The Voice of Retail

Welcome to a special Black Friday edition 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.Recorded early November in front of a live audience at The Ted Rogers School of Retail Managment at Ryerson University’s 12th annual retail week, I’m joined by an esteemed panel of retail experts and veterans to discuss a bit of retail history, the state of the retail nation and the competing narratives and industry debate around the Black Friday retail holiday event.According to the 2019 Retail Council of Canada + Leger research, sponsored by Chase, 43% of Canadian consumers plan to shop on Black Friday versus 34% on Boxing Day - a revolution in this country where this relatively new Holiday, plus Cyber Monday, has risen to the forefront of the retail promotional calendar.On the panel is Marina Strauss, award winning retail reporter for decades with The Globe and Mail; Patrick Dickinson veteran retail marketer and brand strategist most recently with Hudson’s Bay, and last but certainly not least Mark Lee, Director and Associate Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Retail Managment bringing his expertise in consumer perception around pricing and promotions to the discussion.Let’s jump right into the fascinating and entertaining discussion with an introduction to the panel by our host Sean Sedlezky, Manager of Program Design at the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management******That’s a wrap on this special Black Friday edition of The Voice of Retail, Thanks to Marina, Patrick, Mark and Sean for being my guests on this live panel, and to the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management at Ryerson University for hosting us.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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to a very special Retail Cannabis Forum edition 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, and sponsored by Environics Analytics. Environics Analytics helps companies in Retail, CPG and the Cannabis industry turn data and analytics into insight, strategy and results. EA produces CannabisInsights – the market leading source of neighborhood level insights for the Cannabis industry.  This podcast is intended for listeners 18+.First up recorded live on the main stage in the Toronto Reference Library event space closing off RCC’s Retail Cannabis Forum, my one to one interview with High Tide CEO Raj Grover.  An experienced cannabis industry veteran and retailer, we talk about the inspiration to move to Alberta to get his start in the industry, what it will take to retain momentum in Ontario, and the path ahead for Hightide in 2020 and beyond.Next Lauren Davie, Director of Retail for Superette joins me in the Environics Analytics podcasting studio for a great conversation covering her rich retail background, the importance of training and a training culture, and how the innovations Superette has brought in format, approach all come together on the front lines with an award winning performance by Superettte’s brand and people.Lastly Michele Sexsmith, Senior Vice President and Practice leader from Environics Analytics is back on The Voice of Retail telling us how their core set of tools and insights can inform cannabis retailers around consumption patterns, new trends and making smart decision on store location and assortment with data.So let’s start now with my interview with Raj from HighTide******That’s a wrap on this special Retail Cannabis Forum edition of The Voice of Retail, Thanks to Raj, Lauren and Michele for being my guests and Environics Analytics for being my generous sponsor.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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to the Voice of Retail for the week of November 18, 2019 I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.In this weeks episode I’m on the trade show floor of RCC’s DTLQC conference in Montreal talking with local key retailers and retail industry players based in Quebec.First of all serial retail innovator and now CEO of iStore Joel Teitelbaum is my guest. Joel shares the details behind his rich retail background and reflects on his experience starting at Dylex and La Senza, plus the importance of key supplier relationships, finding great partners to grow the business and the magic of focus.Next Charles de Brabant, Executive Director, Bensadoun School of Retail Management at McGill University joins me and we explore his luxury retail experience in Asia with Loreal, and now thirty years on standing up the retail program at McGill University.Finally I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Joel from iStore******Thanks to Joel and Charles for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year - you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org******That’s a wrap on this episode 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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to the Voice of Retail for the week of November 11, 2019 I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.In this weeks action packed episode the focus is on grocery section - from putting your money where your mouth is in terms of funding and supporting innovative, to standing up a specialty grocery store, to understanding the big picture trends and the ways and means of food regulation in our Nation’s capital.First of all recoded live at the launch of District Venture Kitchens in Toronto I check in with Arlene Dickinson , CEO of District Ventures as she adopts and supports this innovative professional kitchen /production space for food entrepreneurs.  