THE SMART CONVERSATION

By Moe Lastfogel
Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer

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Moe Lastfogel

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Z-Wave Alliance Summit in Oklahoma City and the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle. At Z-Wave I was on a panel called “The Sell-through Roundtable: Retail, Online or Distribution; Tips, Tricks, War Stories and How to Get Your Products Sold” and at the Smart Kitchen Summit, I lead a panel on “Kitchen TV: The Community Screen?” Both events got me thinking about today’s Smart technologies and where it is all going. What does Smart mean today? Where is this technology going, and how will it affect what you are selling or specifying?

At Z-Wave, I was introduced to hundreds of companies and their products that I didn’t even know existed. Yes, I have seen many of these companies before, whether it was at CES, CEDIA or IFA, but I can say I now better understand what they are all doing. They are making life easier, for sure. From dimmers and controllers, to security and networking, these companies strive to bring products not only to the end users, but to the installers and retailers in a cohesive solution for today’s fast-paced tech world.

The Smart Kitchen Summit was an incredible opportunity as well. The panelists in my session were amazing. Yoon Lee, Samsung’s head of innovation; Esme Williams, Allrecipes VP consumer brand strategy; and Amanda Rottier, NY Times product director NYT cooking. Their insight into how the TV or screen is the hub of the hub (the Kitchen) of the home was very thought-provoking. Our focus was about the emergence of the screen in the kitchen and the potential impact on recipes, content, cooking and overall kitchen behavior. With so many new technologies in the home today, the kitchen still reigns supreme as the center of the home.

I’d like to thank Mitch Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance for the opportunity to learn more about his extensive group, Michael Wolf for putting together the Smart Kitchen Summit, and all my fellow panelists for their insights into how they all see these emerging technologies meshing together today and in the future.

Happy Retailing,
Moe Lastfogel
[email protected]

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