Remarkable Retail Podcast

Welcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen. Today, we bring you our update and perspectives on The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands with an episode first released in the fall of 2021.    First, Steve updates us on the status of the m...

Joining us for our final episode recorded live at last month's Lead Innovation Summit is Ophelia Ceradini , recently departed VP, Digital Technology & Innovation Group at Estée Lauder Companies Online. In a wide-ranging interview we go inside Estee Lauder's innovation process, digging into what inputs drive their strategic agenda, the role of employing a "test and learn" framework, and how to buil...

Welcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen.  Today we bring you our update and perspectives on small format stores for big retail brands.  We start with an update on this strategy since we originally released this episode in the fall of 2021....

Joining us for the second of three episodes recorded live at last month's  Lead Innovation Summit  is  Brie Olson , CEO of PacSun, a leading lifestyle brand that sells apparel and related items designed for teens and young adults.  In a wide-ranging interview we explore how to be remarkably relevant with GenZ customers. In particular we dig into crowd-sourcing customer insight via TikTok and other...

Welcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen.  Today we bring you our exclusive interview with Joe Kudla, CEO and Founder of Vuori , the fast-growing Southern California-inspired activewear brand. Joe's journey is a fascinating one that anyone...

We kick-off Season 7 with an engaging conversation on the future of direct-to-consumer retail recorded live on stage at the Lead Innovation Summit in New York City earlier this month. Michael leads Steve--and now three time guest on the pod-- Simeon Siegel , Managing Director & Senior Analyst at BMO Capital Markets in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on aligning on a useful definition of "DT...

This is Steve Dennis, innovation & strategy consultant, keynote speaker and best-selling author of Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Succession patriarch Logan Roy reminds us that it's one thing to be loved. It's another thing to get serious about the harsh realities we often face and to do the work we must to transform at the speed of disruption. In an era o...

Welcome to a special encore episode of the podcast, where we open up the back catalogue and share some of our favourite and most popular episodes that are worth a second (or perhaps your first) listen.  Today we bring you our exclusive interview with Dave Kimbell, CEO of beauty retailer Ulta. First, Steve gives us a powerful update on Ulta's performance under the leadership of Dave since 2022. Bot...

In our final episode of our sixth season we briefly share our mid-year highlights before dipping into the week in retail news, which includes the prospect of a UPS strike wreaking havoc on the world of e-commerce. Then we reflect on Overstock's fire sale scooping up of Bed, Bath & Beyond's intellectual property and how the Container Store and Dormify hope to vill the back-to-school void. We then t...

Joining us in conversation about his just released new book Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets is Jason Del Rey, the veteran business journalist who has spent a decade reporting on Amazon, Walmart, and how technology is transforming retail.  We explore the evolution of the rivalry and how it's shaped the world of commerce, while learning about some of the key inflect...

As we continue our focus on global retail transformation we welcome Wim Blaauw , Chief Digital Officer for the Inkga Group/IKEA. In a wide-ranging discussion we explore the concept of human-centric technology innovation including the notion of responsible automation. We also discuss the Group's sustainability efforts, an accelerating commitment to digital transformation, and the evolution of its o...

In our final episode recorded live at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona our guest is Martin Urrutia , Global Head Retail Experience & Innovation for the Lego Group. Martin takes us inside the innovation process at one of the world's most beloved brands. He shares how Lego's process has evolved and how they incorporate customer insight, consumer trends, technology disruption and brand vision t...

Renowned author, entrepreneur, and leadership teacher, Seth Godin returns to the podcast to discuss his incredibly timely and urgent new book: The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams .  In a wide-ranging interview Seth challenges us to re-think the nature of work, asking are we going to engage in a race to the bottom, or a race to the top where the work we do is rich with meaning and p...

This week we go guest free to tackle some of the more pernicious misperceptions, missteps, and false narratives that continue to get in the way of retailers' making the strategic progress they so urgently need. As the Covid sales bump disappears and consumer demand wanes we will--as Warren Buffet famously said--"get to see who's been swimming naked." Without aggressive action retailers stuck in th...

In our second episode recorded live at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, our special guest is author and customer-centricity thought leader Martin Newman . While being customer-centric is a stated priority of most brands, many have a hard time delivering on the promise. Martin helps us understand the challenges and the essential building blocks of putting customers first, while laying out ho...

We kick off a series of episodes recorded live in our pop-up studio at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona with Sally Elliott , Co-leader of the Global Retail Practice at Spencer Stuart , one of the world's leading executive search firms.  Sally shares key lessons from her vast experience working with top retail Boards and teams around the globe on critical issues of succession planning and wha...

Welcome to a special Shoptalk 2023 Bonus episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast, presented by MarketDial, recorded live beachside in the Wizeline podcasting studio at Mandalay Bay Beach, Las Vegas. In this episode, we meet with Amena Ali, Chief Executive Officer at Optoro. Optoro is a leading provider of returns technology for retail brands, using data science and real-time decision-making autom...

Joining us for another great episode recorded at the Wizeline remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk 2023 is Ryan den Rooijen , Chief Ecommerce Officer for Chaloub Group , the largest retail operator in the Middle East and leading partner for the world's iconic luxury brands. In a wide ranging conversation on all things retail, Ryan shares his deep knowledge and keen in...

In this special episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast, presented by MarketDial , Michael and Steve discuss their experience at the World Retail Congress 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. We start by talking about our store tour organized by the WRC and our visit to Primark's flagship store in Barcelona. Then we move on to discuss the Congress itself and what made it worthwhile attending, including the...

We wrap up a month of episodes featuring remarkable women retail leaders with another fascinating interview recorded at the Wizeline remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk 2023. Our special guest is Anu Narayanan President, Anthropologie Women's, Beauty & Wedding. Anu drops a ton of leadership, strategy, and merchandising wisdom accumulated during a storied career at se...

Joining us for the second of several episodes recorded at the Wizeline remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk 2023 is Carrie Baker , President of  Canada Goose , the performance luxury brand that has grown to more than 50 of its own stores, along with an expansive online and global wholesale presence.  In a wide-ranging interview we learn about the brand's legendary his...

Joining us for the first of several episodes recorded at the Wizeline remote podcast studio/beach cabana at Mandalay Bay during Shoptalk is Judith McKenna, who heads up Walmart International. We touch on Judith's journey across the pond to lead Walmart's $100 billion plus division, which operates across 19 countries, before jumping into the challenges and opportunities of executing the Walmart bra...

We kick off a month of showcasing remarkable female leaders from some of retail's leading brands, with special guest, Tracey Brown , Walgreens Boots Alliance's Executive Vice President and President, Walgreens Retail & U.S Chief Customer Officer. Tracey's diverse background in advertising, non-profit leadership, and previous stint at the other "Wal" (Walmart) prepared her well for her current assi...

We're just back from Las Vegas and Shoptalk 2023. Before we left, we jumped on the mic for a fast-paced review of some of our key takeaways.  We also recorded several new podcast episodes with top retail leaders in the Wizeline remote podcast studio/beach cabana. Stay tuned as we release them over the coming weeks.    About Us Steve Dennis  is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic gr...

This week we welcome Jarvis Sam founder a leading voice in the world of diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I), CEO & founder of The Rainbow Disruption, and former head of DEI at Nike. In a thought-provoking and wide-ranging conversation we discuss the business imperative behind being more welcoming to various communities and the range and contours of diversity. We touch both on the theoretical fram...