Retail Therapy

With climate change being the biggest business disruptor on our doorstep, we welcome Nicki Hutley, Economist and Member of the Climate Council. Nicki is one of the leading voices highlighting the impacts of climate change, and is a frequent commentator in the media and is constantly working to better inform the business community on how they can be part of the change. Thank you to ARA Partner, AWS...

We’re back! For a whole new season of the Retail Therapy podcast - focussing on 'Sustainable Retail'. We’re excited to announce that Season 3 is brought to you by ARA Partner, Amazon Web Services (AWS), providers of cloud services across government, education, not-for-profits and healthcare and a subsidiary of Amazon. This season takes a deep dive on sustainability, the climate challenges that lie...

Having navigated the worst of the pandemic, businesses are now tackling the next big global disruptor in climate change. In Season 3 of Retail Therapy titled 'Sustainable Retail', we hear from business leaders, academics, and climate experts – many of them global leaders in their field - about their personal journeys in fighting for a more sustainable future. And we’ll also learn more about busine...

Join us for some Retail Therapy in the Amex Lounge with Lynda McAlary-Smith, Victorian Small Business Commissioner. Her role supports the 644,000 small businesses to resolve disputes as well as providing advice, advocacy and education. No matter where your business is located, Lynda’s words will resonate.  Once having worked in the public service at both state and federal levels, including her tim...

Taking Shape prides itself on being a one-stop-shop for women who want to celebrate their curves. ARA CEO Paul Zahra sat down with Alla Buinowicz, Managing Director of the brand for 17 years to talk all things customer related, their recent collaboration with Indigenous artist Elverina Johnson, how they’re elevating the shopping experience and more. Brands will say they put the customer first but...

We’re excited to deliver Episode 8 of our Retail Therapy podcast – a retail rich conversation with Rowan Hodge, CEO of Andersens, a well known floor covering business founded in the 1950s. Growing up in a country town in Queensland, with two degrees under his belt in accounting and law, his retail career has taken him around the world and back again. From senior leadership roles in Battery World,...

With over 4.7 million people, representing 41% of the total business workforce, SMBs are a big driver of Australia’s economic success – a fact Alexi Boyd is very familiar with given her 20+ years of experience working with small and family businesses. And now in her role as CEO at COSBOA – the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia – Alexi works tirelessly to advocate and support small...

To give us an insight into a wonderful family small business success story is Dean Salakas, Chief Party Dude of The Party People. Starting out in Sydney, The Party People are now Australia’s largest stockist of party supplies with over 25,000 products including themed decorations, balloons and costumes.  Dean’s childhood entailed his mum Mala dressing up as a clown on weekends, part of her home-ba...

Introducing Phoebes Garland, whose unplanned career in fashion has turned into an inspiring story of success. She is the co-founder of fashion management and consultancy Garland & Garland Fashion, owns lifestyle brand GxG Collective, is ambassador to not-for-profits Shake it Up Australia and Adopt Change and she also works with the fashion design studio at the Australian Fashion Council.   To say...

Are you surprised to know that Australian consumers are tapping on over 4 million shopping tags every month on social media? Joining us for some Retail Therapy in the Amex Lounge today is Kate Box, Director, Global Business Group, Retail ANZ at Meta. Kate has been with the social media giant for over 10 years, helping businesses to grow and expand their digital presence.  Following a number of exc...

ARA CEO Paul Zahra sat down with The Hon Bruce Billson, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman to discuss all things SMB. Bruce’s work in Cabinet and stint in retail as an arts and crafts store owner have primed him for his current role. His genuine commitment to seeing the sector thrive stems from his vision that small business truly is the engine room of the economy and Bruce,...

Did you know that about 38% of small businesses in Australia are owned by women?   In this episode of Retail Therapy ARA CEO Paul Zahra speaks with Amanda Rose, a powerful advocate for women in business. Amanda is the Founding Director of Western Sydney Women and Founder & CEO of Small Business Women Australia.   Paul and Amanda cover:   Amanda’s tips for starting a new business  The number one is...

We're kicking off Season Two of the ARA's Retail Therapy podcast with this fantastic chat with Steve Plarre, CEO of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, an award-winning family business with a proud history dating back over 110 years. Ferguson Plarre is an iconic business, famous for its cakes, pasties and pies and a great case study for small business success. Steve and Paul discuss:  Becoming a viral sen...

