Remarkable Retail Podcast

We're live and in-person together for the first time since we launched the Remarkable Retail podcast for this special bonus episode.Steve and Michael sit down together in the Vegas Podcasting Studio (i.e. Michael's hotel room!) on the third and final day of the Shoptalk 2022 show in Las Vegas and discuss the key themes heard in the aisles, restaurants, and on the stage at Shoptalk 2022. Steve's Talk Show SessionImproving Store Operations with New Tools and TechnologiesAnalog and still largely human-powered, store operations sometimes bear unfavorable comparison to digital’s ability to efficiently and accurately track, measure and control nearly every aspect of the business. However, retailers are increasingly building and buying solutions that bring digital efficiency to the challenges of running physical stores. In this session, retail executives will discuss the tools and technologies helping them analyze and optimize store operations.  About ShoptalkOur attendees tell us each year that Shoptalk is the retail industry’s best event, consistently describing their experience as amazing, educational, energizing, exciting, insightful, inspiring, productive and fun. Held annually in Las Vegas, Shoptalk is an unprecedented gathering of individuals and companies reshaping how consumers discover, shop and buy. The event provides a platform for large retailers and branded manufacturers, startups, tech companies, investors, media and analysts to learn, network, collaborate and evolve.Shoptalk was founded in 2015 by Anil D. Aggarwal and Simran Rekhi Aggarwal and acquired in 2019 by Hyve Group, plc. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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 episode we welcome our fellow "Rethink Retail Top Influencers" Cate Trotter, Hitha Herzog, and Rob Garf.  Julia Raymond Hare and  Gabriella Bock also join us to explain what the Rethink Retail's list is all about. But first we take on the news of the week, including what to make of Nike's earnings announcement, their plans to open "Jordan" concept stores and the progress of their Consumer Direct Offense. Then we shift to the somewhat shocking news that Amazon looks to be by far the biggest retailer of apparel in the US, while finishing up with a quick take on retailer's continuing curbside enthusiasm and BOPIS.Then we welcome our panel of experts and delve into what they as see the key drivers of what it will take to "comp the comp" after an incredibly strong 2021. We go deep on the evolving stores, how digital and physical need to work together, and what the playbook looks like to fight through supply chain issues and growing inflation. We also try to sort out which pandemic shopping behaviors are likely to persist and which might "revert to the mean.' Lastly our panelists share their "hot takes" on retailers to watch the balance of the year.Rethink Retail's Top Influencers List.  About  CateInsider Trends delivers omnichannel strategy and innovation that actually makes clients money. We separate the hype from what actually matters, and provide no-nonsense guidance, data-driven insights and advice. Taking the lead and boosting profits is simpler than you might think!I've helped some of the world's best brands with their retail strategies and have been named one of the world's top retail influencers for the past 5 years.If you’d like to chat through your plans or use me as a sounding board, I’d be delighted! Feel free to call on +44 (0) 207 183 3785 or email contact [at] insider-trends [dot] com to book an introductory chat.Feel free to enquire about retail keynotes and trend presentations, webinars and workshops here, too. www.insider-trends.comAre you a senior professional at a well-known retailer looking to:• Navigate an accelerating and increasingly complex retail landscape• Optimise your retail strategies, plans and spend• Innovate and upgrade with confidence, knowing it will be an investment rather than a cost• Separate the hype from the initiatives that will actually make you moneyI can help. I've been helping brands like Nike, Levi's, Metro AG, Marks and Spencer, Chanel, Carrefour, Unilever, L'Oreal, Absolut Vodka, Galeries Lafayette, Samsung, Clarks, Credit Agricole, DeLonghi, Philips, BNP Paribas and Lego innovate and upgrade their retail strategies since 2008. About HitahAs the go-to authority for retail & consumer spending information, I leverage my journalism and financial services background—and combine it with a passion for all things retail—to help consumers, investors, and businesses make better decisions. 📌 RETAIL ANALYST:As Chief Research Officer at H Squared Research, LLC., I specialize in providing retail and consumer information and reports (including ghost writing) for registered investment advisors. Span includes all market caps in the following consumer sectors (manufacturing and retail): ✔Apparel ✔Children/Teen ✔Consumer Electronics and Video Games ✔Cosmetics ✔Crafts ✔Department Stores ✔Discounters ✔Farm Supply ✔Footwear ✔Gaming and Gaming Equipment ✔Lodging ✔Home Furnishings ✔Home Improvement ✔Luxury Goods ✔Office Supply ✔Off-Price ✔Online Trip Advisors ✔Party Supply ✔Restaurants (fast-casual, quick service, casual dining) ✔Specialty Apparel ✔Sporting Goods / Athletic ✔Supermarkets📌KEYNOTE SPEAKER | SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:Rakuten Marketing Experience | Fashion Culture Design (FCD) | M&A Advisor Summit | Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) | Internet Week | Pandora | Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) | NY InfraGard Alliance | IACC | LAPD’s LAORCCA | Mid-Atlantic Anti-Money Laundering Conference | many others 📌 ON AIR CONTRIBUTOR | HOST:Dr. Oz (regular guest as investigative retail expert) | “Divided States of Women” podcast & video series | BloombergTV | CNBC | Fox Business Network📌 FINANCIAL WRITER & STYLE WRITER: US News and World Report | CNBC.com | MSNBC.com | People | Time | TodayShow.com | Elle India | Forbes | Forbes.com | Gotham | Ink'd Magazine | Mashable | Metro Newspapers | New York Magazine | Parade 📌 EDUCATOR: Associate Professor at Parsons, teaching Social CommerceVisit WWW.HITHAHERZOG.COM if you are interested in discussing my services.About RobI've sat on all sides of the retail table -- as practitioner (Lids, Marshalls, Hit or Miss), industry analyst (AMR Research), strategy consultant (IBM), and software leader (Demandware | Salesforce). I'm currently VP and GM of Retail at Salesforce where I lead Industry Strategy, Product, and Insights. I work with execs at leading brands and upstarts from around the world to accelerate digital transformation. Love writing, speaking, and participating on retail boards. About Julia Raymond HareI ask a lot of questions - it's one of the most exciting parts of my career! I’m a podcast host, marketing professional and data nerd all in one. After spending 4 years in global marketing roles for the digital agency Valtech, I co-founded its media brand RETHINK Retail. By interviewing retail executives, academics and thought leaders, I deliver retail insights for leaders, from leaders.My "formal" 3rd-person description: Julia Raymond is passionate about marketing management, building connections with others, analytics and research, with a core focus on the retail industry. She earned her BSBA with honors from the University of Florida while she was a teenager. Her post-graduate degree is a Master of Science in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. Julia is knowledgeable about international markets from her experience in global roles reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer at Valtech where she led creative and marketing teams; she is the Editor in Chief and co-founder of its media brand RETHINK Retail, curating the latest content around the evolution of retail in today’s connected world through mediums such as podcasts, research and periodicals.About Gabriella BockRETHINK Retail's Managing Editor + Writer/Producer of the Retail Rundown, an award-winning retail podcast featuring news, insights and interviews with the world's most influential retail thinkers. What does the future of retail look like to you? Pitch me at gabriella@rethink.industries. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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 episode we welcome our fellow "Rethink Retail Top Influencers"  Nikki Baird, Ricardo Belmar, and Alicia Esposito. Julia Raymond Hare and Gabriella Bock also join us to explain what the Rethink Retail's list is all about. But first we take on the news of the week, including the continuing "profitless prosperity as exhibited by Warby Parker's expanding losses and the big drop in market capitalization among disruptive retail brands. We also unpack the National Retail Federation's annual forecast, including how to think about the impact of inflation, whether their e-commerce prediction is a bit optimistic and how impacts are likely to be bifurcated. Then we welcome our panel of experts and delve into what they as see as remarkably important for the future, including innovation within brick-and-mortar locations, how to drive innovation through iteration and the growing embrace of convenience. We also explore what our influencers see as important technologies and get their quick take on retailers (legacy and up-and-coming) to keep an eye on this year.  Rethink Retail's Top Influencers List.  Steve's recent Forbes articles related to our news segment After Earnings Whiff Maybe Warby Parker Can Learning Something From Old School DTC BrandsThe Profitless Prosperity of Retail Disruptor BrandsWayfair, Stitch Fix and Pure-play E-commerce's Scaling Problem. Relevant Past Podcast Episodes Why Does It Take a Crisis for Retailer's to Innovate? The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands Understanding Warby Parker and the Power of Customer-based Valuation To record a question for us to answer on a future episode go to speakpipe.com/remarkableretail About Nikki BairdNikki Baird is the vice president of strategy at Aptos, a retail enterprise solution provider. She is charged with accelerating retailers’ ability to innovate. She has been a top global retail industry influencer for several years, with a background in retail and technology. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and has been quoted as a retail subject matter expert in The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Huffington Post, and National Public Radio, among many others. Nikki brings perspective from all sides of the retail technology equation: she has been an industry analyst for nearly fifteen years, co-founding Retail Systems Research, the premier boutique analyst firm focused on the retail industry. Prior to co-founding RSR, Nikki was an analyst at both Forrester Research and Retail Systems Alert Group, where she covered retail industry and technology topics. Prior to that, she was director of marketing for StorePerform, a store execution management software provider, and director of product marketing for Viewlocity, a supply chain software provider focusing on adaptive supply chain execution and exception management. Nikki came to Viewlocity