Goods Co

A complete schedule of speakers, panel discussions, workshops, networking time and social activities is included in brochures that were mailed earlier this month and posted on the NSGA website (www.nsga.org).

For more information, please contact Sue Wenderski or Chuck Suritz at NSGA, (800) 815-5422, or e-mail: info@nsga.org.

About NSGA:
NSGA, which has served the sporting goods industry since 1929, organizes and hosts the annual NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit, the sporting goods industry’s premier educational and networking event (Next: May 3-6, 2009, at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas).

For more information on NSGA member services, visit the Association home page (www.nsga.org); call Sue Wenderski at NSGA, (847) 296-6742, Ext. 102; e-mail: swenderski@nsga.org; or fax (847) 391-9827.