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We're just back from New York and the 2023 edition of the National Retail Federation's Big Show. As we rest our weary legs, we hop back on the mic to share some of our key takeaways gleaned from the Expo floor, the conference stages, conversations in the halls, and at various events we attended.  We also recorded several new podcast episodes while we were there. Stay tuned as we release them over the coming weeks.  And for a quick overview of the session we did on the Big Ideas stage with the Container Store's EVP of Strategy & Analytics Gretchen Ganc go here.    We'll also be releasing our interview live on the stage with Gretchen as an upcoming episode of the podcast.  About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Last week we released the first batch of Steve's predictions. This week we conclude with six more, centering on how "hybridization" will steal the crown from omni-channel, how trading-down (in product and format) will define the year, the likelihood that big consumer credit troubles emerge, why strong balance sheets reign supreme, how the Metaverse is still not ready for its close up, while AI just might be. We wrap up with three bonus long-shot prognostications (aka "wild ass guesses") involving a Nike acquisition, bold moves at Whole Foods, and a blockbuster merger among struggling department stores. But first we kick off with our hot takes on the week in retail news, including the US Census Bureau monthly sales report, how the National Retail Federation did with its holiday forecast, and some encouraging signs of inflation moderation. Then we turn our attention to Nordstrom's earnings warning amid continuing troubles at its Rack division.  We also dig into the potential impacts of big layoffs at Alphabet, Microsoft, Wayfair and more, before wondering whether some brands' (Gap, Peloton, Rent the Runway) decision to sell on Amazon smacks of desperation or of genius. ShopTalk (Las Vegas) ShopTalk (Barcelona) World Retail Congress Presented by MarketDial. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

We're back with Season 6 and we kick-off with a two-part episode focused on Steve's annual retail predictions. In Part 1 we cover his first six, which center on the growing importance of physical store experiences in a digital world, a notable increase in C-suite changes, a profound reset among the digital disruptors, initial growing pains in the retail media space, looming big changes with Amazon's physical store dreams, and an acceleration of "the collapse of the unremarkable middle."  But as is our custom, we kick off with our hot takes on the week in retail news, including what to make of some of the big macro-economic reports that emerged during out brief hiatus and what updated guidance from the likes of Macy's, Lululemon, and others portends for 4th quarter earnings. We then examine the sad story of Bed, Bath & Beyond's probable bankruptcy filing before turning to more upbeat news from Five Below. We wrap things up with what China's grand re-opening might mean for the world of retail, before making a return visit to the Wobbly Unicorn Corner to discuss the tales of woe from the likes of Stitch Fix, Everlane, Morphe, and Boxed. Presented by MarketDial. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

As we take a few weeks off before returning with Season 6, we dig into the back catalog to go deep on a growing trend that Steve introduced in his book, and recently unpacked in a Forbes article: namely how so many aspects of retail--stores, supply chains, brand distribution strategies and more--are moving from roles that are largely singular in purpose to becoming (or needing to become) hybrid in nature. This shift is profound, requires potentially massive changes over time and, we argue, not yet getting the attention it deserves.  Photo by Tim Meyer on Unsplash   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

As business legend Warren Buffett might say: The Tide is Going Out - we're about to see who's swimming naked. With a worldwide recession threatening, the pace of change continuing to accelerate, and an increasingly volatile operating environment, retailers that deliver anything less than a remarkable customer experience are about to see their weaknesses exposed. This is Steve Dennis, strategy & innovation consultant, keynote speaker and best-selling author of Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Join me and my co-host Michael LeBlanc every week for Season 6 of the Remarkable Retail podcast as we challenge the status quo, dissect the latest trends, put the top retail news of the week in context, and talk with the remarkable leaders who push their organizations to aim higher, act more boldly, and transform at the speed of disruption. Listeners worldwide have made us one of the top-rated and top-listened retail industry podcasts. This season, Steve and I will meet industry insiders from New York to Las Vegas, to Barcelona and beyond to showcase those retail brands making a real difference and discover their remarkable journeys and lessons learned. So be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you enjoy your podcasts today and brace yourself for a steady stream of wisdom, straight talk and lively conversation. Season 6, presented by MarketDial, launches on January 17, and we can't wait to have you join us!  

