The luxury industry is steeped in heritage that is paramount to brand positioning, so it s no surprise that it lacks the flexibility required of 21st century companies. Luxury brands are being pulled into the digital age at varying rates of speed. Some notably Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Coach lead the industry in adoption and integration of social media and technology into their business strategies. But for most, the pace of change has been glacial. Until recently. The luxury landscape is undergoing rapid disruption on almost every front: an evolving definition of luxury; an ever-changing consumer with mutable desires; reduced brand loyalty; and increasingly fragile pricing architectures. Changing Pillars of Luxe The Robin Report September 9, 2015 Please Join Us Disruption and Innovation in the Luxury Market September 20 6:30 8:30 pm Walker Zanger 36 Midland Avenue Port Chester, New York Please Click Here to RSVP
CONVERSATION LEADERS Robert Reiss, Host and CEO of The CEO Show, will begin the conversation with thoughts about and insights from three top CEOs on how they view digital disruption and successfully use it. Robert Reiss is host, and CEO of The CEO Show where he has interviewed over 500 top CEOs on his weekly nationally syndicated radio show. The CEO Show he interviews CEOs who share their secrets of success so other CEOs and aspiring CEOs can elevate their own success. He is also a specialist writer on CEOs for Forbes.com. His company produces The CEO Forum magazine, which is the only magazine in America by CEOs and for CEOs received exclusively by the top 10,000 CEOs in America. His work with CEOs has been featured in media including CNBC s Squawk Box and in the Harvard Business Review where Reiss was cited as, An expert in executive communications. The conversation will continue with remarks from two important disruptors - Michael Chapin, CEO of RXSpeed and Steve Feldman, CEO of Renovation Angel - as well as Bob Shullman, CEO of Shullman Research Center, who will present his recent research on perhaps the biggest disruptor of all - Amazon. Since beginning his career in the motorsports and automotive industry, Michael Chapin has worked to help brands like Skip Barber, Mercedes AMG, Lotus, Michelin North America, Mazda, Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen to execute promotional strategies. He has traveled from coast to coast visiting various race tracks and car shows, meeting people from all walks of life passionate about anything cars. In March of 2014, Michael co-founded RxSpeed, a search engine for performance auto parts, with a goal of connecting consumers to products and retailers faster than ever before. RxSpeed is a comparison shopping engine for the automotive aftermarket. It saves consumers time and money during their research and purchase process. The Company s proprietary software platform catalogs millions of parts from hundreds of brands to help match customers with retailers easier and faster than ever before. RxSpeed was recently acquired and Michael continues to operate the next stage,
leveraging his knowledge of technology and ecommerce to help manufacturers in the automotive aftermarket sell more parts. Steve Feldman is Co-Founder and President of Renovation Angel. Steve spent 18 years in the radio business as a disc jockey, Program Director, and Senior Marketing Manager at WWRX-FM, Providence, Rhode Island (America first independent Imus in the Morning syndicate), a Clear Channel Radio station. The idea for Renovation Angel was developed while fund-raising in March 2001. Steve observed the demolition of a 10,000 sq. ft. Rockefeller estate mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. During the next four years, a pilot project was developed, specializing in the donations of luxury kitchens and appliances, bathrooms, lighting, architectural artifacts and home décor from upscale neighborhoods in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. Steve s motivation for starting Renovation Angel was giving back after his own recovery from addiction. In 2005, Steve founded Green Demolitions in Greenwich, Connecticut. Green Demolitions has now spread its wings to become Renovation Angel, America s premier recycler of luxury pre-owned kitchens and renovation items. Steve and his team of professionals have conducted projects for members of the Forbes 400, celebrities, sports stars and high-net worth property owners. Green Demolitions has received positive national media coverage including: The New York Times, CNN, This Old House, Discovery Channel, NBC-TV, Success Magazine, Consumer Reports.org, Renovation Style, Wall Street Journal, Forbes Kitchen Bath Design News and numerous others. Renovation Angel is a donation program for Recovery Unlimited, a section 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 2005 in Greenwich, CT. The charitable mission of Recovery Unlimited is three-fold: a) creating jobs through luxury recycling numerous construction, logistics, and retail jobs are needed to accomplish the recycling of luxury kitchen and renovation items. b) protecting the earth millions of pounds have been diverted from
landfills through our recycling program, and c) supporting high quality nonprofit outreach programs proceeds earned from selling recycled luxury support life-changing outreach programs with a focus on: at-risk youth, addiction recovery, job creation, and social entrepreneurship. Achievements of the Organization since 2005 include: Job Creation. Over $14 million in jobs Reduced landfill waste. Over 25 million pounds have been diverted from landfills. Supporting charity. Over $2 million distributed to non-profit outreach programs Kitchens sold. Over 4,500 pre-owned kitchens and showroom displays recycled Partnership. In partnership with Walker Zanger, Sub-Zero and Wolf awareness of the benefits of luxury recycling has been raised throughout North America. Bob Shullman, the Founder and CEO of The Shullman Research Center, has years of practical business experience in leadership, marketing and media insights research and consulting, as well as in strategic planning and execution roles. His wealth of experience of has focused on brand strategy and equity, customer satisfaction and loyalty issues as well as on the media and advertising research arenas. He has conducted thousands of insights, research and consulting studies; primarily, in three business areas: the luxury and affluent markets, financial and wealth services, as well as media and entertainment. Prior to launching The Shullman Research Center, Bob held senior leadership positions with several leading marketing insights, research and consulting firms including most recently one of the major syndicated research firms, Ipsos Mendelsohn, where he was its CEO and spent four years transforming The Mendelsohn Affluent Survey into a consumer insights tool as well as a media-planning tool. He has also worked at the American Express Company for ten years in senior leadership positions in its travel-related businesses as well as its investment management and insurance subsidiaries Bob speaks extensively on marketing, business and research topics in the U.S. and abroad with a focus on affluent Americans. He has been featured on
CNBC s Squawk on the Street and Fox Business News focusing on the American Affluent Marketplace. He also authors columns and articles for Barron s, Wall Street Journal, Luxury Daily, Ad Age, Adweek and MediaPost while also appearing on Bloomberg Radio and WSJ.com. Bob holds a BA from Georgetown University in American History and an MBA in marketing from NYU s Stern School of Business where he also completed the majority of the course-work needed for a PhD in finance. He is a member of the Advisory Board of The Luxury Marketing Council of Connecticut-Hudson Valley. With many thanks to the gracious hospitality of our host, Walker Zanger, and exclusive beverages sponsor, Horseneck Wines & Liquors. Celebrating Excellence in Luxury Partnerships and Collaborations