Crystal Vilkaitis

Known as The Wolf of Main Street, is the Founder of IndERA — The Independent Retailers Association, a global community dedicated to helping independent retailers thrive. A retail strategist, entrepreneur, and sought-after speaker, Crystal has spoken on more than 100 stages across six countries, helping retailers embrace modern marketing, community, and innovation. She launched her first social media agency in 2008 and later founded Crystal Media in 2012, which evolved into IndERA. Her impact in the industry has earned her recognition including Rethink Retail’s Top Retail Expert (2026), Top 20 Most Influential Women in the Gift & Home Industry (2024), and 40 Under 40.

Crystal is also the founder of My Epic Empire, LLC, where she writes, speaks, and explores what it means to build a life and business that feels aligned and fulfilling. She previously hosted two podcasts — Rooted in Retail and Crystal Uncorked — producing more than 330 episodes and interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and founders.

Known for her curiosity, optimism, and ability to connect ideas across industries, Crystal believes in building businesses — and lives — that feel deeply aligned. When she’s not speaking or writing, you’ll likely find her working in coffee shops, traveling, playing Catan, or spending time with her husband and their two French Bulldogs. Her Lithuanian last name means Wolf, and she leads with instinct, curiosity, and heart while building a thoughtful pack that believes we’re better together.

Learn more at: indera.co and thisiscrystal.com

Crystal Vilkaitis

Learn more at: indera.co and thisiscrystal.com

Dane Cohen

Head of Business Development at Management One, bringing more than 15 years of experience across the fashion, wholesale, and retail landscape. Independent retail runs deep for him – he previously led the retail division for his family’s specialty department store chain, Lester’s, giving him firsthand insight into the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses today.

Dane returns to Management One with a renewed commitment to helping retailers strengthen their financial future through strategic inventory management. Before rejoining the team, he served as Director of Retail Development at The Boutique Hub, where he created educational content and programming for the industry’s largest community of boutique owners.

Earlier in his career, Dane managed the global sales relaunch of Helmut Lang’s men’s collection, partnering with retailers to build distribution channels and began his journey in the industry at PROJECT Global Tradeshow, where he cultivated relationships across the fashion landscape.

A passionate advocate for the future of retail, Dane is a frequent podcast guest, panel expert, and speaker, delivering training and keynotes at industry events throughout the country. With a diverse background spanning every corner of the retail world, he is dedicated to elevating and empowering independent retailers to thrive.

Dane Cohen

Patricia Norins

Widely recognized authority on retail who has spent more than 30 years helping brands turn smart marketing into loyal customers and stronger sales.

A fourth-generation retailer, Patricia began her career in her family’s retail business, which operated more than 300 seasonal kiosks across the United States. She later founded two retail trade publications, Specialty Retail Report and Gift Shop Magazine, authored Ultimate Guide to Specialty Retail, launched SPREE, the world’s largest specialty retail conference, and created educational training programs for retailers and specialty leasing professionals, building a multimillion-dollar media and events company.

The company was named to Inc. magazine’s list of fastest-growing companies before being acquired by the International Council of Shopping Centers. She also served as a spokesperson for American Express’s Small Business Saturday and has appeared on stages around the world, sharing how retailers can use storytelling-driven marketing and customer experience to create meaningful connections that turn shoppers into loyal fans and customers.

Today, Patricia is the co-founder of Blue Butterfly, a strategic consultancy that helps retailers and property owners unlock new growth opportunities through innovative retail concept development, retail real estate expansion, store optimization, and creative leasing strategies that bring new energy and experiences to shopping centers. She is also a partner at IndERA, which helps retailers and brands grow through digital marketing strategy, social media advertising, local search, education, and a collaborative community designed to help retailers learn, connect, and grow.

Patricia Norins

Widely recognized authority on retail who has spent more than 30 years helping brands turn smart marketing into loyal customers and stronger sales.

Scott Cunningham

Scott Cunningham is an award-winning e-commerce sales expert, entrepreneur, and speaker who has helped thousands of Shopify stores master their sales positioning with his Offer Harmonics framework and StorySelling strategies.

