The Retail Podcast

Black Friday isn’t a day anymore. Singles’ Day now stretches across weeks. Quick commerce promises groceries in 15–30 minutes. In this APAC edition of Five Things Friday, co‑hosts Ngai Yuen Low & Ryf Quail break down how peak season is changing across China, Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan – and what it really means for consumers, retailers and retail property. Joining from WP. Kuala Lumpu...

Recorded live at MAPIC 2025 in Cannes, this episode features a rare deep-dive with Ian Sandford, President of Eurofund Group, one of Europe’s most influential retail property operators. With more than €2B in assets across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and the UK, Eurofund sits at the centre of the sector’s biggest shifts. -------- *Welcome to the official  channel of THE RETAIL PODCAST, the lead...

Black Friday isn’t a day anymore. It’s a month-long pressure cooker – and it’s forcing retailers to rethink everything from promotions to product pages. Correction note: In the episode I mention a jumper with 7% wool – the actual composition was 8% wool. Why Black Friday has morphed into “Black Month” – and what that constant promo pressure does to margins, teams and customer expectations How John...

Julia Paulsen, Director of Ecommerce Nordics at Elkjøp Nordic (part of Currys plc), unpacks how to win when your store has two customers: the human and the AI assistant. We cover data quality, MACH, omnichannel execution, and the culture that turns OKRs into commercial outcomes. 🌐 Visit Retail News. AI, your premium destination for the most relevant, cutting-edge information in the retail sector:...

Coupang is finally profitable. China’s KKR Group is redefining offline lifestyle retail. APAC’s consumer landscape is shifting fast. In this Five Things Friday — APAC Edition, Ryf Quail and Low Ngai Yuen unpack: • Coupang’s record revenue and margin transformation • Logistics innovations powering same-day delivery • How Rocket WOW locks in customer loyalty • China’s KKR Group and its explosive off...

​  @RitualsCosmeticsGlobal  has opened its newest flagship at 297 Oxford Street, London. And it’s unlike anything the brand has built before. In this exclusive tour and interview, Alex Rezvan sits down with:• Annemarie Forsyth — Managing Director UK & Ireland• Richard Lems — Executive Director Format & DesignTogether, they reveal the design philosophy, customer-experience thinking, communi...

How do you transform thousands of frontline colleagues from overloaded and under-informed to connected, confident, and AI‑enabled, without breaking the stores? In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex sits down with Chris Chandler (Head of Store Support, Midcounties Co‑op) and Mark Williams (Managing Director, WorkJam EMEA) to unpack a full frontline transformation: from paper, WhatsApp groups...

Retail is back in force. Alex reports from Cannes at MAPIC on why capital is returning to physical retail. Simone unpacks the new John Lewis Christmas advert and how sentiment sells. We cover CBRE’s data, MINISO’s Bond Street bet, retail parks’ quiet surge, and why athleisure keeps compounding. The 5 stories 1. John Lewis Christmas advert 2025: Why nostalgia + vinyl is the most effective emotional...

Asia’s retail landscape is evolving faster than anywhere else on Earth—and this episode brings you the inside view. Host Alex Rezvan sits down with Ryf Quail, Managing Director of NRF APAC, and Low Ngai Yuen, former Chief Merchandise & Marketing Officer at AEON Malaysia, board member at GDEX and OCK Group, and award-winning creative leader, to explore: • The rise of Chinese retail expansion ac...

AI, Merchandising & the Next Era of Retail with Noah (何诺亚) HerschmanAI isn’t replacing retail jobs — it’s enhancing them. In this episode of The Retail Podcast, host Alex Rezvan speaks with Noah (何诺亚) Herschman, Retail & Ecommerce Senior Executive and Global AI Strategist, about how artificial intelligence is transforming merchandising, pricing, and product lifecycle management. Noah...

Alex Rezvan and Jill Dvorak (NRF) open with Rosalía’s “Berghain” — a genre-bending track with Björk and Yves Tumor that shows how culture still drives commerce. Then come the hard numbers: Amazon’s plan to cut ≈ 30 000 corporate jobs (Reuters) and what it signals for hybrid work, efficiency, and morale. Next, Calvin Klein’s Reels-first storytelling proves how emotional minimalism beats perfection...

Topshop leans into Millennial nostalgia with Cara Delevingne; New Look fires up “Club New Look,” targeting scale with a £30m digital push; and ASOS takes a ten‑day Carnaby Street pop‑up mainstream with 200+ curated pieces and partner brands. Bonus: a culture lens on Rosalía’s “Berghain” and what her fashion‑first storytelling means for retail discovery. Related video mentioned: Rosalía — “Berghain...

