Functional and Fabulous

In this episode, recorded live at StudioForty9’s Excellence in Ecommerce 2026 event, retail multi-CEO Ciarán McCormack (Select, DID Electrical, Blink 24) talks to Gordon and Ger about his journey from magician to merchant. Ciarán reveals the leadership skills he learned as a performer, and how he juggles being both an Apple partner and an Apple competitor. He discusses difficult times (€22 million...

Are you ready for a crash course in customer retention? You’re about to get one. Meghan Frazier, retention lead at Heights, joins Ger and Gordon to deliver one of the most densely packed episodes we’ve ever produced. It’s wall-to-wall insight and practical advice from the get go. If you want to keep the customers you’ve got, this episode is a playbook that will help you do just that. From meeting...

Join Gordon and Ger as they step into a tornado of conversation with Dave Morrissey, growth and culture consultant, ex-Meta, ex-TikTok, current author and pre-Scéal. Tie yourself down, because the insights come thick and fast about mindset, generative AI, leadership and why Ger should never be allowed to write another hard-rock song prompt again. Dave tells you why most companies fail to scale, an...

Get ready to be guided through massive e-commerce growth with Lauren Nicole Muir, a digital commerce and product expert, who until recently was Head of Ecommerce at fashion brand Oh Polly. Find out how she helped the brand grow during the pandemic. It's a story of bold engagement while embracing the zeitgeist, often on the spur of the moment. The bold approach doesn't end there. Oh Polly recently...

Join Amy Kemp of Glossier as she takes Ger and Gordon out on the CX waves, where service agents help navigate customers through anything from gentle breezes to force 10 gales. You'll find out whether AI is more than just a wizmo gizmo and hear how Glossier is using it to genuinely enhance the customer experience. But fear not, the tech isn't driving the boat. A rich and meaningful customer service...

Join Gordon and Ger and they take flight with Bobby Healy of Manna Air Delivery, the Irish drone delivery company that's posing a serious threat to Amazon's dominance of the ecommerce space. Has the saviour of independent retailers literally been heaven sent?   Drones promise much. Delivery within minutes from local retailers that bypasses clogged roads and is kinder on the environment. But will i...

Can this be right? A vendor as a guest? Yes, it is true. And a Big one too. Ger and Gordon are joined by Travis Hess, CEO of BigCommerce, to review the e-commerce platform landscape and discuss what the future holds. Frankly, is there life beyond Shopify? (Spoiler: Of course there is.) Developments are coming thick and fast in e-commerce and commerce platforms are going to have to move quickly and...

In this season finale, Ger and Gordon look back on Season 2 and discuss the highlights and key learnings. Together they explore the wealth of knowledge that was so generously given by our guests over the past nine episodes. No stone is left unturned. Proposition, branding, storytelling, product launch, entering new markets, marketing, customer experience, customer trust, customer loyalty, the demo...

Our guest this time round is the 'notorious' Rick Watson. If e-commerce platforms were restaurants, Rick would be the food critic who would make them tremble most. Rick, Ger and Gordon talk about the big things that get in the way of online retail success. Overindulgence in bespoke technology solutions. Not even knowing what customer problem the business solves in the first place. Rick has seen it...

In this episode, omnichannel specialist Ntola Obazee talks about the reality of going where no brand (or at least your brand) has gone before. Ntola speaks with Ger and Gordon about entering new markets successfully, inspiring your team to give their best, segmenting your market and curating your collections. She also gives first-hand insight into a successful entry into China.  Thinking of breaki...

Join Jamie Roller, Marketplaces Director at Dr Squatch, as she talks Gordon and Ger through the trials and tribulations of marketplaces. Find out why she's the Amazon Queen, as she explains how to tame the intricacies of the world's biggest online marketplace and keep winning the Buy Box. Jamie also discusses balancing Amazon with other marketplaces, how to fight competitors selling your actual pr...

Mike Ryan, Head of Ecommerce Insights at Smarter Ecommerce, talks to Gordon and Ger about the potentially unholy marriage between data and advertising automation that can erode your control of your ecommerce performance. Specifically, Mike takes the boys through how to manage ecommerce marketing tools like Google's Pmax, which, left unchecked, can give unintended or unwanted results. How do you ta...

How do you manage two brands that provide overlapping services? That's the job facing Jessica Lesesky, Vice President & General Manager of Shutterfly & Snapfish, which both offer customised online printing on to a wide range of media.  In this episode, Jessica tells Ger and Gordon how her team keep both brands distinct and thriving, using a blend of data analysis, common sense and the kind...

