Retailers and suppliers have overwhelmingly supported the content and context of the Narta Executive Leadership Conference which delivered not only inspiring speakers but also an important opportunity to reconnect and form new relationships as well as deliver some personal and professional reflections that they will take back to their businesses.
Here is a summary of the feedback from delegates:
Frank Malcaus – LG Electronics
“The Narta conference was absolutely inspirational and presented a new light on leadership and how we can take steps to improve our business and inspire our people. The value of the conference was the quality of the speakers – insights from leaders of our country, as well as AI and cybersecurity through to some of the most inspirational icons of sport. You might get one or two speakers like this at a conference – but to have them all in the one conference is just amazing. The organisation of the whole conference was brilliant from start to finish. I absolutely recommend this conference to anybody who has the privilege of being invited – you will leave a better person.”
Terry Smart – JB Hi-Fi
“We have had some great speakers and it has been a good opportunity for people to re-focus. We know things are tough out there, and it has been good to re-set those goals as well as reconnect with suppliers and talk about what the future holds.”
Jim Kalotheos – Beko
“It has been incredibly inspirational to connect again with all of the different people who care so much about this industry. It is important that we focus on our customers and on the value that we bring to relationships and the people that we deal with. This conference showed the need to use tools such as technology and AI and also emphasised the importance of good team building, culture and leadership.”
Tim Edwards – JB Hi-Fi NZ
“As a first time attendee, this conference exceeded all of my expectations – not only with an amazing bunch of individuals from the industry in attendance but also the calibre of the thought-provoking speakers.”
Cory Foster – Hisense
“This is the most impressive conference I have attended in my professional life – the quality of speakers to deliver messages to everyone certainly helped me to take a lot out of this week. In the future, I encourage anyone else to take the opportunity to attend as it is an amazing event. I will take back a lot of the positive mindset approach as well as also taking time to think about mental health and how my team is performing by celebrating what they are doing and achieving both inside and outside of the business. The economy will be interesting to watch over the next 6 to 12 months as things are shifting every day – it is important to see this as an opportunity and adapt to the challenges.”
Hamza Hussein – Bi-Rite Home Appliances
“Attending this conference has been an incredible experience – hearing from world-class speakers was truly inspiring, and the opportunity to connect with suppliers and retailers has been invaluable. It’s also been a proud moment to celebrate 60 years of Narta, especially as we mark our own 27-year journey as part of this remarkable group, committed to delivering value through strong partnerships.”
Ben Whitford – Whitfords Designer Appliances
“This conference has been very informative with a range of great speakers who have absolutely covered all areas of business from new technology, AI and cybersecurity as well as inspirational speakers who have provided a glimpse into their lives. The key is to take back three or four things and put the effort in to implement these into your business.”
Matthew Evans – Residentia Group
“It has been an incredible week of inspirational speakers. The biggest thing I took out was the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – it is the future and we need to get on board with it and adapt.”
Rob Sinclair – e&s
“It has been a long time since Narta got together and we have forgotten the importance of relationships. Time spent together provides the opportunity to build your business through inspirational speakers that then catapults you into a state of mind and you start to think of better ways of working together with supplier partners. We will also look at better ways of working with our staff and engaging them more deeply into our business as well as getting some work/life balance for all of those involved and hopefully becoming more successful and profitable as a result. For me, I really connected with the goal-setting content and I will be taking this back to the business – we can get a bit lazy sometimes so it is important to get back into a goal-setting mindset and also asking individual team members what they want to achieve personally and tying this to business goals.”
David Woodward – Glen Dimplex
“World class and inspirational speakers as well as incredible collaboration within the industry – simply amazing. It is a reminder to remain connected and check in with staff to make sure they are ok and also the importance of purpose and the ‘why’ – why we are doing this.”
Craig Robertson – Home Group Services (NZ)
“Whilst the optics may not look good in the economy at the moment, this conference has been a re-set. It has produced fellowship and connections for independent retailers to gather together and work as one. In tough times, it is actually the right time to invest in your business, otherwise you can separate yourself from the industry and go into a hole and won’t be able to dig yourself out. Every single speaker talked about journaling, goals, gratitude and purpose.”
David Esler – CHiQ
“This conference was highly educational not only about business, but personally as well as for your staff. Of particular interest was the integration of Artificial Intelligence – this is the future and will make a massive change to how we do business – we all need to bring ourselves up to speed or we will be left behind. As with every Narta conference, it has been wonderful to spend time with senior management from retailers and understand their needs.”
Rob Butchatsky – ASKO
“The conference was incredibly well planned and executed, the entire Narta business should be very proud of the outcome.The keynote speakers delivered content that was engaging, inspiring and relevant to our industry including practical solutions that can be implemented within our businesses locally. It also afforded all attendees the opportunity to reconnect and discuss plans to stimulate our business performance together. Thank you to the Narta team and congratulations on a successful conference.”