PPEC presents “The Future of Retail” breakfast event on April 11
By Canadian Packaging staff
Automation Sustainability Amazon e-commerce retail Fisher International Islington Golf Club Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council PPEC Retail Council of CanadaThe Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council present a seminar looking at how e-commerce will continue to affect the retail industry.
TORONTO, Ont.—The Canadian retail industry is undergoing massive change, shedding bricks and mortar for the new exciting world of e-commerce. In the driver’s seat are consumers. Click and point with the mouse. It’s so easy. In today’s world, convenience is king.
But what’s the impact on the retail trade? What happens to those huge store fronts, the money tied up in real estate, those massive parking lots, those attractive consumer-friendly displays of merchandise that aren’t needed any more? What about data and transaction technology, and logistics?
And then there’s the supply side. The potential is staggering. Amazon’s retail segment in the U.S. and corrugated box-related consumption, for example, is currently growing at an amazing 30 per cent year-over-year. Mostly in electronics and appliances, entertainment and leisure products.
So far, the market for at-home grocery items has hardly been touched. “Somebody will find a way to crack the grocery nut,’’ says Matt Elhardt of Fisher International. “I might buy a new TV once every couple of years, but I buy groceries every week. In terms of where the real opportunities are, I would make the argument that we’re at the tip of the iceberg.’’
Canadian retailers sure want some of that iceberg. Several have already launched e-commerce ventures or are positioning themselves to take advantage of the new opportunities.
There are implications for packagers further down the line as well. Operators of material recycling facilities (MRFs – pronounced as “murfs”) have already noted the change in color of their surroundings: from the once dominant grey of old newspapers to the now dominant brown of corrugated boxes.
If you want to learn more on the future of retail and e-commerce in Canada, PPEC (Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council) has built a line up to discuss the issues.
Come hear Retail Council of Canada president Diane Brisebois talk about the major challenges and opportunities facing Canadian retailers as e-commerce takes hold.
The event takes place April 11, 2018, at the Islington Golf Club (45 Riverbank Drive, Etobicoke, Ont., M9A 5B8).
- Breakfast: 8:00AM
- Seminar: 8:45AM – 10:15AM
For more details and to register for this PPEC event on April 11, click HERE.
The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) is a national trade association representing the Canadian paper packaging industry on environmental issues. Its membership includes paper mills producing containerboard, boxboard, and kraft paper packaging grades and the converters who turn this into corrugated boxes, paper bags and sacks, and boxboard or paperboard cartons. Associate members include material processors and recyclers, and suppliers of other goods and services to the industry.
Image purchased via www.thinkstock.com.
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