The Voice of Retail The Future of Retail is Knocking at Your Door
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Ron Johnson is responsible for the iconic Apple Store and Genius Bar that are loved by retail specialists and consumers alike. After years of transforming the retail strategies for retailers Apple and Target, Ron is pioneering the next leap in the retail revolution: bringing the personalized e-commerce shopping experience from your screen to your doorstep.
As the CEO of Enjoy, Ron says that the future of retail will take place in your living room. In this interview, Ron is back on the podcast talking about taking the next step in the shopping experience. We talk about what inspired this transformative approach to retail, and what impact it will have as Enjoy grows with their new partners.
I ask Ron to call on his experience in traditional retail as well as with Enjoy to offer retailers key pieces of advice and insight on navigating the post-COVID world.
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I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co!
Until next time, stay safe and have a great week!
Ron Johnson
Ron is the CEO and Co-Founder of Enjoy, the first mobile retail store. Enjoy has partnered with premier technology companies including AT&T, Rogers, and British Telecom to bring their products directly to customers. When a partner's customer purchases on-line, their product is hand delivered on-demand, with a trained Expert to get them up and running, answer any questions, and purchase any additional products, accessories, or software solutions. Under Ron's leadership, Enjoy has delivered more than one million Enjoy experiences and created a new channel in retail - the mobile store.
Ron is perhaps best known for the work he did creating and leading the Apple Stores during their first twelve years. Ron also served as the CEO of JCPenney during 2012 and 2013. Prior to his time at Apple Ron was highly regarded for the work he did as the merchant leader at Target Stores, the United States leading upscale Discount Stores. He helped the 1700 store Target chain differentiate itself through design and skillful marketing. Ron spent the majority of his 15 years at Target from 1984 through 2000 in merchandising leadership positions.
In addition, Ron is a Board Member of several private companies in the Bay Area.
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 and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and the all new Conversations with CommerceNext podcast. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.
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 fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, 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.