As we take a few weeks off before returning with Season 6, we dig into the back catalog for one of our most inspiring episodes. Our very special guest is Hubert Joly, former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and the author of the just released bestselling book The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism. In a wide-ranging interview we explore Hubert's storied career as one of the world's leading CEO's, highlighted by Best Buy's transformation into a truly remarkable retailer. But we also delve into his personal evolution from a hard-charging McKinsey consultant who was all about performance optimization, to someone who saw leadership rooted in unleashing "human magic."  Beyond the captivating details of Best Buy's renaissance--which include strongly defying the retail apocalypse narrative--we unpack the many leadership lessons from Hubert's powerful new book. Chief among them is becoming people-centric, not profit centric and discovering your brand's--and your own--purpose. He also strongly argues for a complete (and urgent) re-framing of the role of capitalism and presents a pragmatic guide to applying his principles. Our conversation is compelling, concrete and profoundly optimistic. You might also conclude you need to find a coach. About Hubert Hubert Joly  has been recognized as one of the one hundred “Best-Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review, one of the top thirty CEOs in the world by Barron’s, and one of the top ten CEOs in the United States in Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards. Joly is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and serves on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren. During Hubert’s time at Best Buy, he and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation’s favorite employers, a sustainable leader, and an innovator, dramatically increasing customer satisfaction and growing the company’s stock price 10-fold. His greatest achievement, however, may have been to make himself dispensable: he decided to step down as CEO in 2019 and as executive chairman in 2020, and pass the baton to a new generation of leaders. Hubert’s purpose in life is to make a positive difference on people around him and use the platform he has to make a positive difference in the world. Besides serving on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren, he now spends most of his time as a lecturer at Harvard Business School and supporting other leaders seeking to become the best versions of themselves and to lead with purpose and humanity. He is also actively invested in efforts to advance meaningful diversity and inclusion. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

“Great brands don't chase customers; customers chase great brands.” - Gary Friedman, CEO Restoration Hardware As we take a few weeks off before returning with Season 6, we dig into the back catalog to go deep on #7 ("Memorable") in Steve's 8 Essentials of Remarkable Retail framework. Being Memorable is critical to not simply offering a slightly better version of mediocre and competing relentlessly on discounts. Done right, it is the key to long-term growth, profits and customer loyalty. In unpacking this essential we discuss how to own the "real estate of the mind," and what we mean when we talk about "experience" as something other than the latest bright shiny object. Drawing on key take-aways from Steve's best-selling book, we define the six characteristics of memorable and discuss case studies that illustrate the various ways leading retailers are implementing memorable strategies including mega-brands like RH, Nordstrom, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Amazon, along with "special not big" retailers such as Franklin BBQ and Blue Star Donuts.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

We wrap up Season 5 with yet another remarkable leader from a most remarkable retailer. This week our guest is Satish Malhotra, the CEO of The Container Store (TCS), the leading specialty retailer of storage and organization products, custom spaces, and in-home services.  Satish took the helm of TCS last year after an amazing two decade run at Sephora where he helped drive their retail growth strategy as Chief Retail Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Americas.  We unpack what has TCS' success and momentum over the past 18 months, before delving into their plans to double its business over the next few years via it's 3 Pillars strategy: intensifying its product and service focus, expanding its reach (both digitally and by opening 80-100 new stores), and strengthening multiple capabilities. We also discuss how to overcome the cultural challenges that can impede any transformation effort and get Satish's views on how to navigate the coming choppy waters of a challenging economic outlook. But first we dip into the week in retail news, including dissecting the latest sales report from the US Census Bureau which seems to suggest storm clouds on the horizon. Then we take on the surprise news of Amazon' Deal Days, before a short riff on the importance of the week after Christmas. Then it's a trip to the retail graveyard with news of Sears Hometown's apparent pending demise and a quick take on H&M's recent sales report. We wrap up with Walmart's doubling down on omni-channel fulfillment while Nordstrom Rack struggles to make it work.  