Retail War Games

In this keynote session from the Retail Collective Summit on May 4–5, 2026, Stanley 1913 President and CEO Matt Navarro outlines the strategic playbook used to turn a viral, 113-year-old historic icon into a sustainable global lifestyle powerhouse. Matt pulls back the curtain on how the brand shifted its focus from standard hot-beverage vessels to a female-centric "color revolution" that treats hy...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Natalie Roberts, the Director of Business Development at Easy Healthcare Corporation. Natalie transitioned from a corporate background at 3M to join a startup that completely disrupted and dominated the highly competitive fertility landscape with their flagship brand, Premom. We pull back the curtain on how Easy Healthcare achieved rare-air stat...

Recorded live at the Retail Collective Summit on May 4–5, 2026, moderators Sean Reyes and Robert Axon host a powerhouse panel featuring Nate Checketts (Rhone), Matt Navarro (Stanley), Brian Garofalow (Skullcandy), and Nate Alder (Klymit). This session bypasses retail buzzwords to expose how iconic consumer goods brands build fierce emotional connection and community loyalty. The executives open up...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sat down with Gary Mac Herring, owner of Mary Mack's Inc., for a conversation rooted in pure entrepreneurial grit. Starting with a 19-year-old's payphone-operated snow cone stand, Gary explains how the lawless freedom of a 1980s childhood shaped his business philosophy: giving teams the room to make mistakes, get messy, and hustle is the only way to build res...

In this episode of Retail War Games, recorded live at the Retail Collective Summit on May 4–5, 2026, Skullcandy CEO Brian Garofalow breaks down the high-stakes reality of global retail expansion. Moving past lifestyle hype, Brian introduces his "home remodel rule," giving founders a blunt reality check on why international scaling routinely takes twice as long and costs three times as much as proj...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I am joined by David Heacock, the founder and CEO of Filterbuy, for an absolute masterclass on what it takes to disrupt a commodity category. David walked away from a career as an options trader at Goldman Sachs to buy a struggling industrial supply house in Alabama, eventually pivoting it into one of the largest direct-to-consumer air filter manufacturers in t...

In this special episode of Retail War Games, we share the incredible keynote presentation by Robert Pedersen, co-founder and former CEO of ZAGG, recorded live at the Retail Collective Summit on May 4–5, 2026, in Ogden, Utah. Robert delivers an unfiltered masterclass on operational resilience and bold experimentation, revealing how he scaled a hardware brand from a simple mall kiosk into a $265 mil...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I'm joined by Jon Klotz, the President of Natural Waterscapes. Jon shares an incredible masterclass on how he took a traditional, boots-on-the-ground environmental construction company and completely pivoted it into a hyper-efficient, 100% controlled direct-to-consumer product powerhouse. We dive deep into why Jon made the high-stakes decision to completely shu...

In this exclusive panel recorded live at the Retail Collective Summit, top-tier founders and retail executives come together to decode the shifting paradigms of high-end consumer behavior. Hosted by local celebrity Lori Prichard (KSL) and moderated by Rebekah Kondrat (Rekon Retail), this masterclass features an unfiltered look into product engineering, supply chain adaptability, and the transition...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I am joined by Jim Umlauf, the founder of 4Knines. Jim is a fascinating operator who spent 20 years at the pharmaceutical giant Merck before pulling the ripcord to turn a weekend-warrior side hustle into a highly efficient, multi-million-dollar pet brand. We explore how Jim completely re-engineered traditional direct-to-consumer operations by shrinking his inte...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Ben Baltes, the co-founder and CEO of Toybox. Ben is a brilliant former Microsoft programmer who took a heavily fragmented, complex industrial tool and completely reimagined it for true consumer adoption. We pull back the curtain on how Toybox built a friction-free "click-to-print" software ecosystem that allows kids aged 6 to 12 to print out hi...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Matthew Holman, the founder of Subscription Prescription. Matthew is a leading expert in helping brands scale their recurring revenue models and build sustainable, multi-channel growth systems. We dive deep into why the retail landscape has completely flipped over the last few years. Matthew explains why direct-to-consumer brands are now racing...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I'm joined by John Mansfield, the Chief Operating Officer of Dogtopia. John is a powerhouse operator with an incredible track record of working with world-class, premium brands. From starting his career as a high school junior at Oakley and staying for 15 years, to operational roles at Porsche and fast-casual dining, John has spent his life learning the ultimat...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Terri Gelman, the CEO and Founder of E&T Horizons (DecoTeak). Terri has spent over 15 years building a successful, digitally native brand rooted in quality, sustainability, and intimate global partnerships. We explore Terri's journey from starting with children's furniture to becoming a leader in the premium teak market, serving boutique resorts...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Kristin Harrer, a world-class marketer who has spent the last 20 years leading some of the most iconic brands on the planet. From her early days as a collegiate athlete to her time as a Global CMO, Kristin has approached her career as a "corporate troubadour," strategically collecting experiences across tech, hardware, fashion, and CPG. We dive...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I'm joined by Wayne Wu, General Partner at VMG Partners, for a deep dive into the 20-year evolution of the consumer brand ecosystem. Wayne shares his incredible personal journey—from being the son of an immigrant engineer in Houston to leading one of the most influential investment firms in retail—and explains why "hard work enables you to make your own luck"....

