The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) held the Connect 21 conference at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne this week with over 350 delegates in attendance.
Speakers at the event included Brett Barclay from CMA launching the 2020 State of the Industry Report, Corinne Barclay from CMA discussing the impact of Covid-19 on the industry as well as a report on the value of tobacco category.
The conference also included presentations from the two Peter Jowett winners – Brittany Rea from Unilever and keynote speaker was futurist Steve Sammartino.
AACS CEO, Theo Foukkare said the AACS Connect 21 Conference was all about re-connecting the convenience retail industry.
“The energy throughout the event was genuinely amazing and infectious. I feel very privileged to be leading AACS and representing the industry to drive change to help shape the future of convenience retailing.
“The insights that we shared were next level. Reflecting on 2020 with the State of Industry Report around industry performance and future trends, consumer behavioural shifts through COVID-19, the role of the tobacco shopper and impact on other major categories is something that AACS is very proud of.
“CMA are providing best practice industry leading insights, and AACS are very proud of the relationship we continue to harness more and more. We will be developing more AACS Commissioned studies over the next 24 months, so any ideas that you might have please reach out.
“AACS would also like thank the team at CCA for the amazing support of the industry and being the exclusive sponsor of the 2020 State of Industry Report.
“For my first official function as CEO, I hope that you can clearly see the direction that AACS is heading, the energy that we have & what we are fighting for to ensure convenience retail continues to thrive. Thanks again for your support of AACS.
Written by James Wells