Profile
James E. Dion (Jim)
Jim Dion is founder and president of Dionco Inc., Chicago. Jim is an internationally known consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, author and one of North America's leading experts on retail technology, retail selling & service, merchandising & operations and consumer trends.
Jim started his retail career in 1964 in a men’s wear store in Chicago. He was appointed Store Manager in 1969. From 1972 to 1974 he was night Manager of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel in downtown Chicago. From 1975 to 1981 he was employed by Sears Canada where he started in Retail Management in Richmond Hill, Ontario and moved to the Toronto Catalogue Center in an operating position. He was promoted to Buyer, Jeanswear and was responsible for buying and marketing for 68 retail and 958 catalogue stores. In 1981 he left Sears to become National Sales Training Manager for Levi Strauss. During his time with Levi Strauss he developed one of the most advanced Sales Training Programs in the industry, in addition to introducing a Just-in-Time inventory system to Levi Strauss factories. From 1985 to 1988 he was Executive Vice President of Gilmore’s Department stores in Kalamazoo, Michigan where he repositioned a 106-year-old chain in a highly competitive retail environment.
Jim has taught at Laurier University and Ryerson University and the International Academy of Fashion Merchandising and Design in Chicago. Jim is a speaker for the National Retail Federation (NRF) on Technology, Inventory Control, Negotiation Techniques and Store Management. He has produced six video tapes on Retail Inventory Control as well as authored the definitive retail selling manual titled "Retail Selling Ain’t Brain Surgery, It’s Twice As Hard." In addition, he has co-authored the "Start and Run a Retail Business" for Self-Council Press. (Both books are available on Amazon.com.)
Jim consults with numerous Retailers in the U.S. and internationally. He is a recognized expert in the North American PC market, a Microsoft Developer, and has experience with major retail system installs and numerous POS installs. Jim also studies and evaluates new retail POS, EDI, merchandising systems and relationship marketing software. He was a judge for the Microsoft© Retail Developer Awards as well as a Judge for CIO Magazine Top 100. Jim has presented over 150 technology workshops across the country for the National Retail Federation, Microsoft, IBM and Nortel. As well, Jim lectures and writes for numerous trade and national magazines on technology issues and on the Internet and its use and misuse by retailers and manufacturers. He is a faculty member in the MBA program of Harley-Davidson University in Milwaukee.
He graduated from Chicago State University in Chicago, Illinois BS, 1970 MS Ed. in 1971 and attended Illinois Institute of Technology Ph.D. (abd) in Industrial Psychology and Marketing in 1976.
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