Rituals’ Richard Lems reveals how the brand designs slow shopping at scale—lighting, layouts, and refits that reuse ~60% of furniture—plus the Oxford Street flagship and Mind Oasis. About this episode We cover global consistency, the system of rolling improvements, sustainability baked into fixtures, and creative leadership habits you can steal tomorrow. Guest: Richard Lems, Executive Director, Fo...

Five Things Friday — Gap’s London Comeback, Morrisons’ ESL Rollout, AllSaints Pop‑Ups, DFS x Pinterest, Gen Beta Today’s agenda: five moves reshaping UK retail—and what to do next. NEWS FLASH LINE‑UP • Gap returns to London with three stores (Covent Garden, White City, Wembley) before Christmas. • Morrisons partners with VusionGroup to digitise pricing across all 497 supermarkets using ESLs. • All...

This episode dives into the mechanics of AI-powered personalization with Cédric Chéreau , Co-Founder of Eagle AI (ex-Untie Nots) . Eagle AI’s platform delivers scalable, signal-based personalization that predicts behaviour and nudges loyalty — generating 7:1+ ROI and unprecedented digital engagement. Cédric and Alex discuss: • What personalization really means in 2025 • How gamification boosts eng...

In this USA edition of Five Things Friday , Alex Rezvan and Jill Dvorak, SVP of Content at NRF, decode the five major stories shaping the retail landscape—from Target’s nostalgic fashion comeback to Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI. A rapid-fire discussion of innovation, curation, and AI’s growing role in everyday retail. Topics Covered: • Target x Woolrich collaboration • Ulta Beauty + Mirakl’s...

Simone Oloman joins Alex Rezvan to unpack how authenticity, community, and creativity are rewriting retail influence — from Prada’s cinematic London takeover to Morrisons’ 1-hour grocery promise. 1️⃣ The new face of influence — Why real voices, not million-follower celebrities, are shaping consumer trust. 2️⃣ Campus culture meets commerce — Hollister, the University of Texas, and how student-athle...

Alex (The Retail Podcast) and Ryf Quail (Director, NRF APAC) break down this week’s APAC headlines: Galeries Lafayette launches in Mumbai (with Delhi next), a surge of Chinese F&B brands expands into Singapore, and Porsche reports a Q3 delivery dip led by China and North America amid intensifying EV competition. They also explore lululemon Singapore’s retail-meets-wellness studio concept and w...

🌐 Visit Retail News. AI, your premium destination for the most relevant, cutting-edge information in the retail sector: https://retailnews.ai 💬 Which of these trends do you think will shape the future of retail the most — and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below! ✅ Subscribe now and never miss a new episode of The Retail Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/@theretailpodcast?sub_confirmat...

🌐 Visit Retail News. AI, your premium destination for the most relevant, cutting-edge information in the retail sector: https://retailnews.ai/ 💬 Which of these trends do you think will shape the future of retail the most — and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!✅ Subscribe now and never miss a new episode of The Retail Podcast.    / @theretailpodcast   --------🎧 Listen to The Retai...

AI, upskilling, and the future of intelligent supply chains — live from NRF Europe. At NRF Europe, Jill Dvorak sits down with Best Buy’s Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Mark Irvin , and Alex Rezvan from The Retail Podcast to explore how artificial intelligence, personalization, and collaborative learning are redefining the global supply chain. Mark reveals how Best Buy is...

Retail is moving faster than ever—AI, private labels, and the holiday promo wave are reshaping how we shop. In this episode, Alex and Joe go live across YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitch to unpack the week’s biggest stories: ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: First live broadcast 00:40 – Shopify unlocks ChatGPT checkout for 1M merchants 01:23 – Etsy stock jumps, what it means for marketplaces 02:27 – Prime...

Five Things Friday UK Edition with Simone Oloman & Alex. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro cold open 00:17 Roll credits & setup 00:54 Boots fragrance-only boutique (Broadgate) 01:52 Boots’ beauty play & premium push 03:13 Hand-off 03:26 Designers at Debenhams returns (Kim Cattrall, Ashish) 05:09 High street needs a little “zhuzh” 06:00 Festive trading season set-up (Prime Day → Christmas) 06:46 Søs...

This week on Five Things Friday, Alex and Simon unpack the retail stories shaping headlines and boardrooms: Shein sparks backlash with a London pop-up designed for independents Amazon Fresh shutters physical grocery stores—pivoting tech into airports and e-commerce UK retail sales decline for the twelfth month straight, according to the CBI Starbucks retrenches: closing UK stores while doubling do...

Welcome to Five Things Friday APAC Edition (yes, on a Monday this time!). In this episode, we unpack the big signals shaping retail and consumer markets across the region and beyond. Here’s what we cover: Shanghai Fashion Week SS26 – momentum, buying power, and why global buyers are watching China again. India’s luxury beauty boom – $800M today, $4B by 2035, and why retailers are planting seeds no...