Remarkable Retail Podcast

This week we welcome Ethan Chernofsky, VP of Marketing for Placer.ai, a leading analytics firm that harnesses mobile data from tens of millions of devices, to deliver visibility and insight into offline behavior. We discuss what changes in foot traffic across retail product categories and geographies suggest about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and what it may all mean for the timing and magnitude of a retail recovery.After our discussion we jump into our new weekly segment   “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's highlights include what we can glean from February's monthly sales report, Amazon becoming the US's top apparel retailer, as well as their new push into traditional grocery, Adidas' DTC dreams, and a report that more stores may open in 2021 then will close.  Special Offer! If you would like to see the new edition of Remarkable Retail before April 13, place a pre-order for the hardcover edition from any place books are sold worldwide. Then simply email us the receipt, and we will send you the ebook version right away. Send the email order confirmation to books@sageberryconsulting.com with "Podcast Offer" in the subject line and we will send you the ebook file. Note, this offers expires March 31, 2021.Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn.  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 welcome Michael Schneider the Managing Director of a truly remarkable retailer: Bunnings Group, the leading retailer of home improvement and outdoor living products in Australia and New Zealand. In our discussion we discover how Bunnings became Australia's most trusted brand, the different ways they pivoted to deal with the pandemic and what lessons all retailers can glean to drive growth and innovation in the post-COVID world.  After our discussion we jump into our new weekly segment  “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's highlights include growing cargo issues, the impact of the US stimulus package, how Burlington Stores, Dollar Tree and others failed to get the retail apocalypse memo, big changes at Ulta, Coupang's blockbuster IPO and Poshmark's tepid outlook.Special Offer! If you would like to see the new edition of Remarkable Retail before April 13, place a pre-order for the hardcover edition from any place books are sold worldwide. Then simply email us the receipt, and we will send you the ebook version right away. Send the email order confirmation to books@sageberryconsulting.com with "Podcast Offer" in the subject line and we will send you the ebook file. Note, this offers expires March 31, 2021.Michael Schneider:   With a genuine care for, and commitment to our team, I'm very much a retailer at heart, having spent the vast majority of my career in this ever changing, dynamic industry.  After more than 10 years in the business I was appointed Managing Director, Bunnings Australia & New Zealand in March 2016 and have enjoyed the transition and challenge that it's brought. Prior to this, I led the store operations teams across Bunnings Australia and New Zealand, after joining Bunnings in 2005. Before joining Bunnings, I held a range of senior operational, commercial and human resource roles across regional and national markets, both in retail and financial services with The Warehouse Group and Westpac.I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of NSW and I've completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD, and the Advanced Strategic Management Program at IMD which helps round out my intuitive sense for our customers and team, balanced with a strong commercial focus.  As we continue to live our value of innovation and continue to evolve our ever changing business I am excited by the opportunities technology and data create to build on a remarkable legacy, but also create opportunities for growth both for the business, the customers we serve and the teams we work with.Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn.  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 delve into some of the new material in Steve's expanded and completely revised 2nd Edition of Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption, which will be released on April 13th (see below for a special listener book offer).We dig into the effects of the pandemic and what retailers need to be doing right now to position themselves for the rebound. Steve outlines 6 major forces:Bifurcation 2.0An Accelerating AccelerationReallocation and the Redefinition of EssentialPower Consolidation and the Last Men StandingThe Great RewiringHybridization.After our discussion we jump into our new weekly segment “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's highlights include Target's blockbuster earnings, Disney's store closings, ThredUp IPO filing, Nordstrom's partnership with Tonal and Saks decision to spin-out its online operations.Special Offer! If you would like to see the new addition of Remarkable Retail before April 13, place a pre-order for the hardcover edition from any place books are sold worldwide. Then, email us the receipt, and we will send you the ebook version a few weeks in advance to get a jumpstart on reading the book. Send the email order confirmation to books@sageberryconsulting.com with "Podcast Offer" in the subject line. Once we get that email, we will email them back an Ebook file for Kindle Nook, Kobo, all the different formats. Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn.  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 welcome Emily Heyward, the cofounder and chief brand officer  of Red Antler as our guest to help understand what branding is all about, why it is so important and what it takes to build and sustain a remarkable brand. We discuss lessons learned from her career working with top companies such Casper, Boxed and Allbirds, and delve into the key concepts she unpacks in her recent book, including the "5 Why's", the power of focus and simplicity and the role of physical retail in creating an immersive and distinctive customer experience. After our interview we jump into our new weekly segment “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's highlights include what to make of Macy's Investor Day pronouncements, what we can glean from recent retailer earning reports, Kohl's facing new challenge from an activist investor group, Best Buy's new hybrid store model and more.Emily Heyward  is the Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer at Red Antler. Author of Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One available on Amazon and / or in Canada at Indigo Books. Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn.  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. 

