Remarkable Retail
193 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 87 ratingsDid you know that 2024 is a leap year? Are you prepared to make the leaps you must to win the epic battle between being remarkable or risking irrelevance as the pace of change accelerates, as the bar for performance gets raised higher and higher? As increasingly Fortune favors the bold, are you ready to leap ahead of the competition?
This is Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker and best-selling author inviting you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as we challenge the status quo, dissect the latest news and trends and speak with the industry's most remarkable and thought-provoking executives. We'll also be unpacking the lessons from my brand new book, Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption.
Listeners worldwide have made us the retail industry's top-rated and top listen-to independent podcasts. This season, we'll continue with our unique take on retail's most important news and feature guests who are shaping the future of modern retail. So be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, Google podcasts or wherever you enjoy your podcast today and brace yourself for a steady stream of wisdom, straight talk and lively conversation.
Season Eight, presented by Celonis, launches on January 16. And we can't wait for you to join us!
© 2020-2024 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Leaders Leap Book Launch: Get Ready To Leap!
April 23, 2024 07:05 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBWe have an fantastic episode for you featuring the virtual launch event for Steve's brand-new book, Leaders Leap, recorded Monday April 22nd. Steve is joined by a panel of extraordinary guests, all of whom are leaders in their respective fields. We have the privilege of hosting best-selling author and friend Seth Godin, an entrepreneur and speaker who has not only launched one of the most popular blogs in the world but has also written 21 best-selling books. We also have Bridget Brennan, ac...
The Remarkable Rise of Retail Media with Melanie Brown, VP of Home Depot's Orange Apron Media + Monetization
April 16, 2024 07:05 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBJoining us for the second of three episodes recorded in the Bambuser remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk is Melanie Brown Vice President of Orange Apron Media and Monetization for The Home Depot. In a special two segment interview Melanie unpacks The Home Depot's retail media journey, highlighting the company's unique approach, which recently culminated in a doubling down and re-branding of its efforts. We've had analysts and consultants on to explore the rapid...
Mapping the Evolving Retail Landscape with David J. Katz, EVP & CMO, Randa
April 09, 2024 08:41 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBJoining us for the first of several episodes recorded in the Bambuser remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk is leading retail influencer and LinkedIn "Top Voice" David J. Katz, EVP & CMO, Randa Apparel & Accessories, one of the world’s leading fashion clothing and accessories companies, spanning 11 countries, with a portfolio of 35 owned and licensed brands, including Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Columbia Sportswear, Dickies, Tommy Hilfiger. David shares his vast expe...
NRF Big Show Asia Pacific Spotlight with the Remarkable Ngai Yuen Low, Group Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer for Aeon Group Malaysia
April 02, 2024 07:05 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBThis week we preview the NRF Big Show APAC debuting this June in Singapore, with two very special guests: Ngai Yuen Low, Group Chief Merchandise And Marketing Officer at AEON Co Malaysia live from Kuala Lumpur, and Ryf Quail, Compexosium's Managing Director live from Sydney, Australia. We start by delving into Yuen's incredible and diverse experience in the region, getting her thoughts on what makes her company so remarkable, before we explore her leadership style. Then Ryf gives us his tho...
A Remarkable Journey Through the Shopping Mall with Craig Brommers, American Eagle's CMO
March 26, 2024 07:05 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBJoining us for our first episode recorded at last week's Shoptalk is Craig Brommers, Chief Marketing Officer at American Eagle Outfitters. We took the stage in front of a live audience for our inaugural voyage on Shoptalk TV to hear Craig's wisdom on a wide variety of topics including: the keys to their AEO's recent performance, how to understand the Gen Z customer, the role of digital in driving physical store performance, how sustainability does or doesn't affect consumer choice, and a who...
Remarkably Iconic Retail with Michael Ward, Managing Director, Harrods
March 19, 2024 09:19 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBOur guest this week is Michael Ward, CEO of Harrod's. Harrod's is truly among the most iconic and remarkable retailers in the world, and Michael gives us a glimpse inside what makes the brand and store so special. He also shares details about how they provide exceptional levels of customer service, the best of the best products, and how they stay on the leading edge of innovation. We also learn about their new members club in Shanghai, and get a glimpse into his upcoming talk at the World R...