from PwC Consulting, now IBM Global Services, where as a senior manager she led IT strategy consulting engagements for retail and CPG clients. Nikki has an M.B.A. from the University of Texas, Austin, focusing on operations and IT. She also holds a bachelor of arts in political science and Russian, with a minor in physics, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. About Ricardo BelmarRecently named a top 100 retail industry influencer by RETHINK Retail, Ricardo is a marketing strategist and digital transformation specialist. He founded Retail Razor, to advise retail tech organizations of all sizes with their go-to-market, brand strategy, and integrated marketing by leveraging his many years of tech industry experience, and media and industry analyst relationships. He also advises retailers on how to build & scale transformational customer experiences. Most recently, he joined Microsoft as Senior Partner Marketing Advisor for Retail & CPG where he strives to use his experience and network to strengthen Microsoft’s retail tech partner community.A frequent contributor to blogs, podcasts, and publications in the retail, payments, and enterprise software industries, focusing on digital transformation and customer experience, Ricardo is a Top 10 social media influencer at the annual NRF Big Show. He is a featured member of RetailWire’s BrainTrust panel, a previous ICX Association director, a RETHINK Retail Advisory Council member, and a founding Advisory Council member of George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation. He has been named Social Media Mayor by RIS News four times at retail conferences and is a contributor to Retail Customer Experience, Mobile Payments Today, and The Robin Report. Ricardo is a supporter of the RetailROI charity organization and can be found leading industry discussions on Clubhouse in the Retail Razor Club and on Twitter and LinkedIn.Throughout the past two decades, Ricardo has worked for technology and managed services providers targeting the retail ecosystem in roles as head of their product, product marketing, or marketing organizations. Ricardo holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and is a Section4 Certified Strategist, Brand Strategist, Product, Platform, and Innovation Strategist. About Alicia EspositoWithin my eight-year tenure at G3 Communications, I have evolved extensively. Starting as an Associate Editor for our B2B retail publication, Retail TouchPoints, I have worked my way up the ranks, quickly becoming an expert and thought leader in all components of retail and customer experience. In my time as Associate Editor and Senior Editor of Retail TouchPoints, I interviewed some of the industry's top C-level executives from brands like Reebok and have covered a myriad of different "beats," including social marketing and commerce, mobile, omnichannel strategy and even supply chain management. I covered several key industry events nationwide, including NRF's BIG Show, Shop.org and eTail, and became a VIP press attendee at user events for vendors like Aptos, Demandware, JDA and Salesforce.Beyond my editorial obligations, I helped build the proprietary research and custom content division of Retail TouchPoints, helping our clients ideate, develop and roll out some of their top-performing assets. Now, as Content Strategist for G3 Communications, I help my internal team members create content, plan marketing campaigns and manage our family of events, including the B2B Marketing Exchange (Content2Conversion Conference) and the Retail Innovation Conference. I also help clients across all three of our brands (Retail TouchPoints, Demand Gen Report and Content4Demand) in several key areas of their content marketing journey, including: - Persona creation - Buyer-focused messaging - Content audits and gap analysis- Content ideation - Content creation - Repurposing and modularization- Content and design alignment - Long-term content strategy and nurture planning About Julia Raymond HareI ask a lot of questions - it's one of the most exciting parts of my career! I’m a podcast host, marketing professional and data nerd all in one. After spending 4 years in global marketing roles for the digital agency Valtech, I co-founded its media brand RETHINK Retail. By interviewing retail executives, academics and thought leaders, I deliver retail insights for leaders, from leaders.My "formal" 3rd-person description: Julia Raymond is passionate about marketing management, building connections with others, analytics and research, with a core focus on the retail industry. She earned her BSBA with honors from the University of Florida while she was a teenager. Her post-graduate degree is a Master of Science in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. Julia is knowledgeable about international markets from her experience in global roles reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer at Valtech where she led creative and marketing teams; she is the Editor in Chief and co-founder of its media brand RETHINK Retail, curating the latest content around the evolution of retail in today’s connected world through mediums such as podcasts, research and periodicals.About Gabriella BockRETHINK Retail's Managing Editor + Writer/Producer of the Retail Rundown, an award-winning retail podcast featuring news, insights and interviews with the world's most influential retail thinkers. What does the future of retail look like to you? Pitch me at gabriella@rethink.industries. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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. 

