Retail Gets Real

Halloween is one of Party City’s biggest seasons and is a huge undertaking that includes hiring and training 20,000 new seasonal employees and sourcing costumes and décor more than a year in advance. On today’s show, Odette Welling, vice president of merchandising — and the self-confessed “Halloween queen” at Party City — talks all things Halloween, including the retailer’s most popular costumes for kids, adults, teens and pets.  Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Ikea’s latest cutting-edge technology allows customers to visualize Ikea products in their own homes. On today’s show, Thomas Fenrich, VP of digital product U.S., talks about Ikea Kreativ, a new technology that combines decades of Ikea life-at-home expertise with the latest developments in spatial computing, machine learning and 3D mixed reality technologies. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Just skimming the headlines reveals the dichotomy of today’s economy – consumers are still spending, despite worries about inflation and increased costs for food and fuel. Armed with PwC’s latest consumer survey, partner and U.S. retail leader Kelly Pederson joins the show to talk about consumer resiliency, how retailers are handling inventory and pricing, and which consumers will be spending the most this holiday season.  Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Calvin Quallis is all about helping men look good and feel good. As the founder and CEO of Scotch Porter, Quallis has taken his men’s grooming and skincare brand from a kitchen experiment to the shelves of CVS, Target and Walmart. On this episode, Quallis dives into how he started and scaled his brand, the evolution of the male consumer and providing access, opportunity and employment to other people of color.  Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Zach Freeze, senior director for sustainability at Walmart, discusses Walmart's approach to climate and its evolving sustainability efforts, and what it's like to lead them as part of one of the largest and most influential retailers in the world. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Jill Thomas is the CMO of PGA TOUR Superstore. The company, and the sport, have both seen a recent surge of growth due to COVID-19 and golf’s unique position as an outdoor activity that is social distancing-friendly and connection fostering.A large part of Jill’s goal is to continue fostering growth in the sport and attracting people from diverse backgrounds to it. One of their primary channels for that growth is through the retail store. Creating an inclusive environment that is welcoming to avid golfers and curious newcomers alike is what Jill sees as the company’s path to future growth.Another big facet of Jill’s role is diversity. For too long, women have played a minimized role in both the business world and the sport of golf. Through its store culture, PGA TOUR Superstores hopes to make all customers feel welcome.Listen to the full episode to learn more about how PGA TOUR Superstores is expanding the world of golf to a broader audience and impacting not only the future of retail but of the sport as well. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

From its delivery tracker to a mind-ordering app developed in partnership with Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” Domino’s has been delivering on innovation since 1960. Many of those innovations have come about by listening to the customer and adapting based on what they needed, says Christopher Thomas-Moore, senior vice president of customer and store experiences at Domino’s. On this episode, Thomas-Moore discusses his career journey, how the pizza brand leads when it comes to innovation, and the future of the quick service industry. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

NRF’s summer interns are about to return to college. Before heading back, we asked them about their work experience and how their perspectives on retail changed after working at NRF. Bill Thorne sits down with three bright students, Juliana Sailing, Miguel Gomez and Ashton Wiggins, to talk about the lessons they’ve learned along the way, what they’re looking for in a potential employer, and the impact of seeing the ins and outs of retail advocacy. As the retail industry looks to attract new talent into the workforce, these voices offer a glimpse of the future and the promise it holds for positive change and the ability for young people to make a meaningful impact. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Martin Gilliard, Head of Meta Store, joins the show to chat about why Meta opened a physical store, what the store is designed to do and what retailers need to know about emerging opportunities in the metaverse. Gilliard describes the Meta store as a physical space designed to mimic a living room, where consumers can try out the devices such as the Oculus VR headsets, Portal video call devices and RayBan-partnered smart glasses that can enable them to have experiences in the metaverse. Gillard describes how customers have responded to the experiences in the store so far and how retailers should be thinking about the metaverse.  Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Chandra Holt, CEO of Conn's HomePlus, has learned the retail ropes from the inside, with an impressive resume that includes powerhouse retailers like Walgreens, Target, Sam’s Club and most recently, Walmart, where she led Walmart.com. In this episode, Holt shares the new and innovative things happening at Conn’s HomePlus, including expanding the “store-within-a-store” concept, leaning into their strengths with key partnerships and bringing back layaway for customer financing.  Listen to hear Holt’s vision for unified commerce, Conn’s HomePlus’ journey to bring the store, ecommerce and all other touchpoints into a cohesive experience for the customer, and career insights Holt has learned as she’s risen through the ranks of retail. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.