

Remarkable Retail Podcast
Michael LeBlanc, Steve Dennis
With the pace of disruption continuing to accelerate, with more and more power being concentrated in the hands of only a few mega-retailers, with consumer needs and wants being constantly reshaped, and with the global impact of tariffs still far from certain, how do you make sense of what to do and, most importantly, gain the confidence to aim higher, move faster and act more boldly.
That's where the industry leading, award-winning Remarkable Retail Podcast comes in.
I'm Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. I invite you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as we separate the signal from the noise and give you the tools and ideas to make the bold leap to remarkable.
The Remarkable Retail podcast is the only retail show hosted by two of the NRF’s 2025 Top Retail Voices. And in this, our eleventh season, we’ll continue our award-winning formula: [pause] no BS perspectives crafted from our decades of experience on the front lines, hot takes on the week’s biggest retail news, conversations with the most remarkable retail leaders, and, new this season, occasional guest co-hosts who will help us open the aperture on an industry in flux.
So be sure to follow us wherever you enjoy your podcasts or on the newly expanded Remarkable Retail YouTube channel. We hope you’ll join us.
© 2020-2025 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.
That's where the industry leading, award-winning Remarkable Retail Podcast comes in.
I'm Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. I invite you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as we separate the signal from the noise and give you the tools and ideas to make the bold leap to remarkable.
The Remarkable Retail podcast is the only retail show hosted by two of the NRF’s 2025 Top Retail Voices. And in this, our eleventh season, we’ll continue our award-winning formula: [pause] no BS perspectives crafted from our decades of experience on the front lines, hot takes on the week’s biggest retail news, conversations with the most remarkable retail leaders, and, new this season, occasional guest co-hosts who will help us open the aperture on an industry in flux.
So be sure to follow us wherever you enjoy your podcasts or on the newly expanded Remarkable Retail YouTube channel. We hope you’ll join us.
© 2020-2025 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 29, 2020 • 54min
A World Turned Upside Down with Forrester Research's Sucharita Kodali
In our inaugural episode we explain what Season 1 is about and the structure of the podcast. We talk about why Steve wrote his book, the underlying concepts of ""Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption" and his "8 Essentials" framework. We unpack the idea that "shift happens", dissect the Black Swan event that is the global pandemic and delve into whether Steve would have changed anything in this book given it was completed just a few months before the COVID-19 crisis. Next Sucharita Kodali Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research joins us for a peek into what's now and what's next for retail. Finally, we talk about Steve's recent Forbes article about the Five Emerging Forces of Retail's New Normal.You can learn more about Steve on his website here . His new best-selling book is available in hardcover, audiobook at ebook at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve 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.You can learn more about Michael here ( www.meleblanc.co) or here on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeleleblanc/ )If you liked what you heard you can subscribe on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail, brand or CPG industry. Have a safe week everyone!
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.

Sep 4, 2020 • 1min
Retail isn't dead - boring retail is.
Season 1 TrailerI'm here to tell you: Retail isn't dead. Boring retail is. As a C-level executive at two Fortune 500 companies, keynote speaker and strategic advisor to dozens of retail, consumer and technology brands I help organizations accelerate their growth. I’m also the author of the new best-selling book, “Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption” (in Canada you can purchase here) Join me and my co-host Michael LeBlanc, Producer & Host of The Voice of Retail podcast as we use my “8 Essentials of Remarkable Retail’ framework to explore modern retail, before, during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Each and every week along with special guests including top retailers and industry thought leaders, will explore the latest events and work to understand the lessons of the past and present to craft strategies for the future. So please join us each and every week for a lively and interactive journey to Remarkable Retail. You can find Season one now on Apple, Spotify or any of the major platforms wherever you enjoy your podcasts today.
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.