Catch Steve and Michael at NRF's Big Show Catch Steve and Michael at the World Retail Congress (more details soon)   About Satish A seasoned retail executive with decades of diverse and valuable experience, Satish Malhotra joined The Container Store on February 1, 2021 as Chief Executive Officer and President. For the previous 21 years, Satish held various leadership roles at prestige beauty retailer Sephora Americas, most recently as Chief Retail Officer and Chief Operating Officer.  In this role, Satish was responsible for leading Sephora’s retail growth by expanding its in-store services and experiences, developing digitally enabled solutions and by growing its off-mall store locations. Prior to that role, Satish served as Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for Technology, Supply Chain, Store Development, Legal, Strategy and Partnerships, including the Sephora inside JCPenney (SiJCP) business which now operates in over 600 stores. He also spent several years overseeing Sephora’s expansion into Canada and Latin America. Before joining Sephora, Satish was a Transaction Services Senior Associate at PwC. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Throughout his career, Satish has excelled at developing and growing new sales channels, solving complex “back of the house” problems with innovative solutions, and attracting and developing high performing talent. Among his many career highlights: transforming Sephora’s IT department to a Center of Excellence within parent company LVMH, launching all of Sephora’s digital commerce properties (including website, mobile, social and CRM), strengthening Sephora’s supply chain to enable 98% of online orders to be received by consumers within two business days, developing an off-mall store concept which dramatically improved Sephora’s accessibility to its consumers, and led the efforts in creating Sephora’s purpose of “inspiring fearlessness”. In 2020, he was presented with the Innovation Leadership Award from the World Retail Forum. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Walter A. Haas School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Satish has also completed the LVMH Inspiring Entrepreneurs Senior Executive Leadership Program. Malhotra currently resides in Flower Mound, Texas, with his wife, two children and their Coton du Tulear. An avid Peloton rider, he clocked well over 11,000 minutes in 2020. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

With the penultimate episode of Season 5 we pause briefly to celebrate reaching our 100th episode milestone, before taking an insider's view of the dynamic world of retail tech and consumer investing with Al Sambar, a deeply experienced industry executive who now serves as a General Partner at XRC Labs. We get a fast-paced primer on how venture capital works and XRC's particular focus on early stage investing. Al helps us understand the process for discovering and sorting through those start-ups with the greatest disruptive potential before getting a behind the scenes view of how XRC's investment thesis has evolved over the years. We then take a look ahead at what trends will shape retail innovation in the future, with key take-aways for retail executives, budding entrepreneurs, and venture capital investments. But first we dip into the week in retail news, including how the holiday season seems to be unfolding, perhaps to a game of what Michael calls "discount chicken." We make a return trip to the Wobbly Unicorn Corner and news of some serious stumbling as well as promising signs from the likes of Stitch Fix, Rent the Runway, Chewy, Blue Apron, and Getir. We close highlighting the remarkable results from Lululemon and the staggeringly high valuation of Fanatics. Catch Steve and Michael at NRF's Big Show About Al As XRC Labs’s General Partner, Al Sambar leads business strategy and development for the NYC tech accelerator. A leader in innovation, Al previously held the role of Managing Director at Kurt Salmon’s North American Retail and Consumer Group. For more than 20 years, Al has been providing retailers and consumer companies with strategic planning, organizational design, consumer insights and operating performance improvement services, with deep specialization in omni-channel retailing and global brand management.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

We're all about accountability on the Remarkable Retail podcast, so as we get close to wrapping up Season 5, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard as we go through all ten predictions about the future of retail, including Amazon's brick-and-mortar dreams, the Metaverse, whether JC Penney has a future, the trials and tribulations of digital disruptors, and a whole lot more.  