Product returns have always been part of the retail equation--and an often high cost of doing business. But over the years, free and easy returns have become a new basis of competition. As e-commerce typically brings with it return and product exchange rates 3-5 times as high as those in brick & mortar stores, the growing penetration of online shopping can create more speed bumps in the customer experience, increasing costs for retailers and real ecological challenges.In this episode we dissect what's driving returns, why it matters and what can be done about it. We speak first with Scot Wingo, founder of Channel Advisor and CEO of Get Spiffy, who along with his podcast co-host Jason "Retail Geek" Goldberg, made "Shippageddon" part of the retail zeitgeist. Soon after "Returnageddon" took center stage. Then we bring on David Sobie, co-founder of Happy Returns, a fast growing company that seeks to make the end-to-end returns process beautiful for shoppers, retailers and the planet. After our interviews we jump into our fun new segment “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on a selection of retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week we talk about Five Below, which apparently didn't get the retail apocalypse memo, and is opening over 170 stores this year, Poshmark's plans to get into the pet resale category, Thrasio and Branded's big capital raise to roll-up Amazon marketplace sellers, Walmart quarterly earnings, Sephora's inclusive incubator program and the strong US retail results for January. Related ReadingThe Ticking Time-bomb of eCommerce Returns Scot Wingo is an entrepreneur who successfully started four startups and exited three (so far):Stingray Software - 1995-1998-sold to Rogue Wave SoftwareAuctionRover.com - 1999-2000- sold to Goto.Com/Overture - now part of Yahoo!ChannelAdvisor - 2001-present - IPO'd in May of 2013 - NYSE: ECOM- Leading software/service business for Fortune 2k selling on eBay as a new channel.Get Spiffy - 2014-present- On-demand car wash and detailing business currently in Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Los Angeles and DallasSpecialties: Internet and related technologies/business model experience. eBay, Yahoo!, Amazon, Overture, Google and of course, washing cars! David Sobie is CEO & Co-Founder of Happy Returns. Forward-thinking brands like Everlane, Rothy's, and REVOLVE choose Happy Returns. Together, we retain revenue, reduce costs, give shoppers choice, and make their supply chains sustainable—ultimately making returns beautiful for brands, shoppers, and the planet. Before Happy Returns, David served as the Chief Marketing Officer at REVOLVE, leading all online and offline marketing, branding, acquisition and business development. Previously, he led Marketing and Business Development for HauteLook, a flash sale pioneer acquired by Nordstrom, and held senior roles at eBay Motors and others.For more information about Happy Returns' returns software and reverse logistics, visit www.happyreturns.com.Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn.  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 TwainNot only isn't physical retail dead, but brands big and small are innovating in many ways to improve conversion, drive up average transaction value and create memorable moments that keep customers coming back for more. More and more, it's not about physical or digital, it's how they work together to create a harmonized and memorable experience.In this episode we talk with three industry thought-leaders that are helping their clients create new ways to maximize shopper engagement and deliver wow-worthy moments. Indeed, while the role of the store is changing rapidly, retailers' brick & mortar assets, working in concert with all things digital, may become even more important to brands journey to remarkable.After our panel we jump into our fun new segment “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on a selection of retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's we talk about Under Armour's earnings surprise, BooHoo's acquisition spree, Nordstrom's "Closer to the customer" initiative, Target's blockbuster new activewear brand and Amazon's big push into grocery.Related ReadingAmazon is said to plan up to 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021ICSC Halo EffectOmni-channel is Dead: The Future is Harmonized RetailThe stores strike back.Melissa Gonzalez the award-winning CEO of The Lion’esque Group, an MG2 company, pioneers the boundaries of experiential retail to help brands such as Purple, Nordstrom, and Burrow foster consumer engagement and evolve their offering. An innovator at heart, Melissa is consistently recognized as one of the leading ‘Women In Design’ and ‘Top 10 Retail Design Influencers of the Year’. In her downtime, she can be spotted seeking inspiration in unexpected places (like skydiving 10,000 feet above ground).Matthew Cyr is a tech entrepreneur and ex-retail ops leader with over 15+ years of experience. After opening over 150+ retail locations in the APAC region, building a multi-national retail training team for Skechers, and operating over a dozen retail stores across North America, Matthew has launched an omnichannel retail platform that empowers retailers to better connect with their customers. Be sure to check out their Connected Fitting Room and Assisted Selling solution now deployed in North America, South Africa, and China. www.craveretail.comNote: Steve serves on Crave Retail's Advisory Board and has a small passive investment in the company through a seed-capital venture fund where he previously served as an advisor. Trevor Sumner is a NYC-based entrepreneur, product and marketing executive and recognized startup advisor and angel. Trevor is the CEO of Perch, a recognized leader in in-store Product Engagement Marketing, interactive retail displays and augmented reality. Perch was named a Top Tech Company to Watch by Forbes, a Top 10 Retail Technology company by CIO Review and has won numerous