The Retail Exchange podcast

Host Karl McKeever reports from NRF 2026, Retail’s Big Show, in New York City. At the start of a franticly busy three days in the Big Apple, we bring your highlights from the Javits Convention Center, where retail leaders and some of the industry’s most pioneering vendors, discuss, debate, and present what the future of retail might look like. In this episode, we picked our way through some of the...

In Focus | Online Luxury Retail CX. On the latest episode of our  In Focus  series, recorded live at Fortnum & Mason’s flagship store in London and presented by Narvar – we sit down in conversation with Briony Yeates, Senior CX Manager at Seasalt Cornwall, Matthew Henton, Head of E-commerce at Moss, Kelly Corr, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Narvar, and retail expert, Sarah C...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined in conversation by Jean-Marc Bellaiche, CEO at Parisian-based luxury department store, Printemps.. A trip to Paris is never complete without a stop by luxury department store, Printemps. Its first-ever store opened on Boulevard Haussmann back in 1865, where it still stands. Today, the iconic parisian department store remains a f...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined in conversation by Peter Pernot-Day, Head of Global Strategy & Corporate Affairs at Chinese fast-fashion brand, Shein. One of the world's fastest growing apparel retailers, Peter shares an insight into the brand's unique on-demand business model and its explosive growth, with rumours continuing to swirl about a potential flo...

In Focus | Digital in Retail. On the latest episode of our  In Focus  series, presented by Trust , we sit down in conversation with John Lewis Partnership  head of personalisation and retail media, Tom Langley, Fortnum & Mason  head of digital transformation, Sophie Cunningham, and Trust commercial director, Mike Dowson. Together, we discuss the strategies and essentia...

The Interview | Host Karl McKeever sits down in conversation with Chris Lipari, Director of Product Innovation at HAVI. If there is one business where time is money, in the literal sense, it is Quick Service Restaurants. Or as it’s more commonly known, the QSR industry. The industry’s lifeblood is customer demand - something that’s inherently unpredictable. Balancing supply with fluctuating demand...

In Focus | Lightspeed Commerce. Channel connectivity is nothing new. Advanced automation is now everywhere. Combine the two, and sales channels will never look the same again. But what does total visibility and control over your inventory online orders and fulfilment look like. And just how do retailers (big and small) go about effectively streamlining and controlling their entire ecommerce ecosys...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined in conversation by Dawn Fichot, Head of Marketing North America for iconic British foldable bike manufacturer, Brompton Bicycles. From its humble beginnings in a South Kensington railway arch in 1975, Brompton has grown into an internationally renowned brand - famed for its ingenious design and impeccable craftsmanship. Despite...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever sits down with Ian Bailey, Managing Director of Kmart Group Australia. With over 450 stores, Kmart Australia is the country’s number one performing general merchandise and apparel retailer, and one of the most trusted and loved brands in Australia and New Zealand. We explore how Kmart Australia doubled down on clarity of purpose and innov...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever travels to Barcelona to sit down with Isabelle Aberman, Global Retail Director for iconic global footwear brand, Camper. In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever travels to Barcelona to sit down with Isabelle Aberman, Global Retail Director of iconic footwear brand, Camper. Founded on the small Spanish island of Mallorc...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever travels to Barcelona to sit down with Eduardo Recio, Creative Director eCommerce & Retail, for leading Spanish multi-sport retail brand, Sprinter . First showcased in its new Madrid store - its largest store to date - Sprinter’s new store concept, created by UK-based creative and innovation studio Dalziel & Pow ,, is redefining th...

In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Andy Lawrence, VP of International of US-based athletic clothing brand, Vuori. Inspired by California’s active, coastal lifestyle, Vuori was founded in 2015. In September last year it launched into China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, and Mexico, and opened its first UK store in London's Covent Garden. In this episod...