But we start with the retail news that caught our attention this week, including fresh figures on inflation and the job market before our quick takes on the somewhat vexing picture emerging from Black Friday and Cyber Week. With earnings season wrapping, it continues to be a tale of two cities with remarkable retailers like Ulta delivering strong numbers, while others (Lands' End, Farfetch), well, not so much. We do our by now familiar head scratching as Macy's fumbles around with brand partners that seem to do nothing to change its relevance and remarkability issues, before concluding with ideas on how Amazon can improve its retail profitability. *************************************** Steve Recent Relevant Forbes Articles  10 No-Holds-Barred Predictions for Retail in 2022 The Stores Strike Back Again. Again. Understanding Buying v. Shopping Amazon and the Fault in Their Stores Digitally Native Brands Hit the Wall Blow It Up: It's Time For "The Great Reconfiguration"   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Allison Cornish, VP of Store Modernization for Pilot Flying J, recorded live in the MarketDial podcast studio at the NACS Annual Show. Allison is deeply experience convenience store industry veteran who was also recently recognized as the Top Woman in Convenience. In a wide-ranging conversation we unpack the evolution of the convenience store business model at the Berkshire Hathaway owned retailer and discuss which merchandise, process, and technology adaptations are most important to drive customer loyalty and store associate engagement  We also delve into Pilot Flying J's innovation process, including the role of  consumer research and prototyping to unlock new sources of guest and store operating value. But first we dip into the week in retail news, including our take on the relative importance of Black Friday/Cyber Monday. We ponder the avalanche of discounts that are about to be unleashed upon us, particularly by Kohl's which appears to be in the worst inventory position. Then we dip into earnings reports where we learn that less bad is apparently the new good, as Best Buy and Nordstrom dropped a lump of coal into our stockings, but saw their share prices rise. Dick's Sporting Goods continues to shine, however, posting yet another quarter of sales growth. We close with quick takes on declines in Amazon's customer satisfaction and whether a bankruptcy filing from Bed, Bath & Beyond is inevitable. The Remarkable Retail Podcast Tops LoyaltyGuru's Top Podcast List. Catch Steve and Michael at NRF's Big Show BONUS EPISODE: Stuart Taylor, VP, Business Insights and Analytics, Kum & Go   About Allison Allison Cornish serves as Vice President of Store Modernization at Pilot Company. Cornish is a graduate of Maryville College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management. She joined Pilot Company as her first job out of college and throughout her career has held leadership positions in multiple capacities including Regional Manager, Chief of Staff and VP of Operations. Cornish is dedicated to mentoring young up-and-coming leaders and female colleagues across the business and its more than 650 company-operated travel centers.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

We are excited to release the second of two bonus episodes recorded live at the MarketDial podcast studio during the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) conference. Our guest is Stuart Taylor VP, Business Insights and Analytics at Kum & Go, one of the most successful convenience stores in the industry, operating over 400 stores. We delve into how leveraging customer data and insight helps inform the company's growth strategy and transformation. It's a Master class for any retailer in any sector on how to use data science and testing to win, grow and create loyal customers.  About Stuart Develop creative analytical solutions and applications to answer complex business questions and drive real market outcomes. Rapid and effective adoption of novel analytical approaches and technologies where relevant to the need at hand. Comfortable across data types and in driving integrated solutions from disparate data sources. Cross-functional team leadership success rooted in alignment with strategic objectives and analytical vision, and illumination of individual team member roles in achieving the vision. If we think about today's needs to drive in-market success and differentiation through applied business analytics, there are two foundational data science pillars of math and technology. I unapologetically bring the third pillar in being able to surface the right questions, bring them in a meaningful way to the technical scientists, and deliver accessible, meaningful solutions to the end user. I succeed through leading complex cross-functional teams toward integrated, meaningful solutions.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Matt Alexander, co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Goods, recorded live at GroceryShop in Las Vegas.  In a wide-ranging and thought-provoking interview, we first learn about the inspiration and evolution of Neighborhood Goods from a big picture vision to three physical locations (Dallas, New York and Austin, with more on the way). We then explore Matt's creative and unique take on concept development, merchandising, story-telling, and more, before moving into his fascinating thoughts on leadership, innovation, and more broadly, how culture affects retail. We wrap up with what's next for Neighborhood Goods (with a bit of existentialist philosophy thrown in for good measure). But first we take on the week in retail news, kicking off with a big picture overview of monthly sales and lots of retail earnings reports. We ponder what it all might mean for the near future, particularly as several retailers "pull their guidance." We then offer up quick hits on the decent (Walmart, Home Depot), the bad (Target), and the ugly (Kohl's), while considering whether Macy's "Polaris Strategy" is actually working. We conclude with our thoughts on the coming lay-offs and potential