Remarkable Retail Podcast

One of the most anticipated episodes of  The Remarkable Retail Podcast  returns as Steve Dennis reviews and grades his annual retail predictions, offering a candid assessment of how the industry actually performed as 2025 unfolded. Known for balancing optimism with accountability, Dennis evaluates where macro forces, technology shifts, and retailer execution aligned—or diverged—from expectations....

We welcome Moody's Mark Zandi, Moody's Chief Economist and one of the most influential and trusted macroeconomic voices shaping markets, policy, and business strategy worldwide. Zandi begins by explaining how today’s consumer landscape is defined by a widening K-shaped economy—an income and wealth split decades in the making and now intensified by rising asset values and post-pandemic dynamics. Ho...

The latest edition of the retail industry's leading podcast features an in-depth conversation with Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market and Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores , who shares Amazon’s rapidly expanding grocery ambitions. Already surpassing $100 billion in gross sales, Amazon is leaning into grocery as a strategic category driven by frequency, loyalty, Prime stickine...

Steve and Michael open this week’s episode with a deep dive into the retail news of the week, marked by sharp contrasts in performance across the retail landscape. Walmart continues to separate itself from the pack, delivering another standout quarter, as omni-channel rival Target delivers another challenging quarter.  The news segment analyses strong results from the off-price sector as TJX and R...

Season 11, Episode 12 opens with a whirlwind week in retail news. Steve and Michael begin with the long-awaited end of the historic 43-day U.S. government shutdown, exploring what it means for holiday spending, federal workers, SNAP benefits, and travel recovery. While uncertainty lingers—particularly around health-care subsidies—the hosts note that retail may still experience ripple effects, espe...

Hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc welcome David Lafitte , President and CEO of Tecovas , the fast-growing Austin-based brand bringing cowboy culture to modern consumers. Lafitte’s career journey—from corporate attorney to Chief Operating Officer at Deckers Brands (home of UGG and Hoka) and now to retail leadership at Tecovas—is a masterclass in reinvention and focus. Under Lafitte’s leadershi...

Guest co-host Ben Miller, Shoptalk's VP of Original Content and Strategy joins to provide expert analysis and we interview Lauren Sherman, the acclaimed fashion correspondent at Puck and author of Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon The episode kicks off with a rich news segment, where the trio unpacks the latest forces shaping retail and the economy. Amazon’s st...

The News Rundown Steve leads off with the latest tariff turmoil, as trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada stall amid the Trump administration's response to an ad created and paid for by the Ontario government running in U.S. media whose key auto  sector is endangered by Trump trade policies. They also explore luxury corporate earnings, where Hermès continues to shine, while.  Gucci owner...

On the latest episode of the Remarkable Retail Podcast  co-hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc deliver another fast-moving episode at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and retail reinvention. The episode opens with Steve leading the weekly news rundown, spotlighting Walmart’s groundbreaking partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT — a move that could redefine how shoppers discover products and...

The Weekly News Rundown The episode opens with a fast-moving retail update. New DataWeave analytics reveal that Nike has raised prices significantly — by 17 percent for footwear and 14 percent for apparel — as tariff cost mounts, potentially disrupting their turnaround plans. Steve and Michael then examine the continuing U.S. government shutdown and its potential economic ripple effects. Despite f...

The episode begins with a deep dive into the latest retail and economic headlines that are shaping the landscape. Steve and Michael dissect the U.S. government shutdown , its ripple effects on employment, and how cost-cutting in Washington could further weaken an already fragile job market. They then examine new tariffs on furniture, cabinets, and agricultural exports, highlighting how the policie...

This special 5th anniversary episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast marks a milestone: five years of insights, disruption, and conversations with the world’s most innovative retail thinkers. We reflect on the pod’s origin story during the early COVID lockdowns, tracing its evolution from Steve’s book Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption  into an industry-leadin...