Richard Armour is a deeply experienced omni-channel retail executive having cut his teeth at Travelocity and Gamestop. Now he is helping drive the digital transformation for Michaels Stores, one of North America's largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, and more for makers and do-it-yourself home decorators. We dig deep into the evolution of e-commerce, how the blurring of the lines between digital and physical makes everything harder and how Michael's has been able to accelerate its transformation. We also unpack Richard's provocative statement that "everything is table stakes now" and lean how Michael's plans to build on their momentum going forward by maintaining a "test and learn" culture. But first we take on this week's news, including Steve's admonition to "Buckle Up Buttercup" in the face of escalating inflation. Then we discuss Kohl's Investor Day presentation, which seems long on ambition, but short on truly being remarkable. Then we delve into recent earnings reports, which mostly point to the strong getting stronger as e-commerce growth decelerates and the continuing struggles of disruptor brands (Stitch Fix, The Real Retail) to get on a glide path to profitability. ***************************************************To record a question for us go to  speakpipe.com/remarkableretail Kohl's Investor Day Presentation Steve's recent Forbes articles related to our news segment Is Kohl’s New Strategy Merely A Slightly Better Version Of Mediocre? The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands The Stores Strike Back Again. Again. Past podcast episodes referencedWhy Does It Take A Crisis For Retailers To Innovate?War Comes to the Global Food Supply Chain About Richard ArmourRichard Armour is SVP, Ecommerce at Michaels, responsible for all aspects of the ecommerce business, including revenue accountability, content strategy, search engine optimization, product management, analytics & more. His focus is on reducing friction across the digital ecosystem to create a seamless omnichannel experience.Prior to Michaels, Richard was Vice President, Omnichannel for GameStop where he was responsible for the GameStop.com business and accelerating ecommerce growth and integrating the site and store experience.  He led several initiatives including the ecommerce redesign and replatform as well as launching an online advertising platform and program. Richard holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MBA in Marketing and Information Systems from Indiana University. He is also a board member with James Avery. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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 episode we welcome Simeon Siegel, the retail rockstar analyst from BMO for a provocative discussion on whether going direct-to-consumer is all it's cracked up to be. In a Masterclass on retail growth strategies, we first clean up some of the often confusing nomenclature, then discuss whether wholesale really is a dirty word and how everything old is often new again.Mostly we go beyond the clickbait headlines to dig into Simeon's report which countered the narrative that going direct automatically leads to an increase in revenues and profits. And we get his hot takes on Nike's strategy and how we should think about the right mix of wholesale and direct going forward. As an added bonus, Steve reminds us that DTC is hardly new and creates yet another term: "Analog Native Vertical Brands" or "ANVB's." But first we take on the news of the week, including what to make of Amazon's closing 68 brick-and-mortar locations and Target's blockbuster earnings and continued doubling down on physical retail. We also wonder whether we are moving from the "Great Acceleration" to the "Great Rebalancing" given the tepid growth outlook revealed in earnings reports from Nordstrom, Best Buy and Kohl's.To get a copy of Simeon's report email him at simeon.siegel@bmo.comTo record a question for us go to speakpipe.com/remarkableretailSteve's recent Forbes articles related to our news segment: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevendennis/2022/03/04/amazons-surprise-store-closings-are-much-ado-about-nothing-heres-why/?sh=147f7e635acf https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevendennis/2022/02/07/what-we-get-so-very-wrong-about-amazons-retail-profitability/?sh=5523cd2721aahttps://www.forbes.com/sites/stevendennis/2022/02/23/the-stores-strike-back-again-again/?sh=284ab5657a92 Simeon Siegel, CFASimeon Siegel is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst at BMO Capital Markets specializing in Retail and E-commerce. Simeon started his career at Goldman Sachs and his since worked on the #1 ranked Retail franchise at JPMorgan and Nomura | Instinet.  