strategic shake-ups at Amazon. Steve's Forbes article on Macy's Turnaround Strategy Catch Steve and Michael at NRF's Big Show Past Episodes Mentioned Lori Stillman, from the National Association of Convenience Stores Target SVP Nancy King The Citizenry's Rachel Bentley and Carly Nance   About Matt Matt is the co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Goods.In his spare time, amongst other things, Matt is co-founder of not-for-profit, Unbranded, co-host of Bonanza! on Relay FM, a member of SMU's Dedman Executive Board, and advisor to a number of startups and accelerators.Matt has been fortunate to be named as one of Monocle's Top 25 Entrepreneurs, D CEO's Most Influential Leaders, FGI's Rising Stars, and more. Meanwhile, Neighborhood Goods has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, Chain Store Age's Breakout Retailers, and more. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

We are excited to release two bonus episodes recorded live at the MarketDial podcast studio  at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) conference in Las Vegas. Our first special guest is Lori Stillman, Vice President, Research for NACS, who helps us understand some of the fun facts and figures about the industry, before we get her takes on the profound shifts that are reshaping the sector, including the impact of digital disruption, labor shortages, swipe fees, self-checkout, declining store traffic, and more. We also unpack what is really meant by "convenience" and what innovations matter most right now. About Lori Lori Buss Stillman is the Vice President, Research for NACS.  Joining NACS in 2019, Lori leads the association’s industry-leading research portfolio, which includes the NACS State of the Industry suite of products and events, the Convenience Voices Shopper Insights solution that provides moment-of-truth insights into shopping behavior, monthly data insights from the CSX database and other research and insights programs critical to the convenience and fuel retail industry. Stillman has a deep background in data analytics, decision support, business development and consulting. Most recently, she served as executive vice president of analytics, insights and business intelligence for Advantage Solutions. Leveraging 30+ years in the FMCG industry, she also has served as senior vice president of new client acquisition for Information Resources Inc., vice president of marketing and business development for WEBCO General Partnership, and senior vice president of strategic business development for Nielsen. Stillman earned a B.A. in business communications from Maryville University. She is active in the advancement of our industry, holding board level positions with the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council, Conexxus, Stewart’s Enterprises, Inc., and with the Western Michigan University Food and CPG Marketing Program Industry Advisory Board. She is also a frequent speaker on the disruption taking place across the retail landscape. Lori makes her home in Northern Virginia, with her husband and daughter. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Andrew Lipsman, Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence, recorded live at the recently completed GroceryShop event in Las Vegas.  We go deep into the burgeoning world of retail media networks, exploring what they are, how they work, and why they have become arguably the most exciting growth area for retailers in recent memory. We dig into the key accelerants and enablers, how success requires a significant shift in organizational mindset, and what challenges need to be overcome to best balance the customer experience with retailers desire to chase incremental profits. And we can't pass up the opportunity to get Andrew's perspective on the holiday shopping season.  But first we give our hot-takes on the week in retail news, kicking off with our thoughts on Michelle Gass's departure from Kohl's, before moving to the stock market frenzy unleashed by better inflation numbers. We also unpack profit warnings from Capri and others ,and what to make of earnings reports from retail disruptors like Mytheresa (the good), Allbirds (the bad) and Warby Parker (the maybe). We close with a brief discussion of Amazon's reported profitability review, before dipping into the department of useless headlines. Links Kohl's Retail Fight Club  Michael Kliger  Dan McCarthy  Lauren Weiner   About Andrew Andrew Lipsman is a Principal Analyst at Insider Intelligence, focusing on retail and ecommerce. Recent coverage includes grocery ecommerce, retail media networks, D2C brands, social commerce, mobile retail apps, holiday shopping, and Amazon Prime Day. Previously, Andrew was SVP of Marketing & Insights at comScore, covering multiple industries and overseeing the company’s global marketing insights and thought leadership initiatives.  He has specialized in several coverage areas in addition to retail, including social media, mobile, digital advertising and cross-platform marketing. Andrew has been a regular contributor to the Journal of Advertising Research and is frequently quoted by leading news organizations like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, CNN, Fortune, Reuters and Bloomberg. Andrew holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and his undergraduate degree from Duke University. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! 

