A SEAT at THE TABLE: Helping business leaders grow their influence

After nearly a year of lockdowns, mandatory store closures and people working from home, it’s becoming more difficult to envision what retail will look like when we get past the pandemic. Right now workout gear, yoga pants, hoodies and comfy tops are bestsellers.  And shopping online is not just the channel of choice, for many it’s the only choice.  The question on most of our minds is when will r...

Consumers are crying out for more personalised products - and brands are crying over too much inventory. Digitization is being hailed as the solution to both problems. It can make pre-production faster, make product design more flexible, and, of course, save costs. Digital printing has been one of the earliest  technologies to gain real market share. Starting out as a solution for making customise...

According to two leading U.S.-based real estate advisers, it’s not the property or the people that are the problem.  What malls need are fresh new brands and innovative services to bring customers back - and get them to stay. Contact us at :  insidefashionlive.net Learn more about Retail by MONA at  www.retailbymona.com Show Summary Physical retail might be about to rise from the dead. Despite the...

A solution that’s helping companies keep team members educated and engaged are learning management systems.  You can contact us at: insidefashionlive.net Learn more about Eclipse Learning Partners :  http://eclipselearningpartners.com/ Episode Summary One of the challenges in having most of your team members working remotely is training. Before, it was easy to organize on-site training and ensure...

In this episode I'm talking with Dean Clegg, Global Sourcing Director of Sainsbury's, about how he's managing his company's complex supply chain in the face of the pandemic and upcoming Brexit. Episode Links:   Learn more about "Current Situation in Sourcing": Contact us:   https://insidefashionlive.net/contact ABOUT THIS EPISODE When the pandemic hit Europe Sainsbury...

Everyone recognises that China is the next big consumer market. But even the most savvy marketers are struggling to succeed here. This rapidly changing market is actually compromised of multiple niche markets - under one roof. To win in China you need to understand what the Chinese consumer wants - and today that goes way beyond just  luxury goods or international sports brands. Today I’m speaking...

Whether it's rising costs or COVID,  buyers are now actively looking to differsify their supply chains. As brands look for alternatives to China, India is increasingly showing up on the radar. But what’s it like to shift from China’s finely tuned supply chain to India, where infrastructure, amongst other things, are not as well developed? Today I’m talking with Daniel Krassenstein, Global Sup...

Finding a job has never been easy  - and - the current market situation is making it even more difficult. However there industries that are growing - and companies that are hiring.  According to executive search experts -  to succeed in landing that new job - candidates have to be a lot more strategic and pro-active. Simply filling out online job applications or asking people ‘if they know of anyo...

Everyone is looking for ways to be more sustainable.  The challenge is to find ways that are practical and actionable for both the industry and for consumers. Without this, sustainability will be often talked about, but seldom implemented. Today I’m speaking with David Horlock, managing director of Global Food and Retail Supply Chain at the British Standards Institute. David has spent 30 years wor...

Most people are looking for the next big thing.  Larry Namer is the man who is creating it. Learn more about FanVestor :  www.fanvestor.com Episode Summary Larry is best known for founding the international mega hit cable TV show E! Entertainment, which has been shown in over 140 countries. Throughout his career he's been able to parlay chance meetings and coincidences into bestselling projec...

For nearly a decade, retail has been stuck in a quagmire of discounts, flagging consumer demand and rounds of bankruptcies. There’s been lots of discussion about what went wrong.  Now the important question is “What do we need to do to fix it”? While many will point to Amazon as the evil demon that devastated retail, a closer look shows that Amazon and other e-commerce players might have simply pr...

Any conversation about apparel production sooner or later includes Bangladesh.  From a turbulent period when the nation’s industry was plagued by factory fires, building collapses and high levels of industrial pollution, Bangladesh has faced gruelling pressure to meet international standards. Over the past 7 years it has painstakingly worked to clean up and green up the industry. Today, Bangladesh...

Two of the fastest growing sectors today are indie brands and e-commerce. Indie brands are bringing much needed newness, quality and inclusivity to the market. E-commerce is making it possible for them to reach that market. I’m Jane Singer and welcome to a Seat at the Table. In this episode I’m talking with Martin Jomoa. Martin has hands on experience growing indie brands - both online and offline...

One of the questions everyone is asking these days is:  "How do we create an appealing in store experience?" From mandatory masks, social distancing in stores and malls, ‘no try on’ policies, and plexiglass partitions that further restrict human interaction, shopping is just not as much fun as it used to be. However, there are those retailers who have found ways to create a more vibrant...

Knowing what consumers want to buy - and when they want to it - is a challenge that all retailers face. For fashion-driven companies that challenge is even greater since styles change so quickly. Technology solutions continue to try and solve that problem - through a wide range of data-driven applications  But most predictions lack accuracy and tend to be lagging indicators of real demand. Stylumi...

Cato Corporation is an American fashion retailer with over 1300 stores in the US - offering a sweeping ranging of trendy high quality fashion at exceptional prices - including apparel, shoes, accessories and even jewellery. Even in the face of the pandemic, Cato has stayed strong.     At least part of that has to be attributed of Mark’s skills in managing a complex supply chain.  With over three d...

If you’ve been wondering about those all of those Digital Native,  Direct-to-Consumer brands - you know the ones that are e-commerce rockstars - or are about to be - then this is podcast episode for you. In this episode, I'm talking with Stanley Szeto, executive chairman of Hong Kong-based Leverstyle, a sourcing company that has worked with many of the most success digital native brands. He s...

Welcome to A Seat at the Table!   I’m Jane Singer and I started this podcast as a way for business professionals to learn from each other’s experiences.   This is for people, like you and me, to find out how other’s are tackling some of the challenges in today’s market.   And to help identify new opportunities for growth and improvement. And every week I sit down with some of the smartest and most...