Finding Your Passionate Core Customer
March 12, 2024 08:03 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBThis week we explore some of the content from Steve's forthcoming book Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption, which is now available for pre-order at book retailers worldwide. In particular, we go deep on a strategy of being "Special, Not Big" by significantly narrowing the aim of the customers you serve to be more intensely relevant and more highly differentiated. Finding your passionate core is about discovering those customers that sit at the heart of your c...
Retailing in a Time of Mass Distraction with Andrea Dorigo, Adidas Head of Global Retail
March 05, 2024 08:08 - 50 minutes - 46 MBOur guest this week is Andrea Dorigo Head of Global Retail for Adidas. Andrea shares many strategic leadership lessons gleaned from his incredibly deep and diverse experience working across a spectrum of international brands. Now he leads a network of more than 2,000 stores for one of the world's most iconic vertically integrated brands. We get to learn his thoughts on how to best strengthen overall brand equity while driving operational efficiency and extending product reach. He also shar...
Tractor Supply's Remarkable "Life Out Here" Growth Story with CEO Hal Lawton (E)
February 27, 2024 08:05 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBThis week we're reprising our November 2022 interview with Hal Lawton, President & CEO of Tractor Supply Co, a truly remarkable retailer that has delivered some of the strongest results of any brand during the past five years. We explore Hal's diverse journey from McKinsey, to Home Depot, to eBay, to Macy's and on to Tennesee-based Tractor Supply Company. the nearly 85 year old company that now does over $14.5 billion in annual sales through more than 2,200 stores. We learn about Tractor'...
Remarkably Creative Commerce with Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global CEO, VMLY&R
February 20, 2024 08:05 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBOur guest this week is Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global CEO, VMLY&R who joins us to talk about the ever changing landscape of retail and consumer branding, customer engagement, and loyalty. In particular with dip into what defines high performance retail and the emerging world of "creative commerce." We also get a sneak preview of her upcoming session at the World Retail Congress in Paris. Then, as usual, we unpack the week in retail news including the correct way to pronounce Temu, news on the ...
Driving Remarkable Customer Engagement with Christiane Pendarvis, co-CEO of Pattern Beauty and Andrea Moore, Chief Digital Officer of NEST New York
February 13, 2024 10:14 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBJoining us for a deep dive on creating remarkable brand stories and driving powerful customer engagement are two industry veterans who will also be gracing the stage at next month's Shoptalk event in Las Vegas. Christiane Pendarvis, co-CEO of Pattern Beauty, Tracee Ellis Ross's hair care brand, and Andrea Moore, Chief Digital Officer of NEST New York, the fast growing fragrance brand deliver s a master class on the changing consumer landscape, evolving customer journeys, and what brands must...
Using Scale for Good: Our Interview with Jane Ewing, SVP, Sustainability, Walmart
February 06, 2024 08:05 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBOur guest this week is Jane Ewing, SVP, Sustainability at Walmart* recorded live at last month's NRF "Big Show." In a wide-ranging interview we discuss how Walmart is putting people and planet at the heart of all of its decisions. We explore Walmart's sustainability journey and go into details on their key initiatives, the challenges they need to overcome, and how to get everyone on the same mission despite the complexity of different functions and a vast global footprint. Then it's on to ...
A Baker's Dozen of Provocative Predictions for Retail in 2024
January 30, 2024 08:05 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBOnce again it's time for Steve's annual retail predictions--and this list doesn't just go to eleven it goes to thirteen! Steve's provocative prognostications include "the bifurcation of just about everything," the culling of the unicorn herd, thoughts on the future of Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom, along with a possible AI themed action movie, the outlook for sustainability, retailers stepping up their health services offerings, and a whole lot more. But as is our custom, we kick off ...
Remarkable On Purpose with Patagonia's Angela Clark
January 23, 2024 08:05 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBAngela Clark, Patagonia's VP of Digital--and one of retail's most celebrated and experienced e-commerce leaders--joins us to discuss driving digital transformation and how purpose is integral to Patagonia's strategy. She drops a ton of wisdom gleaned from her roles at multiple brands on the leading edge of the digital commerce evolution. In particular, we look at how Patagonia is building on its remarkable success to both build its direct-to-consumer capabilities and continuing to be a leade...
BONUS EPISODE: Rounding Out NRF Big Show Global Insights with Kate Ancketill, Founder CEO, of GDR Creative Intelligence, and Alberto Serrentino, Founder Varese Retail
January 19, 2024 08:06 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBWe have a special bonus episode for you today; hot on the heels of the NRF Big Show, we reached out to two Retail Experts who graced the stage in New York, all the way from the U.K. and Brazil to get a more global take on the significant trends and the year in retail ahead, from London, Kate Ancketill, Founder, CEO and chief story-teller at GDR Creative Intelligence, and from São Paulo, Alberto Serrentino, Founder, advisor, board member, speaker and author, Varese Retail. Presented by Celon...