In this episode, Gavin Williams, former Global Director of Digital and E-commerce with luxury fragrance brand Creed, says we should put a ban on squirrel hunting, until we've figured out whether the squirrel is worth the hunt. He takes Gordon and Ger (and you too, if you hit the play button) through the many things (so many) luxury retailers and brands are doing wrong (so very wrong). He pulls no...

Gordon and Ger are joined by Paul Sherratt, CEO and Founder of gloveglu, to talk about making goalkeeping gloves grippy and sticky. Is it cheating? (No, it isn't.) Is it innovative? (Yes, it absolutely is.) You'll learn how Paul came up with the idea, what went into developing gloveglu, and how he used the power of a teenage TikTok producer to tap into a global market for a product that didn't exi...

Gordon and Ger are joined by Shane Linehan, VP Marketing with Raylo, to talk about the circular economy and electronic consumer goods. Shane talks about unlocking huge residual value for customers (and revenue for businesses). He also discusses launching an unknown brand with an unknown offering—one that now has 100,000+ paying subscribers. The boys talk customer funnel analysis, customer acquisit...

In this episode, recorded live at The Laughter Lounge in Dublin at StudioFory9's Transformation: Excellence in Ecommerce conference, Ger and Gordon talk on stage with Paul Rogers, ecommerce consultant and founder of Vervaunt, a London-based eCommerce consultancy and performance marketing agency. They discuss clienteling, unified commerce, Shopify's big data play (bye bye GA4) and the importance of...

Retail media is hot right now, but what is it exactly? And is it fab or fad? Ger and Gordon have the questions. Paul Stafford of Superdrug has the answers. Paul takes you deep into the workings of retail media, and explains how it differs from traditional marketing supports. There's lots of tech. There's lots of creative. And there's lots of potential. Listen to the boys talk through what Paul has...

In this, the pronunciation episode, Marshall David Johnson of UK designer department store Fenwick joins Gordon and Ger to talk about the challenges of luxury retail. Marshall guides you through a world in which luxury brands call the shots over retailers, and styling and managing products for online goes beyond anything mere mortals should attempt.  Dive into the realm of retail opulence and find...

Andrew Ostcliffe of Oxfam in the UK navigates e-commerce waters that many other hardened online retailers would avoid. Three revenue streams, products distributed over more than 600 locations, 250,000-plus SKUs, and a diverse inventory that changes by the minute. Welcome to the world of decentralised charity retail—both online and in store. Join Andrew as he leads Ger and Gordon through this daunt...

This time out, Gordon and Ger check-in to fly social with Ryanair (no checked luggage and the crisps are extra). Their pilot is Michael Corcoran, until recently Ryanair's Head of Social and Creative Content. Michael talks about the importance of reach over followers, why community matters, what social media really is (and isn't), and outlines a non-scientific (but completely scientific) way of eff...

Our guide in this episode is retail technology publisher, author and consultant Miya Knights. She talks to Gordon and Ger about how the use of cutting-edge technology can put the retail experience in service of the customer. Miya discusses three vital customer considerations that retailers (and retail tech) need to address in order to be successful. But that's only the half of it. She also talks a...

eBay's GM Global Fashion, Kirsty Keoghan, takes Ger Keohane ( StudioForty9 ) and Gordon Newman ( Omnichannels Stories ) on a journey through the mind-blowing world of pre-loved fashion. They stop off at an authentication warehouse (where trust is built), negotiate a mountain of discarded fashion items, and visit Love Island. To keep never-worn and rarely-worn fashion out of landfill, eBay is going...

Growth expert Richard Chapple ( The Growth Foundation ) sets sail with Ger Keohane ( StudioForty9 ) and Gordon Newman ( Omnichannels Stories ) to talk about growing your retail business, scaling up and brilliant basics. Along the way, the episode is boarded by pirates and parrots. But karate keeps them at bay.   --  Richard's notes and the strategy information he spoke about can be accessed here:...

Retail futurist Matthew Brown ( Echochamber ) guides Ger Keohane ( StudioForty9 ) and Gordon Newman  ( Omnichannels Stories ) through excellence in retail customer experience. Along the way, we unbox an absolutely lush gift package from Faerly , an Irish online retailer that specialises in local and sustainable products that deliver the right amount of happy moments. But Matthew, Gordon and Ger ar...