Remarkable Retail Podcast

As we reach the penultimate episode of Season 7, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. In the second installment of a two-part episode, Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard to assess the final batch of Steve's prognostications, which include a year of trading down, a tale of two cities when it comes to retailer balance sheets, and a whole lot more. We also do a reality check on his long-shot guesses about Nike, Whole Foods, and a potential tie-up between JC Penney and Kohl's.As usual we kick things with retail news, including a big week in macroeconomic news and a (mostly) surprisingly strong monthly retail sales report. Then we go deeper on a potential Macy's leveraged buy-out, as well as an updated view of the "halo effect" of brick-and-mortar stores from our friends at ICSC. We wrap with news of Temu's remarkable success and continued strength from Costco.**********************************Steve will be back on stage at Shoptalk in Las Vegas and we've got a special offer for our podcast listeners to save an additional 10% on registration. Retailer & Brands use Code: RBREMAR225 by going here.General Attendee: use code: GAREMAR360 here.You can find the new ICSC "Halo Effect" study here.Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

We're all about accountability on the Remarkable Retail podcast, so as we get close to wrapping up Season 7, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. In part one of a two-part episode, Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard as we assess the first batch of Steve's prognostications on a disrupter reset, whether retail media networks are more hype than hope, what to make of an accelerating pace of C-suite changes, and a whole lot more.We start with retail news, including a surprise US jobs report, NRF's back-tracking on causes of retail shrink, and Amazon getting more nervous about Temu and Shein. We wonder whether lower gas prices may save retailers' fourth quarters and whether a marriage between Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue is inevitable. Then it's on to ponder what's next for Farfetch and whether a Bonvoy and Camp partnership will create happy campers, And as earnings season wraps up. we got a mixed picture from some of our favorite retailers: RH, Lululemon, and Ulta. We close with a return to visit Rent the Runway and Stitch Fix in the wobbly unicorn corner of the internet.**********************************Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!  SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

Nick Molnar, co-founder of AfterPay, discusses how buy now pay later services deliver value for consumers and retailers, debunks common myths and misperceptions, and shares insights into the future of the sector. The hosts also cover Black Friday and Cyber Monday results, RH's expansion plans, and the success of AfterPay as a game-changing payment solution.

This episode we welcome Michael Affronti, the SVP & General Manager of the Commerce Cloud business at Salesforce for a fascinating look at the rapidly evolving world of generative AI. In an expansive, yet highly practical, discussion Michael helps us separate the hope from the hype and "chalks the field" on the most important applications to automate mundane tasks or enhance the customer experience. We also go deep on where retailers are already gaining traction and where they need to begin to test and learn.But first we open up with our take on the most interesting recent retail news, including a new retail monitor just launched by CNBC and the NRF and a quick look at what it tells us. Then we unpack lots of retail earnings, which were mostly disappointing--and in a few cases downright scary (Kohl's, Macy's, Allbirds, and most of luxury). Yet Walmart, Abercrombie & Fitch, the off-price apparel players, and, most notably On Running, managed to rise above the rest. We close with our view that BFCM may ultimately be much ado about nothing much.About MichaelMichael is the SVP & General Manager of Commerce Cloud at Salesforce, overseeing the various Commerce Cloud products and services that enable customers to build commerce experiences and grow revenue their way. In this role, he focuses on the critical interlock between sales, marketing, and product development to generate aligned and effective GTM strategies.Michael Affronti is a seasoned Senior Product Executive, Advisor, Investor, and Board Member with more than 19 years of success building and leading high-performing organizations across the entire product life cycle from incubation to $1B+ in revenue.Prior to Salesforce, Michael held senior leadership roles at several enterprise tech and AI companies including Dataminr, Fuze, Contactive, and Microsoft. He holds four U.S. patents and has 11 pending for innovation in the enterprise productivity space. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

Michelle Poole, President of Crocs, discusses the remarkable growth story of the iconic footwear company, addressing the polarizing nature of the brand and how it has been turned to their advantage. They delve into the power of personalization with jibbitz, product extensions, and geographic expansion. The podcast also explores Crocs' diverse, digitally-driven go-to-market strategy aiming to reach $5 billion in sales by 2026. Finally, they discuss the balance between purpose and profits.