Generative AI and the Next Wave of Retail Disruption with Carrie Tharp, VP Strategic Industries at Google Cloud
January 16, 2024 09:50 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBWe're back with Season 8 and kick it off with one of the industry's leading thought leaders--Carrie Tharp, VP Strategic Industries at Google Cloud. With her past experience in senior leadership at Fossil Group, Neiman Marcus, and Travelocity, and current board roles at the National Retail Federation, Vera Bradley, and Rue Gilt Groupe, Carrie brings tremendous perspective on where retail is headed and the challenges and opportunities brands face. In a wide ranging discussion we delve into th...
Leap to Higher Ground: Get Ready for Season 8 of the Remarkable Retail Podcast
January 09, 2024 08:32 - 1 minute - 1.39 MBDid you know that 2024 is a leap year? Are you prepared to make the leaps you must to win the epic battle between being remarkable or risking irrelevance as the pace of change accelerates, as the bar for performance gets raised higher and higher? As increasingly Fortune favors the bold, are you ready to leap ahead of the competition? This is Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker and best-selling author inviting you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as...
Season Finale: Ira Kalish, Deloitte's Chief Global Economist Looks Ahead to 2024
December 26, 2023 08:05 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBWe mark the close of our seventh season with a return visit from Ira Kalish, Deloitte's Chief Global economist, who helps us look back at how 2023 unfolded and gives us a glimpse into the macro-economic outlook for the year ahead. In a wide ranging conversation we delve into the possibility for a soft-landing, when we might start to see interest cuts, and the overall prospects for important global economies. We also discuss prospects for a thawing in the housing market, the potential looming...
Does Steve Make The Grade?: 2023 Predictions Recap (Part 2)
December 19, 2023 08:05 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBAs we reach the penultimate episode of Season 7, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. In the second installment of a two-part episode, Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard to assess the final batch of Steve's prognostications, which include a year of trading down, a tale of two cities when it comes to retailer balance sheets, and a whole lot more. We also do a reality check on his long-shot guesses about Nike, Whole Foods, and a potential tie-up between JC Penney and Kohl'...
Does Steve Make The Grade: 2023 Predictions Recap (Part 1)
December 12, 2023 08:05 - 38 minutes - 35 MBWe're all about accountability on the Remarkable Retail podcast, so as we get close to wrapping up Season 7, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. In part one of a two-part episode, Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard as we assess the first batch of Steve's prognostications on a disrupter reset, whether retail media networks are more hype than hope, what to make of an accelerating pace of C-suite changes, and a whole lot more. We start with retail news, including a surpri...
"You Can Pay Me Now or You Can Pay Me Later" with Afterpay's Co-Founder Nick Molnar
December 05, 2023 08:05 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBThis episode we welcome Nick Molnar, co-founder of AfterPay, the pioneering buy now pay later (BNPL) company acquired by Block (formerly Square) in 2021. At a time when BNPL is capturing headlines due to its rapid growth this holiday season, we engage in a wide-ranging conversation with one the sector's pioneering leaders. Nick takes us through his founder's story before we delve into how BNPL delivers value for both consumers and retailers. He also helps us understand some of the common my...
You Can't Spell Retail Without "AI" featuring Michael Affronti, SVP/General Manager Commerce Cloud at Salesforce
November 28, 2023 08:05 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBThis episode we welcome Michael Affronti, the SVP & General Manager of the Commerce Cloud business at Salesforce for a fascinating look at the rapidly evolving world of generative AI. In an expansive, yet highly practical, discussion Michael helps us separate the hope from the hype and "chalks the field" on the most important applications to automate mundane tasks or enhance the customer experience. We also go deep on where retailers are already gaining traction and where they need to begin ...
Stepping Out in Style with Crocs President Michelle Poole (E)
November 21, 2023 08:05 - 28 minutes - 26 MBWelcome to a special encore episode featuring Michelle Poole, President of Crocs. We dig into the remarkable growth story behind the increasingly iconic footwear company. We address head-on the polarizing (or is it fundamentally under-estimated?) nature of the brand and how Michelle has turned that to advantage. We also learn about the personalizing power of jibbitz and how product extensions and geographic expansion are fueling their growth. We also delve deep into the diverse, increasingl...