Simeon has been named a Rising Star of Wall Street by Institutional Investor, a Rising Star of Equity Research by Business Insider, a Top Stock Picker by StarMine and a Top Earnings Estimator by Thomson Reuters and Refinitiv. He has worked on the Institutional Investor #1 ranked All America Research Team for Specialty Retail and the Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" list of top analysts. He is in constant dialogue with investors and C-Level Management across the industry, analyzing and advising on the ever-evolving retail landscape. He is a regular guest on CNBC and frequently quoted across the media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, The Business of Fashion, Barron's and Bloomberg, among others.  Simeon received a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Columbia University and is a CFA charterholder. He serves on the Boards of Read Ahead and the Hebrew Free Loan Society and is Vice Chair of the UJA Luxury Division.About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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. 

"The future is already here--it's just not very evenly distributed."- William Gibson In this episode we delve into why unremarkable retailers often struggle to make the changes they must until essentially being forced to, as well as what it takes to embrace a true culture of experimentation.Among the areas we explore areWhether a retailer's culture is wired to say no or wired to say yesWhy many organizations fundamentally misunderstand riskHow establishing the innovation habit and an R&D budget can accelerate needed changeWhich organizations are worth modeling. But first we open up with retail stories that caught our attention, including a big week in earnings reports from Macy's (not as good as many thought), Wayfair (a big whiff) and Allbirds (not so high flying anymore).We also announce plans for a future episode where we answer your questions. Please record your questions at Speakpipe.com/remarkableretail.Dan Pink's New Book The Power of RegretMichael's interview with Dan on The Voice of Retail #podcastSteven Pressfield's The War of ArtCentral Market rolls out curbside pick-up (2018) About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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. 

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”- Mark TwainTurns out physical retail isn't dead. In fact, brick & mortar retail seems to be undergoing a renaissance of sorts.In this episode we go sans guest, and delve into how a few savvy retailers (e.g Target) started seeing their stores as assets rather than liabilities prior the pandemic and began investing heavily in them (The Stores Strike Back). We also discuss how COVID helped accelerate an appreciation of the hybrid roles stores need to play in an increasingly blended world of digital and physical, leading to a counter-intuitive increase in store openings (The Stores Strike Back Again). Lastly, we take on how both legacy retailers and digitally native brands alike are accelerating store opening plans to be more customer relevant and to address the profit challenges from much of e-commerce.But first we open up with retail stories that caught our attention this week, including what to make of yet another month of strong year-over-year retail growth. We also unpack Walmart's phenomenal profit turnaround and tepid e-commerce performance and then go up north to talk about Canadian Tire's blockbuster results. We also poke a bit of fun at Macy's salty news involving Wetzel's Pretzels and marvel at Door Dash's ability to incinerate cash.Jason Goldberg's Forbes article:Brick & Mortar Grew Faster Than E-Commerce in 2021.Steve's original Forbes article from January 2019:The Stores Strike Back Again.ICSC "Halo Effect"Photo by TOMMY VAN KESSEL on UnsplashAbout UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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 love lifting up emerging remarkable retailers that may not have (yet) hit our audience's radar screen. So this episode we welcome Rachel Bentley and Carly Nance, the co-founders of The Citizenry, the fast-growing, thoughtfully designed, ethically crafted, home furnishing company. We dig into the inspiration for the brand, the "white space" they seek to address. and how social impact is at the center of what they stand for.We also delve into the challenges of ethically sourcing products from all over the word, discover how they make their unique leadership partnership work and explore the role of customer-based analytics in growing their brand. Lastly we get a peak into their strategic growth roadmap.But first we take on the news of the week, including "inflation nation" and how input pricing challenges might manifest for different retailers. We also discuss the current mess that is Peloton and what Canada Goose's earnings whiff suggests about luxury retail's future.About Carly & Rachel met in 2004 at university. They led multiple organizations and founded a conference that’s still impacting lives