We welcome Brendan Witcher, Forrestor's VP & Principal Analyst back to the pod to get his always insightful and provocative perspectives on retailer's priorities for 2024. He helps us separate the real from the imagined with a preview of his upcoming report on where retailers are placing their bets for the future. We start with his takes on what makes the "Hype" list, as well as what should be on most retailer's radar screens. Then it's on to the top ten priorities, including hot areas in omni-channel fulfillment, personalization, AI, and guided selling. As usual we start with our perspectives on the most important news of the week, including WeWork's bankruptcy and how worried we should be about the contagion effect from an ever shakier office market. Then it's on to positive news as Walmart stock hits an all time high on the heels of its big store investment plans. We shift to dissecting earnings from some of the OG's of disruptive DTC as Warby Parker, ThredUp, and TheRealReal report. We concluded with news of Overstock.com's rebranding to Beyond as they also show their CEO the door.**********************************We've been nominated for the Top Retail Voice Award and can use your help. It's easy to vote for us.1. Go Here2. Register to vote3. Vote for the Remarkable Retail podcast in The Retail Voice Award category.Brendan's First Podcast Appearance (April 2021)Remembering BlueStar’s Steve CuntzWe welcome Brendan Witcher, Forrestor's VP & Principal Analyst back to the pod to get his always insightful and provocative perspectives on retailer's priorities for 2024. He helps us separate the real from the imagined with a preview of his upcoming report on where retailers are placing their bets for the future. We start with his takes on what makes the "Hype" list, as well as what should be on most retailer's radar screens. Then it's on to the top ten priorities, including hot areas in omni-channel fulfillment, personalization, AI, and guided selling. As usual we start with our perspectives on the most important news of the week, including WeWork's bankruptcy and how worried we should be about the contagion effect from an ever shakier office market. Then it's on to positive news as Walmart stock hits an all time high on the heels of its big store investment plans. We shift to dissecting earnings from some of the OG's of disruptive DTC as Warby Parker, ThredUp, and TheRealReal report. We concluded with news of Overstock.com's rebranding to Beyond as they also show their CEO the door.**********************************We've been nominated for the Top Retail Voice Award and can use your help. It's easy to vote for us.1. Go to https://lnkd.in/g5bGMey52. Register to vote3. Vote for the Remarkable Retail podcast in The Retail Voice Award category. Brendan's First Podcast Appearance (April 2021)About BrendanAs VP and Principal Analyst for Forrester Research, Brendan is a leading expert on consumer behavior, market developments, and tech trends in commerce. Considered a notable authority on strategies for achieving digital excellence, he often keynotes industry events and is sought after frequently for commentary by media outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Marketplace, NPR, PBS, The Economist, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!  SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

Joining us this week is Kristina Rogers, EY's Global Consumer Lead. We leverage Kristina's vast experience working with retailers and consumer brands around the world to get her perspectives on which consumer behaviors are most critical to understand and respond to. We discuss which Covid behaviors are persisting, how current economic forces are driving the growth of private label, and the evolving nature of convenience, both online and in-store. In particular, we delve into some of the key recent and soon to be released findings from EY's Future Consumer Index.But first we dissect the most important retail news starting with the National Retail Federation's annual holiday sales forecast. We then take on a robust week of macro-economic news, Amazon's decision to end its apparel brick-and-mortar experiment, Walmart's anteing up big time as it commits to $9 billion in physical store investments, and Shein's acquisition of Missguided. Then it's on to quarterly earnings from Starbucks, Shopify, elf Cosmetics, and Wayfair. We wrap up with news that Eataly, one of our favorite remarkable retailers, plans to grow to three locations in Toronto.About KristinaAs EY Global Consumer Leader, Kristina is responsible for defining and implementing the EY strategy for consumer products companies, retailers, and in agribusiness. She ensures that EY’s global clients are well served across geographies, leading over 30,000 EY professionals worldwide. Kristina works directly with clients on the strategic issues they face as they pursue profitable and sustainable growth. Kristina is also the architect of EY’s seminal Future Consumer programs including FutureConsumer.Now, FutureConsumerIndex, and FutureConsumerExperience. These programs help clients meet the future now in order to make better decisions to win later.Prior to her current role, Kristina served as Emerging Markets Leader for Consumer Products & Retail. Before joining EY, she was a Senior Partner at a global strategy consulting firm. Kristina has lived and worked in more than 20 countries. Over the course of her career, she has built long-term client relationships with some of the world’s largest global consumer products companies, helping them solve some of their most complex strategic marketing issues across geographies. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