Cutting Through the Retail Technology Clutter with Brendan Witcher, VP & Principal Analyst, Forrester
November 14, 2023 08:05 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBWe welcome Brendan Witcher, Forrestor's VP & Principal Analyst back to the pod to get his always insightful and provocative perspectives on retailer's priorities for 2024. He helps us separate the real from the imagined with a preview of his upcoming report on where retailers are placing their bets for the future. We start with his takes on what makes the "Hype" list, as well as what should be on most retailer's radar screens. Then it's on to the top ten priorities, including hot areas in om...
What's Next for Consumers with Kristina Roger's, EY's Global Consumer Lead
November 07, 2023 08:05 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBJoining us this week is Kristina Rogers, EY's Global Consumer Lead. We leverage Kristina's vast experience working with retailers and consumer brands around the world to get her perspectives on which consumer behaviors are most critical to understand and respond to. We discuss which Covid behaviors are persisting, how current economic forces are driving the growth of private label, and the evolving nature of convenience, both online and in-store. In particular, we delve into some of the key ...
Exclusive Preview of Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption
October 31, 2023 07:05 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBThis week we get a glimpse into Steve's forthcoming new book, now available for pre-order just about everywhere books are sold. With Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption Steve goes beyond retail and provides a unique take on why so many strategic transformations fail across a spectrum of industries and, most critically, what leaders must do to go from risking irrelevance to delivering remarkable and enduring results. In addition to reviewing his provocative cas...
The Remarkable House of Brands That Is LVMH with Anish Melwani, Chairman & CEO, North America
October 24, 2023 08:38 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBOur guest this week is Anish Melwani, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, North America. LVMH is the home to 75 distinguished Houses rooted in six different sectors and includes some of the most iconic global luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Tiffany, Bulgari, Sephora, and many more. We explore the differences between LVMH's North American business and the rest of the world, along with understanding the connective tissue and values that run through all the brands. We dig into how h...
An Elfing Remarkable Growth Story with Laurie Lam, Chief Brand Officer, e.l.f. Beauty
October 17, 2023 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBOur guest this week is Laurie Lam, Chief Brand Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, the fast-growing cosmetics company that has made a name for itself with high quality, inexpensive beauty products. Laurie helps us understand the origin of the brand and some of the keys to its remarkable success. We dig into how staying connected to consumers fuels product innovation, the company's impressive record of diversity, equity, and inclusion, how to best navigate the often tricky world of social media, and th...
Grocery Retail and the Accelerating Pace of Disruption with Lindsey Mazza and Stewart Samuel
October 10, 2023 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBOur final episode recorded live at GroceryShop in the Vantage podcast studio features two of the world's leading experts on all things retail: Lindsey Mazza, Global Retail Lead at CapGemini and Stewart Samuel, Director of Retail Futures at IGD. In a wide ranging conversation we delve into the important trends affecting the grocery industry--and retail more broadly--including sustainability, the evolving supply chain, automation, collaboration, cyber-security, retail media networks, and the b...
The 1:1 Future is Now: Barbara Connors, VP of Strategy & Acceleration at 84.51°/Kroger
October 03, 2023 07:05 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBJoining us for our second episode recorded live in the Vantage remote podcast studio at Groceryshop is Barbara Connors, Vice President of Strategy & Acceleration at 84.51° Kroger's retail data science, insights and media company. We start out big picture with Barbara's view of how consumer preferences continue to evolve and which Covid era behaviors are likely to persist. Then we go deep on the move to healthier choices, the growth of private brands, how loyalty is changing, and the blurri...
Live from GroceryShop: Three Top VC's Dish on the Future of Retail Tech
September 26, 2023 07:05 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBOur third anniversary episode features the first of three episodes recorded live at GroceryShop in the Vantage podcast studio. We welcome three rock star venture capitalists--Ashley Hartman (Bluestein Ventures), Matt Nichols (Commerce Ventures), and Kevin Parakkattu (Plug and Play) --who share their thoughts on the future of retail tech. In a fast-paced discussion, we dig into the current funding environment, challenges scaling once promising technology, and what each of our panelists are lo...