Event Review: World Retail Congress 2023 - In this episode, we bring you more highlights from World Retail Congress 2023 . As the retail industry’s best and brightest gathered in Barcelona for the three-day event, we took to the stage to capture two live recordings. Host Karl McKeever is joined by Deloitte chief global economist, Ira Kalish, and Matahari Department Store CFO, Niraj Jain. Together,...

The Interview: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. - In this episode, host Karl McKeever is joined by Ophelia Ceradini Vice President of Digital Technology and Innovation at The Estée Lauder Companies. Artificial intelligence and augmented reality are transforming the beauty shopping experience through seamless and omnichannel experiences. In our latest of episode of The Interview Series , recorded li...

Event Review - Shoptalk Europe 2023 - Ep03: in the final of our daily podcast episodes from Shoptalk Europe 2023 in Barcelona, host Karl McKeever picks his way through some of the highlights from Day Three at the event. We hear from some of the sharpest minds in retail, at some of Europe’s leading retailers and brands, as they discuss, debate and present the solutions that are redefining thinking…...

Event Review - Shoptalk Europe 2023 - Ep02: in the second of our daily podcast episodes from Shoptalk Europe 2023 in Barcelona, we pick our way through some of the highlights from Day Two at the event. Host Karl McKeever brings you highlights of what was on show (and discussed) during what was another busy day at Shoptalk Europe 2023. We hear from some of the sharpest minds in retail, at some of E...

Event Review - Shoptalk Europe 2023 - Ep01: In this latest episode of The Retail Exchange podcast, host Karl McKeever brings you highlights from the first day of Shoptalk Europe 2023 in Barcelona. The event promises to unite Europe’s entire retail ecosystem. And the first day did not disappoint as retail leaders and some of the industry’s leading innovators came together to discuss and debate the...

Event Review: World Retail Congress 2023 - In this episode of The Retail Exchange podcast, host Karl McKeever brings you highlights from World Retail Congress 2023 in Barcelona, as we pick our way through some of the topics, insights and conversations that are inspiring and challenging the retail ecosystem, and that interested us the most.

The Interview: Hollister Co. - The Interview: Hollister Co. In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Jacee Scoular, Snr Director Brand Marketing Strategy. at Hollister Co., Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist. Recorded live in the heart of New York City during NRF 2023, Jacee joins us to discuss why authenticity must lie at the heart of the building successful brand coll...

The Interview: IKEA - In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Seana Strawn, Head of Home Furnishing and Retail Design at IKEA US. For over 20 years she has personally been designing or leading teams who design home furnishing product and retail spaces for some of the biggest names in the industry. Most recently with IKEA US, Seana Strawn leads, among other things,...

Event Review: Retail Week Live 2023 - In this episode of The Retail Exchange podcast, host Karl McKeever brings you highlights from Retail Week Live 2023 in London, as we pick our way through some of the topics, insights and conversations that are inspiring and challenging the retail ecosystem, and that interested us the most.

The Interview: FitFlop. In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Sal Usmai, CTO of ergonomic and wellness footwear brand, FitFlop. Leading the company's transition to an omnichannel organisation, Sal is a seasoned technology leader with 20+ years of experience managing multichannel business applications in a strategic environment, Sal joined FitFlop in 2022&nbs...

The Interview: Neighborhood Goods: In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by by Matt Alexander, Co-Founder and CEO of Neighborhood Goods, as well as the brand’s President, Ashley Shelton Conger. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, Neighborhood Goods is a new take on the department store, featuring an ever-changing landscape of the world's most thou...

The Interview: Organic Garden: In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Martin Wild, founder and CEO of Germany-based food-tech start-up, Organic Garden. As Martin prepares to take to the stage at Shoptalk Europe 2023 in Barcelona, we sit down together to discuss the brand’s journey, how the retail food industry can pursue a future that is good for people, the envir...

The Interview: Dickies: In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by Calvin Anderson, Global VP of Digital Strategy for VF Corporation brands Dickies, Altra and Smartwool. Founded a century ago, the Dickies brand originated as a denim bib overall company, selling workwear to farm and ranch hands around the Southwest. Acquired by VF Corporation in 2017, today it is a glo...