While there I meet Jana Sobey, VP Merchandising, Community Format, Thrifty Foods & Field for Sobeys and we talk about the importance of supporting innovation on the shelves.My last three interviews are recorded live at RCC’s DTLQ conference in Montreal.  First up Professor Sylvain Charlebois returns to the podcast to talk food trends, vegetarians, the upcoming release of his authoritative Canada’s Food Price Report, and the state of the edible cannabis nation.Then I meet Lika Niasse, Owner of African Soul Food specialty grocery in Gatineau Quebec, and lastly but certainly not least RCC’s Jason McLinton Vice-President, Grocery Division and Regulatory Affairs talk food policy and retail.Whew!  But don’t worry, its not a five hour episode, just action packed!Finally I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Arlene, then Jana.******Thanks to  Arlene, Jana, Sylvain, Lika and Jason for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year - you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org******That’s a wrap on this episode 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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to a very special Retail Flyer Forum edition 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.Recorded live on the main stage at the Carlu in Toronto during RCC’s annual Retail Flyer forum, my one to one interview with the one and only Patrick Dickinson, retail consultant and veteran retail marketer most recently with Hudson’s Bay.  We talk about how and why the retail flyer, in both paper and digital, is such a resilient media and significant element of the marketing mix in Canada, and delve into what retailers need to be thinking about each week to make it an effective and measurable tool and drive ROI.First we set the stage with an exclusive interview recorded live from Dublin with Jerry Kennelly, Founder &  CEO of Tweak.  I met Jerry recently on my most excellent retail tech tour in Ireland along with a number of other innovative solution providers, and was really impressed with the approach to solving a familiar set of challenges and opportunities in the printed media and well beyond.So let’s start now listen to my interview with Jerry from Tweak, then Tweak’s Shane Corcoran introduces myself and Patrick for our fireside chat******That’s a wrap on this special Retail Flyer Forum edition of The Voice of Retail, Thanks to Patrick and Jerry for being my guests on this special edition!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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to the Voice of Retail for the week of November 4, 2019 I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and sponsored by Environics Analytics. Environics Analytics helps companies in Retail, CPG and the Cannabis industry turn data and analytics into insight, strategy and results. EA produces CannabisInsights – the market leading source of neighborhood level insights for the Cannabis industry.This episode is intended for adults 18+.  In this weeks episode we delve into the world of cannabis 2.0 retailing from several different perspectives and parts of the value chain in Canada and the U.S.First of all I visited with Aaron Bouganim, Managing Director at CannMart Inc. right in their impressive facilities in Toronto.  We talk about his rich history and perspectives in the medical cannabis space and the road ahead to 2.0.Next the first of a two part interview with veteran retailer, digital maven, beauty & wellness pioneer Angela Kapp from Arizona.  We begin our rich conversation looking back at the early days of digital retail and the beauty category, right through to Angela becoming Co-CEO of TruPotency, a bespoke retail solution for the American CBD marketplace.Lastly I speak with Canadian Cannabis Wellness Expert Krystal Laferriere live in Calgary.   We explore her very personal journey to now a very professional role in the cannabis and CBD space, including a new listing and presence in Quebec’s retail cannabis chain, SQDC.Lastly I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Aaron.******Thanks to  Aaron, Angela and Krystal for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year - you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org******That’s a wrap on this episode 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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to a special Black Friday-Cyber Monday  planning for peak eCommerce edition 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 special edition we set the stage with an exclusive interview with a supply chain veteran on the front lines of delivering on the promise of Black Friday - SCI’s President & CEO Chris Galindo.  Chris provides us with incredible  insights into the logistics of eCommerce from a warehouse and distribution perspective, trends from the front lines and advice on how to deal with Black Friday.Next recorded live in Toronto at the SCI Powershift to Consumerism summit a recording of my panel interviews with retailers and thought leaders in the eCommerce retail space: after an introduction by Dave Mack, VP marketing from SCI and himself an experience eCommerce retailer, veterans of many Black Friday/Cyber Mondays Franco Schiavone, Sr. Director eCommerce and Customer Service with Designer Brands Canada, Stephanie Barrington, VP Marketing Well.ca and Jerry Lam, Director Strategic Accounts and Product Development take us through their thinking around Black Friday, handling peaks and what it takes to win November 29th!But first, let’s listen to my interview with Chris from SCI******That’s a wrap on this special supply chain planing for peak edition of The Voice of Retail, Thanks to Chris, Franco, Stephanie and Jerry for being my guests on this special edition!