Clio, Fast Company, Edison, Bloomberg and Digi awards.Trevor was the President, CMO and co-founder of LocalVox, a local social and mobile marketing platform for local businesses that was named one of the top startups in NYC by Business Insider, Forbes and Huffington Post, and was acquired by The Blackstone Group. He has spent ~15 years in startups as a product and marketing executive for cutting edge technologies and services. He serves on the board or as an advisor to several startups.Forbes Names Perch a Top 15 Technology Company to WatchPerch Named a Top 40 Transformative Marketing Technology by R3CIO Review Names Perch a Top 20 Retail Solutions Provider Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder at   Amazon , Indigo in Canada 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 and        The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael        here or on        LinkedIn.This episode is sponsored by  The Poirier Group.Do you want to move faster, streamline your processes and have larger margins? If you’re a retailer in 2021, chances are you do.  The Poirier Group’s award-winning team of industrial engineers and performance improvement experts specialize in driving results for retailers and grocers across North America. From reducing call-center wait times, to improving stocking and replenishment processes in warehouses, to seamlessly integrating IT systems and more-- they are the trusted partner you need.TPG doesn't just design solutions - they leverage years of actual industry experience to implement them and set you up for long-term sustainable success. Just ask their clients: over 15 years in business, 100% have been a positive reference.Visit www.thepoiriergroup.com/remarkable to learn more - and tell them you heard all about them on the Remarkable Retail podcast! 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. 

Steve knows a thing or two about how hard it is to write a best-selling business book on retail. And our guest, Ron Thurston has done just that. ... on this episode we delve into a few of the key themes in Ron's great new book Retail Pride: The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career. We discuss why those who work in retail deserve to be celebrated, what it takes to deliver a remarkable, joyful customer experience and how COVID has--or hasn't--changed the key aspects of great retail. We also explore Ron's "Three Pillars of Retail Expertise": empathy, curiosity and focus. All in all, it's an uplifting and optimistic look at the past, present and future of shopping.After our interview we jump into our fun new segment "Remarkable or Forgettable?" where we give our hot takes on a selection of retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's we review some big Amazon news, Victoria Secret's spin-off from L Brands, the possible resurgence of department stores, escalating product returns, and two interesting tid-bits from the world of digitally native brands. Ron Thurston loves retail. And he's proud of it. Ron has led the retail teams for some of America's most prominent brands, inspired thousands of store employees, and traveled relentlessly across the country to sit and listen to what they have to say.  From a part-time sales associate to a Vice President of Stores, Ron has put in the hard work that a retail career requires and wrote this book to share what he learned along the way.  Ron currently leads the retail organization for INTERMIX, a division of GAP INC, and sits on the board of directors for GOODWILL NY/NJ.  You can learn more about Ron and keep in touch on his website here. Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and       The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael       here  or on       LinkedIn. This episode is sponsored by The Poirier Group.  Do you want to move faster, streamline your processes and have larger margins? If you’re a retailer in 2021, chances are you do.  The Poirier Group’s award-winning team of industrial engineers and performance improvement experts specialize in driving results for retailers and grocers across North America. From reducing call-center wait times, to improving stocking and replenishment processes in warehouses, to seamlessly integrating IT systems and more-- they are the trusted partner you need.TPG doesn't just design solutions - they leverage years of actual industry experience to implement them and set you up for long-term sustainable success. Just ask their clients: over 15 years in business, 100% have been a positive reference.Visit www.thepoiriergroup.com/remarkable to learn more - and tell them you heard all about them on the Remarkable Retail podcast!   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 kick-off Season 2 with a predictions focused episode, wherein we try to make educated guesses about what's likely to unfold in 2021 and our uncertain and volatile retail economy. Among the predictions we discuss are:The longer-term impact of work-from-homeHow cheaper real estate may spur a new round of innovation from legacy retailers, digitally native vertical brands and maybe even mall operatorsPhysical retail: Still not deadThe ongoing collapse of the mediocre middleThe great acceleration moderatesThe new "hybridization" of shoppingAnd more.You can read Steve's latest 2021 prediction article in Forbes here. We also debut a new segment titled "Remarkable or Forgettable?" where we give our hot takes on a selection of retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week's candidates include Nordstrom's expansion of its "Local" concept, the news that HBC might spin-out Saks.com, LVMH's Tiffany make-over and Godiva's decision to shutter all their physical stores.Steve 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 will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder 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  and      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael      here  or on      LinkedIn.  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. 