This week we get a glimpse into Steve's forthcoming new book, now available for pre-order just about everywhere books are sold.With Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption Steve goes beyond retail and provides a unique take on why so many strategic transformations fail across a spectrum of industries and, most critically, what leaders must do to go from risking irrelevance to delivering remarkable and enduring results. In addition to reviewing his provocative case for change, we explore a few of his leadership "mind leaps" that are central to helping organizations aim higher, act more boldly, and move at the speed of disruption. But first we dig into the most important retail news of the week, starting with Amazon's blockbuster earnings report, which underscores the company's continuing shift toward services and the leverage its getting from its own year of living efficiently. Then we move to the on-going reset of disrupter brands as Dollar Shave Club, Farfetch, and Hello Bello undergo some big changes and a tale of two cities in the world of luxury, as Kering disappoints and Hermes continues to wow. We wrap us with a disappointing news of a reversal of fortunes for female executives and a surprisingly strong quarterly US GDP resport. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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. 

Anish Melwani, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, North America, discusses the differences between LVMH's North American business and the rest of the world, the role of heritage and creativity in making each brand remarkable, the evolution of the luxury market with a focus on digital, and the growing role of owned stores in the portfolio. The podcast also analyzes the US retail monthly sales report, talks about consumer spending patterns and Victoria's Secret's struggles, provides an overview of LVMH's brand portfolio, explores the North American market and potential for growth, and discusses the future prospects of Tiffany's.

Our guest this week is Laurie Lam, Chief Brand Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, the fast-growing cosmetics company that has made a name for itself with high quality, inexpensive beauty products. Laurie helps us understand the origin of the brand and some of the keys to its remarkable success. We dig into how staying connected to consumers fuels product innovation, the company's impressive record of diversity, equity, and inclusion, how to best navigate the often tricky world of social media, and the role of strategic risk-taking in propelling the brand forward. Instead of kicking things off as we usually do, we take a moment to announce that Steve's new book--Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption--is now available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other fine book retailers. Then it's our usual hot-takes on the week in retail news, including a reminder of what the concept of VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) demands of us strategically. We also unpack why mall traffic is down meaningfully the past two months and wonder whether Taylor's new movie could be the catalyst for a turnaround. IPO fever gets a major cool down as Birkenstock's debut on the public markets is a bit of a whiff. In happier news, The Container Store gets busy with DTC brands, announcing its partnering up with dozens of them in a bold move. About LaurieLaurie Lam is Chief Brand Officer at E.l.f. Beauty, a multi-branded portfolio which includes namesake brand E.l.f. Cosmetics, E.l.f. Skin, Well People, and Keys Soulcare. She is responsible for strengthening E.l.f.’s branding and setting its strategy for growth across all categories, as well as championing their mission to make the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip, face, and paw.With nearly 20 years of experience building global brands, Ms. Lam is an accomplished business leader and dynamic marketer in the beauty industry. Prior to joining E.l.f. Beauty, she was at L’Oréal USA where she held several leadership positions within the group’s Professional Products Division and Consumer Products Division in the United States, France, and Asia-Pacific. Her experience spans across marketing, e-commerce and digital, acquisitions and business development, and innovation. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, keynote speaker, and bestselling author of focused on growth, innovation, and the impact of digital disruption. He is widely considered one of the foremost and influential voices in the retail industry. You can learn more about Steve on his  website.  His #1 bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve 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.