Ways to Be Remarkable: Edit to Amplify
September 19, 2023 07:05 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBOn this episode we debut a new segment, designed to recommend specific paths and actions to become truly remarkable. Leveraging material from Steve's best-selling book, consulting work, and keynote speaking, we go deep on a concept first popularized by Nike CEO Mark Parker. At its core, "editing to amplify" means giving customers fewer, more powerfully distinctive options. What was once largely applied to merchandising strategy can be extended more broadly. In today's world where it's increa...
Remarkably Local: Our Interview with Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks
September 12, 2023 07:05 - 45 minutes - 42 MBJoining us for a wide-ranging interview on how a more than 100 year old retailer stays relevant is Greg Hicks, CEO of Canadian Tire. We start with some history, tracing the evolution of one of North America's most successful retailers from its modest beginnings as a tire shop to today's diverse portfolio of store formats, powerful private brands, and financial services, comprising over 1,700 locations. While Canadian Tire is rather unique in its iconic position in Canadian culture and deal...
Retail's Escalating Commitment to a Failing Course of Action
September 05, 2023 07:05 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBThe retail graveyard is already filled with brands that failed to transform for the new age of retail and many household names (JC Penney, Gap, Macy's, and more) are edging ever closer to the precipice. Despite the profound shifts in retail during the past decades, these iconic brands continue to fall prey to "The Innovator's Dilemma," choosing to double down on what is very clearly a losing hand. In this episode we explore why so many organizations have allowed a huge gap to grow between h...
The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands (E)
August 29, 2023 07:23 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBWelcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen. Today, we bring you our update and perspectives on The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands with an episode first released in the fall of 2021. First, Steve updates us on the status of the many brands mentioned in our original episode, including Casper. We also unpack the implication...
The Beauty of Innovation with Ophelia Ceradini, former VP, Digital Technology & Innovation Group at Estée Lauder
August 22, 2023 07:05 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBJoining us for our final episode recorded live at last month's Lead Innovation Summit is Ophelia Ceradini, recently departed VP, Digital Technology & Innovation Group at Estée Lauder Companies Online. In a wide-ranging interview we go inside Estee Lauder's innovation process, digging into what inputs drive their strategic agenda, the role of employing a "test and learn" framework, and how to build a culture of experimentation. We also touch on the emerging world of "hyper-personalization." ...
Honey, I Shrunk The Store: Retailers Go Smaller to Grow Bigger (E)
August 15, 2023 07:05 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBWelcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen. Today we bring you our update and perspectives on small format stores for big retail brands. We start with an update on this strategy since we originally released this episode in the fall of 2021. It may seem like a paradox, but retailers like Macy's, Ikea, Nike, Target, Amazon, Nordstrom ...
What It Takes to Maintain Youth Culture Relevance with Brie Olson CEO, PacSun
August 08, 2023 07:05 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBJoining us for the second of three episodes recorded live at last month's Lead Innovation Summit is Brie Olson, CEO of PacSun, a leading lifestyle brand that sells apparel and related items designed for teens and young adults. In a wide-ranging interview we explore how to be remarkably relevant with GenZ customers. In particular we dig into crowd-sourcing customer insight via TikTok and other social media platforms to inform merchandising strategies, how PacSun's purpose guides their strat...
Remarkable Retail Gets Active with Vuori's CEO Joe Kudla (E)
August 01, 2023 07:05 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBWelcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen. Today we bring you our exclusive interview with Joe Kudla, CEO and Founder of Vuori, the fast-growing Southern California-inspired activewear brand. Joe's journey is a fascinating one that anyone in retail and branding will enjoy and can learn from. We discuss the origin story of the com...
LIVE FROM THE LEAD INNOVATION SUMMIT: What's New & Next in DTC featuring Simeon Siegel
July 25, 2023 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBWe kick-off Season 7 with an engaging conversation on the future of direct-to-consumer retail recorded live on stage at the Lead Innovation Summit in New York City earlier this month. Michael leads Steve--and now three time guest on the pod--Simeon Siegel, Managing Director & Senior Analyst at BMO Capital Markets in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on aligning on a useful definition of "DTC," dissecting what's going on right now that's most important, and what we need to be paying att...
It's Time to Get Serious About Transformation. Get Ready for Season 7 of the Remarkable Retail Podcast
July 18, 2023 07:05 - 1 minute - 1.8 MBThis is Steve Dennis, innovation & strategy consultant, keynote speaker and best-selling author of Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Succession patriarch Logan Roy reminds us that it's one thing to be loved. It's another thing to get serious about the harsh realities we often face and to do the work we must to transform at the speed of disruption. In an era of unrelenting change and increasingly volatile market conditions to be anything less than remar...