Our guests this week are Cara Keating, Chief Customer Officer, Frito Lay-North America and Chad Matthews, Chief Commercial Officer, Pepsico Beverages-North America.  In a fast-paced conversation recorded live at the National Association of Convenience Stores' annual conference in Las Vegas. we dig into what makes Pepsico unique on both the food and beverage side before delving into how customer-centric innovation is brought to life using tools like Pepviz. We also learn how the convenience channel is evolving, how the lines are blurring, and how Pepsi thinks about its own direct-to-consumer efforts. We also discover how both Cara and Chad's groups work with their retail partners to drive collaborative value, before wrapping up with a discussion of Pepsi's social impact efforts. But first we dissect the week's most important retail news, kicking off with Lowe's decision to "pull a Target" and bail on the Canadian market. Then we move on to some big picture news, including the National Retail Federation's holiday forecast and profit warnings from brands like Canada Goose and Under Armour. We also revisit the "wobbly unicorn corner," unpacking what to make of dismal quarterly earnings reports from Peloton and Wayfair, before sharing some uncharacteristically good news as AdoreMe gets scooped up by Victoria's Secret for a cool $400 million. We close with news from Steve's field trip to JC Penney's new inclusive beauty concept.   About Cara Cara Keating, an 18-year PepsiCo veteran, is the Chief Customer Officer for Frito Lay North America. Since joining PepsiCo in 2004, Cara’s ability to consistently deliver results has led to progressively senior roles in general management, customer development and field leadership across Canada. Cara began her PepsiCo career in the Western Canada market with Frito Lay Canada (FLC). She then moved to Toronto with PepsiCo Foods Canada (PFC) in 2010 for sales roles with both FLC and Quaker responsibilities including leading the national convenience & gas business, large grocery customers, and foodservice sales. In 2014, Cara was promoted to Senior Director of Sales Strategy, Planning, and Insights. After her promotion to Ontario Area Vice President in 2015, Cara led the team to back-to-back Pingel Award wins in 2015 and 2016 for the top-performing FLC region. In 2016, Cara was promoted to Vice President Customer Development, where she led PFC’s national sales team to deliver against PepsiCo’s promise of providing world-class service to our customers and innovative programs to our consumers. Most recently, Cara was President of PFC, a role she held for three years. In this role Cara navigated the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to many other transformational changes, all while delivering sustained growth for the company and its customers. Cara is a talented people leader and passionate supporter of PepsiCo’s Diversity, Engagement & Inclusion agenda. As a former lead and recent executive sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN), her efforts to expand WIN across PepsiCo Canada were recognized with the prestigious PepsiCo Global Harvey Russell award for her contributions to diversity and women’s development across PepsiCo. Cara has also helped to position PepsiCo Canada as an industry leader in advancing women through her involvement on the Board of Directors for the annual Forward Together women’s development conference. In recognition of these efforts, Cara was honoured with a 2017 Star Women in Grocery award from Canadian Grocer Magazine. Cara is also very active in the food industry and sits on the Board of Directors for the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP), the FHCP Industry Affairs Management Committee, the Golden Pencil Committee and was a former Advisory Council Member to the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG). Prior to PepsiCo, Cara worked at Procter & Gamble for four years in Account Management. Cara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Saskatchewan. She is an avid traveler and enjoys experiencing new destinations, cuisines and adventures with her husband, Eddie. About Chad Chad Matthews is Chief Commercial Officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America. He assumed this role February 2022 and is a 24-year veteran of PepsiCo with strong leadership across the company’s North America food and beverage businesses. In his current role leading the commercial function, Chad is responsible for enterprise customer development, commercialization, revenue growth management, our allied partner development, national go-to-market, and industry relations. Previously, Chad served as Senior Vice President and General Manager leading overall business and performance management for PepsiCo’s beverage business in 13 states across the Central United States. Since joining PepsiCo in 1998, Chad has held several leadership roles, including Senior Vice President of Frito Lay’s national accounts, Vice President of Frito-Lay’s commercial organization and Vice President of Frito Lay North America’s Mountain Region. Chad has deep experience and a proven track record of delivering strong business and people results, holding numerous roles across sales, operations, commercial, customer marketing, transformation, and go-to-market. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Hal Lawton, the President & CEO of Tractor Supply Co, a truly remarkable retailer that has delivered some of the strongest results of any brand during the past few 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 billion in annual sales through over 2,150 stores. We learn about Tractor's "life out here strategy" and the critical distinction between being a lifestyle retailer vs. a category focused brand. We go deep on the strategic benefits of intense customer focus, strong day in and day out execution, not having larger stores, and embracing the blur of digital and physical. Hal also underscores the importance of constant reinvention and how Tractor stays one step ahead of the customer by investing in their stores and rapidly evolving their business model.   