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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to the Voice of Retail for the week of October 28, 2019 I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.In this weeks episode we check in with two highly respected retail industry analysts to take the pulse of online retail and retail experience.First a feature interview with Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali.  One of the most respected analysts in the North American eCommerce space, we talk about the big trends and powerful business models that are increasingly separating the winners from the losers in online retail and beyond.Next I talk with Andrew Cherwenka, veteran retailer and CX guru and President at Touchpoints Retail Consulting live in the Atomic Reach podcasting studio recorded at Retail West in Andrew’s new(wish) home town of Vancouver .  Andrew  takes deep dives into Forrester’s Canadian Customer Experience Index survey, and goes well beyond in articulating best practices and pitfalls retailers should avoid as they continue their CX journey.Lastly I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Sucharita from Forrester******Thanks to Sucharita and Andrew for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year - you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org******That’s a wrap on this episode 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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to the Voice of Retail I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.In this weeks episode back-to-back  exclusive interviews with retail and marketing visionaries.First an exclusive interview with Ron Johnson, veteran retailer credited with taking the vision of Steve Jobs and crafting Apple retail into the behemoth it is today, then taking over J.C. Penny and launching a bold experiment in mass merchant retailing and now CEO of Enjoy.  Recorded live from his offices in California, I connect with Ron just prior to his main-stage keynote presentation at RCC’s DTLQC conference in Montreal November 5th; we talk about this perspectives on the current and future state of retailing, and where his new venture, Enjoy, fits into key moments of truth for the consumer.Next I talk to Ron Tite, Toronto based author, marketing guru and stand-up comedian discussing his latest book, "Think. Do. Say: Building Personal and Organizational Momentum in a Busy, Busy World"  Shop online at http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/8946794/type/dlg/fragment/internal%3D1/https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=think%20do%20sayLastly I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Ron Jonson.******Thanks to Ron and Ron for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year - you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org******That’s a wrap on this Two Ron Interview episode of The Voice of Retail (shout out to fans of the classic Two Ronnies British comedy show)  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 LinkedInUntil 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. 

Welcome to a very special Retail West edition 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 and sponsored by Atomic Reach.  Atomic Reach offers Atomic AI, the world's leading Smart Content Platform. By optimizing product descriptions and marketing content to match shopper's reading and emotional preferences, the deliver sales conversion improvement and personalization at scale. Recorded live from Vancouver at RCC’s annual Retail West conference with top retailers and retail industry insiders gathered for a day of insights and action items, I spoke with leading retailers and took the stage myself to explore leading edge AI solutions for eCommerce digital marketing content.First up is Frank Monteleone  Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Corporate Relations Rexall Pharmacy Group.  We talk about the importance of employer branding, and leveraging modern digital tools and social media to find the top employees that make the difference at Rexall.Next a live recording of my fireside chat on the Retail West stage with Paul Rosco, Vice President of Strategy for Atomic Reach.  After an introduction from RCC Vice President Sonny Brar, we break down the essence of AI, understand the spectrum of it’s key contribution to retail, and finally how Atomic Reach used their AI engine to create a 7% sales lift for Golf Town.Finally a look back and ahead with Mark Startup, as he looks back on a storied career representing independent retailers coast-to-coast and looking ahead as he prepares to transition to whatever comes next.But first, let’s listen to my interview with Frank Monteleone from Rexall.******That’s a wrap on this special Retail West edition of The Voice of Retail, Thanks to Frank, Paul and Mark for being my guests on this Retail West special edition!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 LinkedInUntil 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.