We are thrilled to announce that Season 2 of the ARA's Retail Therapy podcast is launching next week. This season, we're looking at small business.   Small business is big business. 95% of our members are small to medium businesses - the backbone of the Australian economy - and we are proud to represent the interests of these businesses.   ARA CEO Paul Zahra speaks with the people behind the small...

To round out our ‘best of’ episodes we’re taking a look back at the insights we learned about the work/life balance of the top retail CEOs in Australia.   Do they wake up at 5am? How do they fit it all in? What’s their exercise routine? Take a sticky beak into the lives of our guests...   ABOUT THE ARA: The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s oldest, largest and most diverse reta...

The topic of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion was a common conversation thread throughout series one of Retail Therapy and we are delighted to share with you some snippets from Australia’s top retail CEOs and leaders.  In this Best of Season One, our guests candidly share their experience throughout their own careers and insights into creating change in their organisations. As leaders, creating an...

Let's continue our look back at the 'Best of Season One' of the ARA Retail Therapy podcast.   This week we’re focusing on the digital trends and innovations that are occurring within the retail industry, many accelerated by COVID-19 and the heavier reliance on digital for convenience and safety by our customers and teams.  As leaders at the top of their organisations, our guests from Season One ha...

Let's continue our look back at the 'Best of Season One' of the ARA Retail Therapy podcast.   This week we're focusing on our discussions about sustainability, where our guests shared what they believe the role of retailers is in driving better sustainability outcomes for our planet, as well as what their organisations are doing now and into the future to tackle climate change.    Sustainability a...

To celebrate the end of the crazy year that was 2021 and the conclusion of the first season of Retail Therapy, over the next couple of months we’ll be running through some of the highlights from our most recent conversations as part of the ‘Best of Season One’ series.   Each fortnight we’ll be focusing on a topic such as leadership, work/life balance, sustainability, diversity and innovation.   Fi...

In the final ARA Retail Therapy podcast Christmas special, ARA CEO Paul Zahra speaks with Edwina McCann, Editor-in-Chief of VOGUE Australia.   Edwina is responsible for the VOGUE brand across digital, print and social media platforms. VOGUE is synonymous with fashion and beauty and the internationally recognised brand is read by millions of people across the globe.   In this episode Edwina and Pau...

Christmas special: Joining ARA CEO Paul Zahra for some Retail Therapy in the Amex Lounge today is Gemma Rees, Managing Partner at Fabric and Keenan Motto, Creative Partner at Fabric – which is part of the TBWA network – a strategic and design-led agency specialising in fashion and lifestyle brands.   Since the launch of the agency in 2019, Fabric has developed some iconic campaigns for retailers i...

In this first Christmas bonus episode of Retail Therapy, our own Chief Industry Affairs Officer Fleur Brown joins ARA CEO Paul Zahra in the AMEX Lounge to discuss the upcoming Christmas shopping season and what's in store for retailers.    Paul and Fleur discuss:   International supply chain issues   Favourite Christmas movies   Expected Christmas spending broken down by state and territory  Most...

In the last episode of Season 1 of Retail Therapy Paul Zahra speaks with Erica Berchtold, CEO of THE ICONIC. THE ICONIC is part of Global Fashion Group, one of the world's largest fashion retail businesses, connecting over 10,000 global and local fashion brands to a market of more than one billion customers.  THE ICONIC has seen huge success since its inception in 2011 and with Erica now at the he...

Joining Paul Zahra for some Retail Therapy this week in the Amex Lounge is Camilla CEO, Jane McNally. Jane is responsible for bringing the artistic vision of designer Camilla Franks to life.  Camilla is a much-loved Australian fashion brand, with 21 boutiques across the country, showcasing vibrant clothing and accessories for women - and a growing collection of menswear as well.   Jane and Paul di...

Joining us for some Retail Therapy this week in the Amex Lounge is Richard Murray, the chief executive of JB Hi-Fi – one of the biggest retail businesses in Australia – and one that has done incredibly well throughout the pandemic as people stocked up on products for their homes – new TVs, entertainment systems and the like.  Richard has been the CEO of JB Hi-Fi since 2014 and in April this year a...