<p>By: Rebecca Daniels, Director, Education, FMI<br /></p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/esd-registration-blog-2025.tmb-large-350-.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=d24a6bf3_1" style="float:right;margin:10px;" alt="Futuristic grocery store" class="-align-right" sf-size="100" /><p>When my local grocery store recently underwent a renovation, I found myself far more interested than I expected. It wasn’t flashy; no dramatic expansions, no fancy new signage. But I noticed the aisles had shifted just slightly. The refrigeration cases were sleeker. The lighting was warmer. And suddenly, that store felt like it “got” me a little more.<br /></p><p>That’s the thing about store development and energy strategy, it’s not always about big, shiny change. It’s about thoughtful, behind-the-scenes decisions that make everyday experiences better for shoppers and the business.<br /></p><p>At the FMI Energy & Store Development Conference, we’ve built the education program for the teams who manage those decisions daily. And this year, the content is driven by real-world case studies from retailers who are already solving the problems many of us are still trying to figure out.<br /></p><p>This year, you’ll hear how Lunds & Byerlys took it further— layering in Big Data and AI for even greater returns. You’ll learn how Target moved from a 6-store pilot to a 14-store rollout of passive heat rejection technology, and how Whole Foods Market accelerated new builds using a design-assist model for faster execution. You’ll even walk through a live CO₂ refrigeration retrofit, phase by phase, completed in an active store.<br /></p><p>These sessions are built to be applied not just admired. They’re packed with insights, tools and lessons from people who have tested, refined and implemented the strategies they’re presenting.<br /></p><p>But maybe even more valuable? The conversations you’ll have outside the sessions with peers who get it, and who are just as committed to building smarter, more resilient operations. Because the best store strategies aren’t just smart. They’re shared.</p><p>And when you sit next to someone in a session and hear how they tackled waterproofing a second floor produce section or rolled out passive heat rejection across 14 stores, something shifts.<br /></p><p>You start to see that you’re not navigating this alone.<br /></p><p>My hope is that you leave San Diego this October not just with ideas, but with new collaborators. New respect for the challenges others face. And maybe a little more clarity on what it takes to build something that lasts.<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/energy-and-store-development-conference/registration" class="button">Register for E+SD 2025</a></p>
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