A Retirement Expo recently held in Johannesburg at the Coca-Cola dome.  This was the first of its kind in South Africa and while CPOA was not present at the conference, some of our facilities were represented by others. Approximately 5,000 visitors attended the Expo, which was generally regarded to be a great success.  

Shire Retirement Properties hosted a stand showcasing Kronendal Retirement Village – the facility where Shire is currently providing services to CPOA and the developer.  Three people worked the Kronendal stand (Ronnie Long, Shelly Attenborough and Rob Jones).

The Kronendal stand was busy throughout the three days, which ran from 10AM to 6PM on Friday and Saturday and from 10AM to 5PM on Sunday.  Shire found that Kronendal was very well received.  The added benefits of belonging to the CPOA family were found to be very interesting to all those who we spoke to, and an effort was made to highlight the fact that CPOA offers benefits that no other operator attending the Expo could do.

A number of appointments to view were made and Shire is optimistic that the Expo will result in several sales over the coming summer.  The Expo effort has raised the brand “Kronendal” and “CPOA” to greater heights of awareness in Gauteng among those over 50.

Shire also presented a free workshop entitled “Your Greatest Retirement Risk” on each of the three days that the Expo ran, dealing with the need for prospective and current retirees to adapt as early as possible to the challenges that retirement presents.  “Your greatest retirement risk is you – your attitude and ability to prepare yourself and your partner for this next adventurous part of your life” was the general message at the outset.  Each person was provided with a handout containing a number of checklist items and questions for those approaching retirement. 

Presented jointly by Shelly Attenborough and Rob Jones, the workshop was well received and by all accounts one of the best attended at the Expo.

Follow-up Expos are planned for August 2012 in Cape Town, followed by an Expo in Johannesburg in October 2012.