LAS VEGAS, 2015-10-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — The NACS Show is so important to the industry that it’s almost unimaginable to not attend it, noted NACS President and CEO Henry Armour, welcoming attendees at the 2015 NACS Show opening general session.
“Whether you are attending your first NACS Show, or whether it’s your 30th NACS Show, like me, your success starts right here,” Armour said.
But what if there wasn’t a NACS Show? That’s the challenge NACS overcame in 2005 — mere weeks after Armour become CEO of NACS.
The 2005 NACS Show was scheduled to take place in New Orleans. Yet in late August, less than two months before the event, Hurricane Katrina hit land and it became clear that the 2005 NACS Show would not occur in New Orleans.
Could the NACS Show be moved somewhere else? There were enormous challenges to consider, and NACS member and staff leaders examined all possible solutions. How do you find a new city that can accommodate something as large and complex as the NACS Show? How do you relocate a 400,000-square-foot expo, and create an entirely new floor plan? How do you rearrange travel plans for 20,000 attendees? How do you block nearly 80,000 hotel room nights? And how do you execute all of this in 10 weeks, when it takes more than a year to plan and host the NACS Show?
“Well, we did it, and in November 2005 our event drew more than 20,000 attendees to our second largest expo ever, held right here in Las Vegas,” said Armour.
“People are still astonished — I am still astonished — that we accomplished such a feat and relocated the 2005 NACS Show, let alone produced a world-class event. We were able to make the impossible a reality because of our enormously talented NACS staff and our highly engaged leadership team. And we did it because of you,” said Armour.
It was important to relocate the 2005 NACS Show because of the value that it brings to the industry, noted Armour. “We know what the NACS Show delivers to our members. It provides access to the latest new products and services on the expo, new ideas in dozens of educational sessions and networking opportunities in a variety of formats,” he said.
Over the past decade, the amazing value of the NACS Show continues to grow Armour shared a few metrics about the 2015 NACS Show:
- A record 410,000 net square feet of exhibit space;
- Nearly 70 educational sessions that will average more than 200 attendees per session;
- Four days of networking opportunities and chances to meet old friends and create some new ones; and
- A new day of general sessions, growing from three to four days.
“Make sure you wake up early and go to bed late to experience everything that the NACS Show has to help you grow your business,” said Armour.
The NACS Show is ranked as one of the top 40 largest trade shows in the United States. More than 20,000 attendees from 60-plus countries are at the 2015 NACS Show in Las Vegas. For the most up-to-date news and information on the event, go to www.nacsshow.com.
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Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS (nacsonline.com) is the international association for convenience and fuel retailing. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 152,700 stores across the country, posted $696.1 billion in total sales in 2014, of which $482.6 billion were motor fuels sales. NACS has 2,100 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies, which do business in nearly 50 countries.