Ulta's Remarkable Growth Story featuring Dave Kimbell, CEO (E)
July 11, 2023 07:05 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBWelcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen. Today we bring you our exclusive interview with Dave Kimbell, CEO of beauty retailer Ulta. First, Steve gives us a powerful update on Ulta's performance under the leadership of Dave since 2022. Both their financial performance and market share expansion are genuinely remarkable. Ulta has be...
Retail's Year of Living Efficiently
June 27, 2023 07:05 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBIn our final episode of our sixth season we briefly share our mid-year highlights before dipping into the week in retail news, which includes the prospect of a UPS strike wreaking havoc on the world of e-commerce. Then we reflect on Overstock's fire sale scooping up of Bed, Bath & Beyond's intellectual property and how the Container Store and Dormify hope to vill the back-to-school void. We then try to make sense of the rumor that Neiman Marcus may sell of its Bergdorf Goodman division, tyin...
Winner Sells All: Exploring the Amazon and Walmart Rivalry with Jason Del Rey
June 20, 2023 07:05 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBJoining us in conversation about his just released new book Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets is Jason Del Rey, the veteran business journalist who has spent a decade reporting on Amazon, Walmart, and how technology is transforming retail. We explore the evolution of the rivalry and how it's shaped the world of commerce, while learning about some of the key inflection points that have propelled Walmart's race to embrace digital technology, including the Jet....
Retail Transformation and the Need to Change (Almost) Everything with Wim Blaauw, Chief Digital Officer for the Inkga Group/IKEA
June 13, 2023 07:05 - 44 minutes - 41 MBAs we continue our focus on global retail transformation we welcome Wim Blaauw, Chief Digital Officer for the Inkga Group/IKEA. In a wide-ranging discussion we explore the concept of human-centric technology innovation including the notion of responsible automation. We also discuss the Group's sustainability efforts, an accelerating commitment to digital transformation, and the evolution of its omni-channel strategy. We conclude with an overview of Ikea's hybrid format growth strategy in res...
When It All Clicks: Global Retail Innovation with Lego Group's Martin Urrutia
June 06, 2023 07:05 - 41 minutes - 38 MBIn our final episode recorded live at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona our guest is Martin Urrutia, Global Head Retail Experience & Innovation for the Lego Group. Martin takes us inside the innovation process at one of the world's most beloved brands. He shares how Lego's process has evolved and how they incorporate customer insight, consumer trends, technology disruption and brand vision to bring a steady stream of new concepts to market. We also discuss the important of a 'test and l...
Is Work Working? A Remarkable Conversation with Seth Godin
May 30, 2023 07:05 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBRenowned author, entrepreneur, and leadership teacher, Seth Godin returns to the podcast to discuss his incredibly timely and urgent new book:The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams. In a wide-ranging interview Seth challenges us to re-think the nature of work, asking are we going to engage in a race to the bottom, or a race to the top where the work we do is rich with meaning and purpose? In unpacking Seth's most personal work yet, we go deep on some big, important questions i...
What We (Still) Get Wrong About Physical Retail--And Why It Matters
May 23, 2023 08:03 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBThis week we go guest free to tackle some of the more pernicious misperceptions, missteps, and false narratives that continue to get in the way of retailers' making the strategic progress they so urgently need. As the Covid sales bump disappears and consumer demand wanes we will--as Warren Buffet famously said--"get to see who's been swimming naked." Without aggressive action retailers stuck in the unremarkable middle will soon face a harsh reckoning. Among the topics we take on is the fals...
Putting Customers First, with Special Guest Martin Newman
May 16, 2023 07:05 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBIn our second episode recorded live at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, our special guest is author and customer-centricity thought leader Martin Newman. While being customer-centric is a stated priority of most brands, many have a hard time delivering on the promise. Martin helps us understand the challenges and the essential building blocks of putting customers first, while laying out how to find your brand's North Star and assemble a truly holistic approach. First up, however, ar...
The Search for Transformative Leadership with Spencer Stuart's Sally Elliott
May 09, 2023 07:05 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBWe kick off a series of episodes recorded live in our pop-up studio at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona with Sally Elliott, Co-leader of the Global Retail Practice at Spencer Stuart, one of the world's leading executive search firms. Sally shares key lessons from her vast experience working with top retail Boards and teams around the globe on critical issues of succession planning and what it takes to drives successful transformation. We also get her perspectives on what the new supe...