Walmart's Retail Strategies and Job Market Insights

Our 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 the news of the week, staring with some big news from our guest's employer, including Walmart's plans to increase store manager compensation, a 3 for 1 stock split, and major investments in new store openings and remodels. We also delve into the state of the retail layoffs and do a quick recap of earnings news from Amazon (wow!), Peloton (oof!), Apple (not bad) and LVMH (quite nice), and share some numbers on emerging deflation.

* Since our recording Jane was named the new SVP, International Operations at Walmart.

Presented by Celonis.

Past episodes mentioned.

Michelle Poole

Judith McKenna

Steve's new book--Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption--will be released April 23rd (note new release date). And for a limited time pre-order it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop,org, or any other retailer worldwide, and get some very special FREE bonuses.

Buy 1 Copy and receive:
- An exclusive PDF book excerpt
- An invitation to a private pre-launch virtual event.

Buy 5 Copies and receive:
- All the above, plus access to a small group virtual Q&A session.

Buy 25 copies or more and receive:
- All the above, plus a private one-on-one 20 minute Zoom consulting or executive leadership coaching session with me.

Simply email your receipt to leadersleap@sageberryconsullting.com and we will handle the rest!

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10% off General Attendee10% off Retailer & BrandCode - remarkableattendee Code - remarkableretailandbrandLink - https://stus24-registration.personatech.com/code?cId=cmVtYXJrYWJsZWF0dGVuZGVlLink - https://stus24-registration.personatech.com/code?cId=cmVtYXJrYWJsZXJldGFpbGFuZGJyYW5k

About Jane

With deep roots in business operations, development and talent management, Jane excels at embedding and operationalizing sustainability across the enterprise. She currently leads International Operations for Walmart. Before joining Walmart, Jane held various general management roles in several countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Global Travel at Diageo PLC. She joined Walmart in 2012 as a Senior Vice President for the International division and has since served in multiple leadership roles, including in Walmart U.S. Merchandising, Business Development, store reinvention and digital acceleration, as Chief People Officer for Walmart International and most recently as the SVP for Sustainability. Her personal motto: let’s go faster than we think is possible.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in April 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..

Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.

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, a keynote speaker around the world and consumer growth consultant.   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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor , Canada's top food industry podcasts and one of the top management podcasts in the nation according to Apple, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael  on  LinkedIn. 

Be sure and check out Michael's Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.