"We make the coziest products on the planet." In this episode of Retail War Games, I sit down with Hyaat Chaudhary, the Founder and CEO of Luxome, to deconstruct the journey of building a powerhouse luxury comfort brand from the ground up. From surviving two weeks in the Utah wilderness with no food to scaling a global brand without external investors, Hyaat shares a masterclass in patience, preci...

In this episode of Retail War Games, I'm joined by my friend Ben Checketts, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Rhone. We dive deep into the raw, entrepreneurial journey of building one of the most respected premium activewear brands in the market today, and how a focus on community and quality has been their ultimate North Star. Ben and I discuss the philosophy that has guided Rhone from day one:...

In this episode of Retail War Games, we sit down with Michelle Bacharach, CEO and Founder of FindMine, to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, high-level curation, and the future of fashion tech. Michelle shares her fascinating journey from professional acting in LA to leading a tech revolution that is changing how retailers handle merchandising and customer experience at scale. Th...

In this episode of Retail War Games, we pull back the curtain on the world of high-level visual narrative with Benjamin Willis, Head of Animation at DreamWorks. While our usual focus is on the "war games" of retail and supply chain, today we explore the strategic "architecture" behind some of the most successful animated stories in the world. Benjamin discusses the immense complexity of leading cr...

In this episode of Retail War Games, we are joined by Brynn MacLennan, CEO and Founder of Slate Flosser, to discuss how she is disrupting a category that hasn't seen real innovation in decades: oral care. With a background in industrial design, Brynn transformed a medical necessity into a high-performance consumer product, effectively creating a new category: "Power Flossing". Brynn shares the jou...

In this high-energy closing session of the Retail Collective Summit, we bring together a powerhouse panel of creative disruptors and marketing legends to deconstruct the new rules of brand building. Featuring leaders from Vans, Final Boss Sour, VidAngel, Creatably, and Biggest Agency, this discussion cuts through the noise of traditional advertising to reveal how "Content is the New Commerce." The...

In this episode of Retail War Games, we explore the cutting edge of industrial evolution with Arnaud Daurat, Founder and President of Exxovantage. While much of the retail world is focused on digital software, Arnaud is focused on the physical backbone of the industry: the humans in the warehouse. Exxovantage is bridging the gap between science fiction and operational reality by deploying wearable...

In this high-stakes session from the Retail Collective Summit, industry titans from Lovesac, Purple, TruFru, Perk Energy, Lume, T-ROC, and TPH Global Solutions pull back the curtain on one of the most challenging and rewarding retail environments in the world: Costco. The panel explores the strategic shift from a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) focus to a true Omni-channel presence. The discussion moves...

In this episode of Retail War Games, we take a deep dive into retail strategy and brand building with Shana Rocheleau, EVP of Strategy and Business Development at Bedgear. Drawing from her background as a merchant for giants like Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond, Shana offers a masterclass in shifting a traditional commodity category into a high-performance ecosystem. This conversation explores th...