Retail Retold

In this special episode, Chris speaks with Dean Salakas, Co-owner and resident Chief Party Dude at The Party People in Drummoyne, NSW, Australia.  Dean shares how he built his family's party supply business into the country's largest party supply store and how he built an e-commerce website from scratch when he was still in high school!    Listen in to hear his fascinating...

Have you ever experienced tricky contingencies? You're not alone. Listen in to this week's episode about Five Below in Cheektowaga, NY to find out what made this deal unique!

It’s time for some real talk!  Join Georgina Nelson, Founder and CEO of TruRating, and Chris as they talk about retail technology and business solutions. TruRating is the world’s largest platform of validated in-store and online consumer ratings. Listen in to see how Georgina’s company provides real-time, trusted,&nbsp...

Peter Mohr, the owner of Shoetopia & Simplifying Entrepreneurship, is a tour de force! In today's episode, Pete shares the entrepreneurial journey that led him to purchase a local shoe store! He walks us through his many years of experience as a business owner and business broker.   Hear how he brought his brand reps together to help scale his local business and scout out a new store...

In this episode, our host Chris Ressa goes solo, offering his predictions on future retail trends and later tells an amazing story of bringing HomeGoods, Harbor Freight Tools and Sierra Trading Co. to Riverside Plaza in Keene, NH.

Today’s guest is Brittany Driscoll, Co-Founder & CEO of Squeeze, a massage concept with revolutionary app-based booking.    Brittany is in the business of happiness! As the former Vice President of Marketing for Drybar, she helped scale the concept from 30 million in revenue to 100 million. It is hard to ignore Brittany's passion for building feel-good experiences for her team a...

Alex & Caileen Ostenson share their entrepreneurial journey with us and walk us through the process of opening a membership-based, on-demand grocery store in Evansville, MN, a population of 600 residents. This duo brings convenience and innovation to their small-town community, and they are just getting started.  Listen in t...

It’s time for some Real Talk with Ricardo Belmar!  Long time retail tech and industry expert, Ricardo Belmar joins us today to share his 5 Tech Trends in Retail! Ricardo consults retail with retail tech solutions through his advisory group, Retail Razor and most recently joining Microsoft as Senior Partner Marketing Advisor.   Listen in to hear Ricardo’...

How did that office end up in your neighborhood?  In this special episode Chris speaks with Nicole Campbell, Office Leasing Specialist for Divaris Real Estate. Nicole shares insights on the suburban office market changes and challenges from her perspective as an office broker in Hampton Roads, the eastern side of&...

It is time for some Real Talk with Liza Amlani!  Liza is a retail insider with over 20 years of experience in fashion retail and merchandizing and is the Principal and Founder of Retail Strategy Group, a firm dedicated to up lifting the entire retail process.  Listen in as she shares how her firm helps retailers dramatically improve...

Caroline Harrelson ,  Retail Recruitment Consultant Specialist for The Retail Coach, shares what it is like to work for local municipalities to bring retail to their communities. Listen in to hear how she helped connect Grant’s Kitchen & Grill, a casual restaurant with one location, to a new market, and an investor to partner with! Giving a small business owner th...

7-billion-dollar donut industry and growing! We have a double header in today’s episode! Andy Kmiec, Vice President of Development at Duck Donuts, shares his story about opening an unconventional Auntie Anne’s location in Orlando, and Duck Donut’s new endeavor into the drive-thru business model in Harrisburg, PA. Listen in now to hear how he got the deals done with pe...

Opening a new location in 45 days, just in time for Christmas! Eli Gurock, co-owner of Magic Beans, a baby gear and toy retailer, and Youtuber with over 22M views joins us on today’s podcast. Eli shares his story about opening a new location in Cambridge MA filling the space previously occupied by a specialty toy store just weeks before the Christmas shopping season. Listen to his e...

It’s time for some more real talk with Maria Toliopoulos! Maria, Vice President of Real Estate Strategy at Ulta Beauty, brings her Real Estate and leadership strategy to today’s talk. Chris and Maria discuss the convergence of the physical retail space and online retail, and how Amazon’s move to brick-and-mortar locations and, the pandemic provided two pivotal&nb...

It’s time for some REAL TALK with Rick Helfenbein! Rick is a Retail & Fashion Industry Consultant, and former Chairman, President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. With over 20 years of experience in fashion retail and manufacturing, Rick shares his take on the fashion industry today, and where it’s going tomorrow! Listen in as he shares industry trade trends, an...

Today’s guest is Kris Smith, Vice President of Real Estate Development for Hand & Stone Massage Franchise Corporation Kris’ enthusiasm and dedication to his franchisees is hard to ignore! In this episode, Kris shares his own unique experience as a former franchisee and how it impacts his role as a VP. Chris and Kris discuss the value in multi-unit operators, building t...

Today’s guest is Mike Todryk, CEO and founder of Armor Coffee Co. Mike and Chris discuss the importance of customer loyalty, choosing faith over fear during uncertain times, and what success really looks like. Mike also shares his powerhouse, three pillar business strategy with us. Listen now!

Rick Kueber, the CEO of Sun Tan City, and a franchisee of Buff City Soap and Planet Fitness joins our host Chris Ressa to discuss the importance of a good track record and knowing your trade area. Rick shares a story about a Buff City Soap deal in Charleston, WV, giving us a textbook example of the saying “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

"You can make a major impact on the retail landscape if you have a working formula” Our guest today is Alan Barocas, former Sr. EVP of Leasing at GGP and former SVP of Retail at Gap Inc. Listen to the compelling way Alan brings retail knowledge to leasing strategies, and what he has to say about co-tenancy and improving work culture!

Today's guest is Jennifer Rude, Franchise Developer at Dairy Queen. She jumps on the podcast to discuss the future of DQ Franchises and shares an inspirational story about a Dairy Queen in Brainerd, MN that shows how "paying it forward" can catch on like wildfire, even during a pandemic. Listen now!

Getting a lease resolved in 30 days, a brand new prototype & a new beginning for Five Below... Zach Minteer, VP of Real Estate at Five Below, joins us on today's podcast. Zach shares a story about opening a new prototype for Five Below in Downingtown, PA where timing is EVERYTHING! Listen to his episode now to find out how he navigated risks and challenges that appeared while making this deal.

What's one thing most people agree with that you do not?  Listen in now to hear Brad Williamson's fun answer to this question along with everything there is to know about the current operations of HTeaO. 

Wondering what's going on in the world of office real estate today? Check out this new episode with Ken Ashley, Executive Director of Cushman & Wakefield.

Dave Lasus, the current CEO at Heart + Paw, joins our host, Chris Ressa to take a deep dive into the future of Heart + Paw and shares a story from his past about an Insomnia cookie deal at Temple University.  Listen now!

Today's guest is Drew Schaul, VP of CBRE.  Listen in as he shares the story of opening a new Psycho Bunny at Tysons Corner in Tysons, VA.