Interbike and the Sea Otter Classic opened registration for the upcoming IBD Summit set to take place at the Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey, CA on April 8-10, 2014.

 

Now in its third year, the IBD Summit is adding content and investing twice as much as previous year’s thanks in large part to the support of the NBDA and PeopleforBikes. The additional injection of resources will allow conference organizers to bring together some of the top speakers in the country to educate participants on topics that relate specifically to the independent bicycle retailer.

 

Kicking the event off will be a new opening reception and keynote presentation on the evening of Tuesday, April 8th. Keynote speaker Chris Warner will deliver a dynamic presentation that reflects on his experience climbing Mt. Everest and K2 and teaches the importance of behaviors that drive results. This is a dramatic, multimedia presentation (using Emmy-nominated footage) that will teach the audience how to build better leaders within their organizations.

 

Other topics and speakers confirmed for the event include:

 


  • Brilliant Branding: How To Make Your Business Shine -Erika Napoletano • Online Marketing Tactics: How To Maximize Local Search For Your Business -Mike Belasco

  • How She Buys: The New Strategy for Selling To the World’s Most Powerful Consumers -Bridget Brennan

  • Effective Merchandise Planning: What You Don’t Know is Your Biggest Opportunity -David Wechsler

  • Cultivating Greatness From Your Employees -Patrick Schwerdtfeger

  • The NBDA’s P2 Group: The Profitability Simulator -Dan Mann

“We listened to all of the great feedback from last year and have gone out and secured some amazing talent for next year’s event,” said Pat Hus, Vice President of Interbike. “The speakers we have lined up will take this event to a whole new level from anything this industry has ever seen or heard.”


Hus also added that because the event is more intimate in size, it provides a unique opportunity to network and share ideas with other IBD’s – an aspect of the event that should not be undervalued.

 

“Retailers get to network with their peers and share best practices during session breaks, on scheduled mid-day bike rides down Monterey’s famous 17-Mile Drive, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium dinner reception with the Bicycle Leadership Conference attendees and more,” he said.

 

New for 2014 is a Retailer Referral Program, designed to reward IBD Summit veteran retailers. Veteran retailers will be given a special link to forward to other IBD’s that have never attended the IBD Summit. For each new retailer that registers for the IBD Summit, a $100 credit will be issued to the veteran retailer towards his/her registration for the upcoming event. Veteran retailers that get three or more new retailers to register for the IBD Summit will have their registration fees waived.

 

All registered retailers automatically get enrolled in the 2014 Interbike VIP Retailer Program, which offers numerous benefits at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and Hotel during Interbike. VIP Program card holders get free food & beverage during the show in Las Vegas, as well as a host of other perks currently in development.

 

Retailers can register at the IBD Summit website (www.theibdsummit.com), where they can also find a list of speakers and their biographies, more in-depth session descriptions, the event schedule and more. Those that register before December 31st will save $100 off the standard fee of $595. 

 

Interbike is the largest bicycle trade event in North America, bringing together manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Established in 1982, the show gathers more than 1,200 cycling-related brands, over 25,000 total attendees annually and is considered one of the most important global trade events for the bicycle industry.