This week's episode marks the second edition  of "The Analysts" once again bringing together the sharpest minds in global retail. This time we welcome Sucharita Kodali, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, and Neil Saunders, Managing Director at GlobalData Retail for a lively, insight rich discussion about the future of retail. The episode kicks off with U.S. retail sales resu...

This week the Remarkable Retail podcast delivers a dynamic mix of breaking retail news and an in-depth interview with a top retail innovators, Lauren Steinberg, Loblaw Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Loblaw, Canada's biggest retailer. Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc kick off a wide-ranging news segment, analyzing how tariffs, inflation, and global economic uncertainty are re...

Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlancs analyze the week's most impactful retail developments: a U.S. appeals-court ruling that may require massive Trump era tariff refunds  new India duties; fast-moving shifts in de minimis thresholds; and mounting pressure on global supply chains, small businesses, and retailers alike. They analyze how these disruptions will disrupt importers like Tapestry and Lululem...

The Remarkable Retail Podcast kicks off Season 11 with a powerful episode featuring a first-ever guest co-host: Ethan Chernofsky, Chief Marketing Officer of Placer.ai.  The episode opens with a lively discussion of tariffs and trade turbulence, a recurring theme reshaping global retail strategies. Ethan shares data-driven insights from Placer.ai on how consumer behavior is shifting under economic...

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...

For our final episode recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth show, we welcome two visionary leaders from Tapestry, the global house of brands that includes Coach and Kate Spade: Pooja Chandiramani, VP Global Media Strategy & Planning, Marketing Analytics, Operations and Transformation, and Avinash Kaushik, Brand Strategy & Marketing Transformation. Pooja and Avinash unpack Tapestry’s ongoing tra...

In this episode of the  Remarkable Retail Podcast , our guest is with Lauren Price , Senior Vice President, E-Commerce & Digital Marketing for  COS North America  discussing her impressive career trajectory and work positioning the H&M-owned brand for growth in a competitive, fast-moving fashion retail landscape. Lauren’s career began in the early days of luxury e-commerce at Createthe Group, buil...

In this episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast , hosts Michael LeBlanc and Steve Dennis welcome  XRC Ventures' Managing Director Pano Anthos,  for a deep dive into the future of retail innovation, investment strategies, and overcoming the systemic challenges that keep great technology from scaling. Pano shares his journey from serial entrepreneur to leading a venture fund focused on pre-seed and...

In this special encore episode we revisit an insightful conversation with Janet Hayes , CEO of Crate and Barrel Holdings as she shares her career journey and the brand’s $5B growth ambitions. From their visionary Flatiron NYC flagship to enhanced digital design services and significant tech investments, the iconic 60 year old home retailer furnishings retailer is modernizing for a more remarkable...

In this special summer edition of the Remarkable Retail podcast, hosts Michael LeBlanc and Steve Dennis return to the mic for a jam-packed Month-in-Review episode. With interviews from the CommerceNext Growth Show rolling out all summer long, the duo takes a break from the regular cadence to reflect on the key developments dominating retail headlines. Kicking things off, Michael and Steve catch up...

In this insightful summer bonus episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast, we welcome Stuart Hogue, Lands' End, Senior Vice President, US Consumer, for a fast-paced conversation recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York City. Stuart brings a wealth of brand experience—spanning time at Nike and a passion for brand strategy shaped by none other than fellow podcast guest Scott Galloway...

In this special summer episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast, recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York, we welcome Jeannie Yoo, CEO of Draper James, for a wide-ranging conversation on the brand's growth trajectory, the power of celebrity in retail, and the rise of human-centric retail experiences. Jeannie brings two decades of fashion retail experience to the table, from her ea...

In this insightful episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York, Sarah Henry, Vice President, Head of Content, Influencer & Commerce at Walmart, discusses how one of the world's largest retailers is at the forefront of digital innovation. Sarah shares her journey from classical pianist to marketing executive, charting her unique path into eComm...