Live from the NRF Big Show in New York, Giant Tiger President & COO Paul Wood plus retail strategist and author Steve Dennis talks remarkable retail

Welcome to the first of a series of special NRF Big Show episodes of The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

First up in this episode recorded live from New York City at the NRF Big Show in the NRF podcasting studio Giant Tiger President and COO Paul Wood joins me and we learn all about this fast growing Canadian retailer based in my hometown of Ottawa, how their business structure keeps them wired directly into the market, how retail CEOs deal with the many demands on their time and what lies ahead for Giant Tiger.

Next, Steve Dennis makes his return to the podcast as we catch up on the going-on in global retail, his predictions for 2019 - hits and misses, shift happening, forecast for 2020, thoughts on the Big Show and debut Steve’s new book - Remarkable Retail.

You can pre-order Steve's new book, "Remarkable Retail" here:

https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/8946794/type/dlg/https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/remarkable-retail-how-to-win/9781928055716-item.html?ikwid=remarkable+retail&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

But first, let’s listen into my conversation live from NRF podcasting studio with Paul Wood

Thanks to Paul and Steve for being my guests on this episode. Well Now let’s hit the highlights of the retail news in Canada and around the world with Retail This Week….

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Voice of Retail. If you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.

I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn

Until next time, have a great week!

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.