But first we open with our hot-takes on the past week in retail news, including a surprising US GDP report and how interest rate increases are driving an accelerating slow down in the housing market. We also dig into the very disappointing earnings--and spooky outlook--from Amazon, before turning our attention to Meta, which continues to incinerate cash in its quest to figure out what the Metaverse is. Then we briefly touch on Elon's Twitter takeover and Bed, Bath & Beyond's naming of a "permanent" CEO.  About Hal Hal Lawton has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tractor Supply Company since January 2020 and is a member of the Company's Board of Directors. During his tenure at Tractor Supply, Hal has led the Company through a period of unprecedented growth while introducing its Life Out Here strategy to drive sustainable growth. Previously, Hal served as President of Macy’s from September 2017 to December 2019. As President, he had responsibility for all aspects of the Macy’s brand, including merchandising, marketing, stores, operations, technology and consumer insights and analytics. Prior to that, Hal was Senior Vice President, eBay North America from August 2015 to September 2017. In that role, he oversaw all aspects of eBay’s Americas business unit, including marketing, merchandising, operations, business selling, consumer selling and advertising, as well as global responsibility for shipping, payments, risk and trust. Before joining eBay, Hal spent 10 years in various leadership roles at Home Depot, where he most recently was Senior Vice President for merchandising. Hal was responsible for elevating Home Depot’s Internet business. Prior to that, Hal was an associate principal at McKinsey & Co., providing strategic advice to executive teams in consumer-packaged goods and manufacturing industries. Hal holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and Pulp and Paper Science Technology from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia. Hal has served on the board of Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) since 2019. He serves on the NRF Board of Directors and is a member of the Business Roundtable. About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

“The success of our brand will increasingly be determined by our ability to meet our customers' needs anytime, anywhere, anyway.” - Arthur Martinez, Sears CEO, February 1999 You might be wondering who was the first person to lead omni-channel efforts at a major retailer. Was it Phil Phygital, Sean Seamless, Ingrid Integrated, or someone else entirely? This week we reveal our answer. Then we dive into why it's taken so long for retailers to embrace the blur that is modern retail today and still act as if the idea of "omni-chanel"--or “harmonized retail”--is a new phenomenon. We do a brief tour of the evolution of shopping behavior since e-commerce reared its disruptive head and unpack why some retailers watched the last 20 years happen to them, before diving into the key steps  that retail brands need to take to go beyond the platitudes and table stakes to deliver remarkable results in the future. Some of keys: "silo's belong on farms, become channel agnostic, create new customer-centric metrics, and accept that digital drives physical--and vice versa.  But first we open up with the retail news that caught our attention this week, including our take on last week's monthly retail sales data and Amazon's new (and tepid) Early Access Sale. Then it's time to take on the ever lowering valuation of Instacart, the broader troubles in home delivery, and trying to figure out what's going on at Nordstrom  We also give our reaction to Shein's new resale program, which seems more about PR, than sustainability and riff more broadly on the general conflict between cheap and purpose-driven. NRF's Big Show Agenda The Myth of the Great E-commerce Acceleration Understanding 'Buying' vs. 'Shopping.' Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be with Steven Pressfield Slaying the Dragon of 'Resistance' with Steven Pressfield   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Michael Kliger, CEO of Mytheresa, the fast-growing global e-commerce destination for luxury fashion---and one of only a handful of retail "disruptor" brands that actually makes money. With Steve facing technical issues, our interview segment turns out to be a duet of Michael's, who explore the current state of the international luxury market and what makes Mytheresa truly remarkable within it. We learn about Mytheresa's rapid evolution since its founding in 2006, and get a glimpse into how an intense focus on the customer--characterized by curation, personalization, and localization--has fueled their success.  We also go deep on how Michael thinks about "acquiring the right customers" and the magic formula that is essential to driving strong customer lifetime value. We close with a discussion of sustainability in the fashion world and the importance of story-telling and making memorable emotional connections with customers. But first we open with our hot-takes on the past week in retail news, including what it means to live in a VUCA world and why our season opening admonition to "buckle-up buttercup" almost makes us retail prophets. We also try to make sense of the blockbuster Kroger and Albertson's merger, TikTok's rumored entry into e-commerce, and the latest results from Steve's old employer (and MyTheresa's former corporate parent), Neiman Marcus. We close by highlighting strong results from fast-growing Aritzia--one of the OG's of DTC--while wondering aloud whether Vuori--part of the newer generation--can successfully expand globally.    