'05 Education Conference
focuses on retail makeover

This year’s Retail Education Conference will help members consider a retail “makeover,” with seminars designed to help retailers grow, adapt and improve.

To be held at the Embassy Suites in Livonia on June 6, the conference will feature an internationally known retail consultant and best-selling author, Jim Dion, as well as speakers from past years who are back by popular demand.

Dion, founder and president of Dionco Inc., Chicago, will speak on findings from the recent national study, “Challenges of the Future: The Rebirth of Small Independent Retail in America.”

A makeover to your customer service approach is the theme of retail consultant Jeff Greene’s seminar, “Is the Customer Always Right?” And Mike Crosson, of M Crosson Associates, Inc., will help you consider ways to make over your visual merchandising approach.

Marketing consultant Stephan Hokanson, of Fluid Marketing and Advertising in Muskegon, will share his expertise on “e-Marketing fundamentals,” from using e-mail marketing to getting the most out of your website.

Joel Woods, of Confidential Fraud Investigations Inc. in Shelby Twp., will address security concerns in his presentation, “Business Security in an Unsecured World.”

For information about registration, contact MRA’s event coordinator Kammy Johns at 800.366.3699 or kjohns@retailers.com.