This year, the Retail Association of Maine and the Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association have combined forces and launched The Summit to bring together Maine’s business community uniting retailers, grocers, food producers and industry partners for an impressive day full of education, inspiration, Maine flavor and fun!

8 – 8:30 a.m.: Registration, Breakfast, Vendor Networking & Scholarship Auction Preview

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.: Welcome & MGFPA Annual Meeting, Christine Cummings, MGFPA & Curtis Picard, RAM

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.: Retail Tech Trends: Learn the fundamentals of the latest technology trends and how you can consider implementing scientific and technical knowledge into your storefront. The abundance of new, customer data at your fingertips will help you analyze your customers, allowing you to provide a better customer experience and ensure you're spending your marketing dollars most efficiently. Presenter: Peter Luff, President, Ipsos Retail Performance

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.: AM Brew Break: Scholarship Auction Bidding, Vendor Networking & Relocate

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.: Breakout Sessions 1:

Session 1/ Choice A- Create Loyalty by Leveraging your Community: What to do beyond Social Media. Use your Community. Yes, your geographical, local community but don’t forget to reach beyond. Create strategic cross industry collaborations, leverage your trade associations and your colleagues as resources. Learn how companies and communities have successfully partnered with each other to create community identity, elevate morale and build a customer base. Presenters: Heidi Neal, Owner of Loyal Biscuit Co.; Mary Allen Lindemann, Owner of Coffee By Design; Sherri Stevens of Hannaford.

Session 1/ Choice B- Top 10 Legal Issues for Small Business: Success! But more inventory, more customers, more locations, and more employees mean more risk. As your company grows, so too must the legal infrastructure supporting your company. It’s time to take stock of where you stand on legal issues such as corporate structure, employment policies, employment agreements, dealer agreements, data protection, trademarks, trade dress, I.P. licenses, tort liability, etc.This will be an informative discussion of how legal risks change as companies grow. Presenter: Ben Ford of Verrill Dana

11:45 – 1:00 p.m.: Lunch Keynote with Doug Quint, Co-founder of Big Gay Ice Cream (& Maine Native)

RAM Annual Meeting, MGFPA & RAM Awards Presentation, and Scholarship Auction Bidding

1:15 – 2:15 p.m.: Breakout Sessions 2:

Session 2/ Choice A- Help Wanted!... No Seriously, Help Wanted!: An overview of National Retail Federation’s RiseUP Retail Training Credentials, where the program stands in Maine and Nationally. Also, ME Dept. of Labor will discuss their Youth Employment initiative- "Getting to Yes". Plus: Learn more about establishing an internship program and hear how FocusMaine successfully organized a statewide internship network. Presenters: ME DOL Commissioner John Butera; Brittany Mazin of the National Retail Federation; Curtis Picard of the Retail Association of Maine; and Kim Hamilton, President of FocusMaine.

Session 2/ Choice B- E-Commerce Strategy - The Pathway to ROI: How much should you pay to acquire a customer? What is the appropriate spend in relation to your budget? Learn how to adjust your online campaigns to be profitable. Plus: Discover how to ensure your business is showing up as local option when customers search online. In this session, you'll learn the best practices to a return on your investment in the world of e-commerce. Presenter: iBec Creative

2:15 – 2:30 p.m.: PM Brew Break: Visit Vendor Marketplace & Relocate, Last Chance to Bid Scholarship Auction.

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.: The New Frontier: Excitement, Buzz and Memorable Experiences: Despite the messaging from mainstream media we know retail is not dead, it’s just evolving! Customers are looking for unique and memorable experiences. If you can provide that, you will create brand ambassadors who will keep coming back to your brand and business. In this session you’ll learn from like-minded food producers and small businesses who have found successful ways to attract and retain their customer base. Moderated by: James Morin, COO of Flowfold; Presenters: Jim Darroch, Director of Marketing at Backyard Farms and Steve Mills, CEO of Maine Beer Co.

3:30 p.m.: Scholarship Auction Announcements

4 – 5:00 p.m.: Reception & Summit Party! Expand your professional network and build new partnerships while socializing over great food! Featuring a Maine Food Showcase & Live Musical Guest – Sam James – New England Native & Season 3 contestant on The Voice! Sponsored by BMI

Thank you Premier Summit Sponsors: National Retail Federation & Associated Grocers of New England