About Michael Mr. Kliger has served as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Management Board since September 2020. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of mytheresa.com GmbH, Theresa Warenvertrieb GmbH and MGG since March 2015. He previously served as VP International at eBay Enterprise from March 2013 to February 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Kliger served as Executive Director at Accenture from September 2010 to December 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Kliger served as Managing Director at First Capital Partners GmbH from September 2007 to September 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Kliger served as Vertriebsgeschäftsführer at real,- SB-Warenhaus GmbH from January 2005 to April 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Kliger worked at McKinsey & Company from February 1992 to December 2004 serving last as Principal. Mr. Kliger serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Valora AG since March 2017. He holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a Diploma degree from the Berlin University of Technology.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Our guest this week is Ivonne Kinser, VP of Marketing & Innovation for Avocados from Mexico, the innovative marketing organization that has delivered some truly remarkable results. In our fourth episode recorded live at last month's GroceryShop event in Las Vegas, we get the inside story of how AFM went from start-up to advertising on the Super Bowl. We then dig into the details of how Ivonne and her team have elevated what could be seen as a commodity product to a highly in demand, powerful consumer brand. We also get Ivonne's perspective on how consumer and technology trends are intertwining, what it means to be channel agnostic, and how "learning agility" is key to career success.  But first we share our hot-takes on the past week in retail news, including what a tight labor market portends for interest rates and inflation, why the holidays seem to come earlier and earlier every year, and what to make of Prat Vemana joining Target as their new Chief Digital & Product Officer. We also discuss Poshmark going from from Wobbly Unicorn to Prized Possession, yet more layoffs at Peloton, and how Allbirds continues to take the D out of DTC. We wrap up with REI's decision to opt out of Black Friday and a trifecta of news from a little outfit called Amazon. About Ivonne Ivonne is the Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for Avocados From Mexico. Her chief responsibility is to lead a high-performance team and the innovation agenda that put Avocados From Mexico on the Fast Company 2021 list of “Most Innovative Companies in the World,” and top in the branding category. In 2022 Ivonne became the first Latina to be awarded with the American Marketing Association’s highest honor bestowed upon a deserving recipe, the Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been included in the list of “100 Most Influential Latinas in the U.S.” for two consecutive years, in 2021 and in 2022. In 2018, she became one of the five women honored with the Changing the Game Award in the Brainwave category, an award given by the prestigious She Runs It organization which recognizes women within the marketing industry who are true catalysts of innovation by fearlessly making bold moves and reinventing the rules of marketing to transform their brands and their organizations. The previous year, the American Advertising Federation had included her in the list of “20 Women to Watch in Dallas Advertising” and awarded her the Shining Star Award, which recognizes women in the Dallas advertising industry who are breaking glass ceilings. Over the span of more than 20 years in marketing, Ivonne has played leadership roles in multiple corporations representing multibillion brands, as well as in top advertising agencies such as Lintas, McCann Erickson Worldwide, and The Richards Group, working with well-known brands in almost every category. In 2014, she joined Avocados From Mexico as the Head of Digital Marketing, and in seven years she built the organization’s digital practice which became one of the most successful digital groups in terms of performance and innovation.  Under her leadership, AFM’s digital work won dozens of accolades and recognitions, including the only brand to be among the top two position on Merkle’s list of “Best Digital Super Bowl Campaigns” for five consecutive years, from 2016 through 2020; an ANA REGGIE Award in 2020 for Disrupted Use of Digital Technology; and a Gold (Sol De Oro) for AFM’s 2017 Super Bowl digital campaign in the category of Real-Time Content at the FIAP competition in Buenos Aires. This festival is recognized in the Latin American region as one of the two most important festivals, together with Cannes.  She has addressed hundreds of keynotes — across the nation and internationally — about Avocados From Mexico’s digital marketing successes, and she is a regular guest speaker at the IPADE, the top business school in Mexico. Innovation, disruptive creativity, and a nontraditional approach to marketing are the hallmarks of Ivonne’s work.   About Us Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here. Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn.  Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!