today. After careers on different coasts, they reconnected over a frustration with the mass-produced goods and soulless brands in home décor. Together they created a vision for The Citizenry: a brand that could stand for quality craftsmanship, transparency, and social responsibility.CARLY NANCECarly spent her early career in brand planning & global marketing strategy, helping leading brands connect with their consumers in a more meaningful way. During those travels, she was inspired by the design and stories of the people behind the products she purchased abroad. Carly earned her Masters from Northwestern and her Bachelors in Marketing from Texas A&M. At The Citizenry, Carly leads product design, brand strategy, marketing & ecommerce experience.RACHEL BENTLEYAfter years in strategy consulting, Rachel wanted to establish a business that would make an undeniably positive impact. While at Bain, she spent time in the private equity and retail practices before finding her calling: helping companies launch and redesign consumer products. Rachel earned her MBA from Columbia, her Masters in Finance, and Bachelors in Accounting from Texas A&M. At The Citizenry, Rachel leads our artisan partnerships, production & planning, operations, and finance.About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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. 

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”- Henry Ford Is it possible that you are not changing as dramatically and profoundly as you should? Is it possible that many of the strategies that have brought you success may actually prevent future success? Is it possible that you aren't moving nearly fast enough?In this provocative episode we take on the question of whether retail brands need to embark on a radical rethinking of their operating model, eschewing one-size-fits-all models in favor a hybrid, platform approach to delivering customer value. Is it time for a blank-sheet approach to business strategy? How do we embrace creative destruction and an un-bundling and re-bundling of the component pieces of our strategy to create a remarkable growth strategy? Is Nike's reconceptualization of their strategy a great example of brands we might emulate? How should we respond to change that is more exponential than linear? We take on all this and more.But first we open up with retail stories that caught our attention this week, most notably Amazon's earnings and the big reveal on their massive advertising business. We also dip into how retail looks to be rebalancing, the race for Peloton and press releases that might have been better left unsent.Jason Goldberg's Forbes article: Amazon Reveals Its Most Profitable Business.Photo by Matthew Lancaster on Unsplash Steve's articles:What We Get So Very Wrong About Amazon's Retail ProfitabilityThe New Era of Hybridization Creates Unparalleled Opportunities.Always Be Testing.Steve's 2022 Retail Predictions. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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 episode we welcome Joe Kudla, CEO and Founder of Vuori, the fast-growing Southern California-inspired activewear brand. Joe's journey is a fascinating one that anyone in retail and branding will enjoy and can learn from. We discuss the origin story of the company and discover how two big pivots allowed Vuori to find its unique positioning and set it on its path to its recent $4 billion valuation. We also unpack how Vuori plans to stay remarkable in a crowded activewear space and why physical retail will be key to its next stage of growth. Lastly we learn about the importance of "word of mouth"--to be literally remarkable--in propelling Vuori forward.But first we take on the news of the week, including Kohl's coming under pressure from activists to pursue a sale, Amazon going deeper into physical retail with Amazon Style and a suburban iteration of Amazon Go to the suburbs, cutbacks at Glossier, and ever mounting issue of product returns.Amazon Style video linkNRF Returns StudySteve predicts the returns debacle back in 2017. AboutJoe Kudla is the founder and CEO of Vuori, a rapidly growing performance apparel brand inspired by the aspirational activeSouthern California lifestyle. A student of life and various active pursuits, he drew upon his personal interests to bring a newperspective to the activewear market, prioritizing versatility, comfort and sustainability. Prior to Vuori, he started Vaco SanDiego, a professional accounting and IT consulting firm and he started his career as a CPA at Ernst & Young. Joe earnedhis accounting degree from the University of San Diego where he was acknowledged as an all American Lacrosse player.About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now 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 E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  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.