Get Ready for Season Two of Remarkable Retail debuting February 2, 2021!If you think the COVID era has brought the narrative of the retail apocalypse to life, you’re only half right -  retail isn't dead - boring retail is.As a C-level executive at two Fortune 500 companies, as a strategic advisor to dozens of retail, consumer and technology brands and as a speaker who has delivered keynotes on six continents and on screens around the world, I help organizations reignite and accelerate their growth.  I’m also a Forbes senior contributor and author of the bestseller “Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption." Book Authority called it the best retail book ever, and a second all new updated and expanded edition is will be out April.In our first season of the Remarkable Retail podcast, we explored why even very good is no longer good enough through great conversations with thought leaders like Sucharita Kodali and Seth Godin and retailers like Tractor Supply and Untuckit.Join me and my co-host Michael LeBlanc, Producer & Host of The Voice of Retail podcast, as we pivot into our second season of the Remarkable Retail podcast - this season focusing on the key strategies that will ensure retailers survive and thrive in the COVID economy and beyond.  Each and every week Steve and I, along with special guests including top retailers, industry thought leaders and authors, will  explore the latest retail news and themes ripped from the headlines and work to read the tea leaves and help listeners make sense out of the noise and craft winning strategies for the future. So please join us each and every week for a lively and interactive journey exploring the strategies, the people and the companies that create Remarkable Retail.   Season Two launches February 2, 2021. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or any of the major platforms wherever you enjoy your podcasts today. Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his     website.     Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption was recently named the best retail book of all time by BookAuthority. It's available in hardcover, audiobook or as a ebook 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 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  and     The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael     here  or on     LinkedIn.     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. 

“You can't stop the waves. But you can learn to surf.”- Jon Kabat-ZinnIn the final episode of our first season, before delving into the key themes from Chapter 20 ("A Brave New World") of Steve's book, we share two pieces of big news. The first is that an expanded and completely revised 2nd edition of Remarkable Retail will be released on April 13th, featuring a Foreword by Sucharita Kodali. It's now available for pre-order on Amazon or on Indigo in Canada and just about everywhere books are sold. The second is that we will be doing a new season of our podcast, launching February 2. More details on episode themes and special guests coming soon.  This episode we explore what it means to operate in a "VUCA" world and how uncertainty, humility and adopting a "Beginner's Mind" can be the source of great wisdom. And we remind ourselves of SNL producer Lorne Michael's great quotation that "the show doesn't go on because it's ready. It goes on because it's 11:30." With guests Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga from OmniTalk, we talk about their experience driving innovation during their time at Target, how technology continues to accelerate and some of the things malls must do to adapt to retail's brave new world. Anne Mezzenga & Chris WaltonChris Walton and Anne Mezzenga met leading Target’s Store of the Future Project. Currently they are the Co-CEOs of Omni Talk, which they founded in 2017 and quickly turned into one of the fastest growing and most frequently read blogs in retail. Together they also own and operate Third Haus a retail technology lab in Minneapolis, as well as Urban Rooster Shop, a new online marketplace for local brands that just opened this past fall and  that has already received national attention. Their unique blend of candor and humor, from the perspective of real retailers, who have lived and breathed next generation retail in both theory and in practice, is what sets them apart. When they are not keynoting trade shows, moderating webinars, or writing for Forbes, you will find them holding court each week on their weekly Omni Talk Fast Five podcast, which is the quickest, fastest, and quite possibly funniest rundown of all the week’s top headlines in the world of retail. Related ReadingClayton Christensen, The Innovator's DilemmaSteve Dennis, "We're Never Ready"Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his     website.     Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption was recently named the best retail book of all time by BookAuthority. It's available in hardcover, audiobook or as a ebook 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 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  and     The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.  You can learn more about Michael     here  or on     LinkedIn.  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.