There’s No Place Like Home with Janet Hayes, CEO of Crate and Barrel Holdings (E)

Aug 5, 2025

Janet Hayes, the CEO of Crate and Barrel Holdings, shares her impressive journey through retail giants like Nike and Pottery Barn. She discusses the brand's ambitious $5B growth plans and the innovative flagship store in NYC that merges modern design with rich heritage. Janet highlights how technology is reshaping consumer experiences and the need for sustainability in home goods. Her leadership lessons and insights into the evolving retail landscape provide a fresh perspective on driving growth and adapting to changing consumer behaviors.

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ANECDOTE

Janet Hayes' Retail Journey

Janet Hayes shared her 30-year retail journey from Macy's to CEO of Crate & Barrel.
She emphasized learning from diverse roles and leaders like Chip and Joanna Gaines.

INSIGHT

Crate & Barrel’s Business Scale

Crate & Barrel Holdings is a $3B company growing towards $5B with five brands including Crate & Kids, CB2, and Hudson Grace.
The business is 60% digital, emphasizing a strong omni-channel model with expansion plans in Canada.

INSIGHT

Balancing Growth with Quality

Focused investments in technology and supply chain are key to fulfilling customer promises amid rapid growth.
The brand aims to blend its 60-year quality legacy with modern service for a sustainable future.

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In this special encore episode we revisit an insightful conversation with Janet Hayes, CEO of Crate and Barrel Holdings as she shares her career journey and the brand’s $5B growth ambitions. From their visionary Flatiron NYC flagship to enhanced digital design services and significant tech investments, the iconic 60 year old home retailer furnishings retailer is modernizing for a more remarkable future.”

Janet shares leadership lessons from a remarkable career with brands like Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Nike, and Gap and, now, in her current role driving growth as the CEO of Crate & Barrel, CB2, and Hudson Grace. We delve into her perspectives on the role of technology, the changing nature of work, and more. We also get a glimpse into the drive forces behind their latest flagship store in New York's Flatiron District.

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.