Scott’s agency, Social Lite, was honoured with the Agency of the Year Award from DigitalMarketer.com in 2022, and is acknowledged as one of only a few Klaviyo Platinum Partners worldwide. Merchant Mastery, Scott’s Shopify mentorship community, was recognized as the best-selling e-commerce system on Thinkific in 2022.

Over the past several years, Scott has spoken at leading industry conferences such as Digital Agency Expo, Traffic & Conversion Summit, AdWorld, Ecom World, Retail Success Summit, Ecom North, and Affiliate Summit East & West.
His team has also hosted over 40 Shopify Meetups across North America, connecting, educating, and empowering store owners to grow in the competitive e-commerce space.

https://www.instagram.com/scottjohncunningham/
https://www.facebook.com/scottjohncunningham
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjohncunningham

Scott Cunningham

https://www.instagram.com/scottjohncunningham/
https://www.facebook.com/scottjohncunningham
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjohncunningham

Dan Jablons

Dan Jablons worked in retail while attending the Ohio State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Production. He has worked with retailers such as Walmart, Target, JC Penney, American Apparel, Donna Karan, Jimmy Choo, Charles David, Diesel, Oakley, Tumi, Hollywood Bowl, and many others. He has worked for a clothing manufacturer where he piloted vendor-managed inventory programs, a leading point-of-sale provider (where he installed systems and provided merchandising help to retailers large and small) and internet marketing (where he helped retailers establish a presence on the web.) In addition to his vast retail background, Dan also has a background in improvisational theatre. He has performed with comedy troupes all across the USA, and recently appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Dan combines his extensive knowledge of retail with his comedy skills to become one of the industry’s most popular speakers. He has spoken at Magic, at local municipal and trade show events, and many other venues.

Dan Jablons

Dan Jablons worked in retail while attending the Ohio State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Production. He has worked with retailers such as Walmart, Target, JC Penney, American Apparel, Donna Karan, Jimmy Choo, Charles David, Diesel, Oakley, Tumi, Hollywood Bowl, and many others. He has worked for a clothing manufacturer where he piloted vendor-managed inventory programs, a leading point-of-sale provider (where he installed systems and provided merchandising help to retailers large and small) and internet marketing (where he helped retailers establish a presence on the web.) In addition to his vast retail background, Dan also has a background in improvisational theatre. He has performed with comedy troupes all across the USA, and recently appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Dan combines his extensive knowledge of retail with his comedy skills to become one of the industry’s most popular speakers. He has spoken at Magic, at local municipal and trade show events, and many other venues.

Learn From The Best Speakers In Independent Retail

June 16 & 17, 2026 – Grand Rapids, MI

The Retail Success Summit brings together bold thinkers, proven leaders, and retail innovators who challenge assumptions, sharpen strategy, and spark momentum. These are the voices that will help you see your business differently and move forward with clarity and confidence.

Go ALL IN With The Summit Speakers

Our featured speakers bring powerful perspectives and real-world experience to the Summit stage. They understand the complexities of independent retail. Expect practical insights, honest conversations, and ideas that stretch your thinking and strengthen your execution. You won’t just leave inspired, you’ll leave equipped.

Stay tuned… more speakers will be listed soon!

Meet Your hosts

Independent Retail Experts, Bob and Susan Negen

Bob and Susan have a combined forty years of retail store experience – Bob as the owner of the Mackinaw Kite Co., a chain of kite and toy stores, and Susan as an executive at retail giants Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and Lord & Taylor. In 1999 they founded WhizBang! Retail Training and for the last 27 years they have been helping indie retailers run super-successful stores.

In those 27 years, Bob and Susan have worked with hundreds of thousands of retailers, presented at trade shows and conferences all over North America, created numerous courses for retail owners, managers, and employees, and written a best-selling book on retail marketing.

Together they have a knockout one-two punch of sophisticated “big business” skills and street-smart small business experience!

Bob and Susan Negen On Stage at the Retail Success Summit

“This is my first visit to the Retail Success Summit, and we’re not even through the second day, and I have a notebook full of things I can do to make my business better. I just could not recommend it highly enough. Do you and your business a favor and come to the next Retail Success Summit.”

~ Donovan Bankhead, Springfield Music, Springfield, MO

Early Bird Pricing Ends On March 31st, 2026

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