The Voice of Retail

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode, I’m in Chicago with famed business strategist Rishad Tobaccowala , who shares insights from his bestselling book “ Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data” talks about his 30-year career advising clients on ch...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I delve into the world of in-store merchandising from the agency perspective with Vanessa Schnekenburger , Managing Director at Match Retail.  This innovative Canadian company is helping brands and retailers alike execute on-shelf and...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I turn the mic around on The Globe & Mail retail reporter Susan Krashinsky Robertso n for a lively and engaging conversation on the tradecraft of a retail reporter and the key stories Susan is focused on for 2021   ******** Thanks for...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I’m in San Francisco with my friend and podcast partner Kent Allen , Principal of The Research Trust and Co-Founder at Global eCommerce Leaders Forum.  In a wide ranging conversation Kent puts on a master-class in understanding the iss...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special format bonus episode I’m in Montreal meeting Katya Laviolette , chief people officer at SSENSE. Katya leads a growing team of HR Operations, Talent Attraction, Talent Management, and Real Estate experts to shape and enhance people focu...

Welcome to The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.  In this episode, I’m in Istanbul talking with Emre Soyer, author of his new book, The Myth of Experience. Armed with a Ph. D. in behavioural science and founder of the SOYER Decision Advisory to help people and organizations make better decisions. In a wi...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special format bonus episode I welcome back to the podcast  Kevin Graff, the founder of Graff Retail, top 100 global retail influencer and Since 198 working with retailers and service businesses around the globe to help them get better results...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special format bonus episode I’m chatting with Nigel Ramoutar, External Fraud & Crime Specialist at Rexall Pharmacy Group who joins me in advance of his appearance on the virtual stage ad RCC’s Loss Prevention Forum, April 8.  I Nigel ask  for...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I’m in Montreal talking with Anwar White, Program Director and Faculty Lecturer for McGill's new Bensadoun School of Retail Management.  We talk about their new MMR  - Masters of Management in Retail, their new retail innovation lab  p...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special format bonus episode I’m chatting with Sean Sportum , most recently Manager, security & loss prevention, Central Canada, for Circle K who joins me in advance of his appearance on the virtual stage ad RCC’s Loss Prevention Forum, April...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I moderate a live and interactive retail thought leadership panel live from the Association for Corporate Growth’s virtual stage here in Toronto.  ACG, which brings together mid-market private equity players who have a keene interest i...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this special format bonus episode I’m chatting with Ron Thurston, Vice President of Stores for Intermix, best selling author of the great book Retail Pride and opening keynote speaker at the RCC Retail HR conference coming up March 25th.  I ask Ron...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. For this episode I’m in Calgary meeting indie women’s fashion retailer Emma May, Founder of SophieGrace.ca , featuring elevated mix and match separates that make getting ready in the morning incredibly simple.  We talk about Emma’s rich and diverse ba...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I’m in Zurich with best selling author and retail visionary Martin Lindstrom, talking about his latest book The Ministry of Common Sense -How to eliminate Bureaucratic red tape, bad excuses, and corporate BS”.   We talk in depth in a w...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. In this episode I welcome back a good friend David Lui, CEO and President of Korite.   Since 1979, Korite has been the home of superior Ammolite, inspiring the world with the rarity and beauty and Canada’s gemstone.  Since 2020 David has been leading...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. From small town Ontario to New York City, in this episode we meet Lauren Chan, founder and president of women’s wear retailer Henning . A former fashion editor, Ford model and now steward of a popular retail brand that is dialled in with a personal an...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Start with great ideas - and let a thousand flowers bloom.  When eCommerce veteran Charlie Cole accepted the position of CEO at FTD, three of the most recognized letters in the world, he saw assets and a heritage prime for transformation and growth. H...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Whether you were stepping onto the store floor in 1884 or 2021, there was one element you could count on being major part of your shopping journey - point of sale.  In this episode I’m joined by David Wilkinson, President of NCR Retail for a fantastic...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Over the past year, there has been a seismic shift in the way we do business, which has led to massive changes for retailers and consumers. Today I'm joined by two fantastic guests, Carmen Ip from Lush and Rachel Meyers from Retail Zipline our sponsor...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and this episode is sponsored by RIWI.. What if you could take a daily pulse of retail shoppers in every market in the world - hearing directly about their behaviors, views and fears?  What if you could hear from more than just your own consumers and s...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and this episode is sponsored by RIWI.. "What if you could take a daily pulse of retail shoppers in every market in the world - hearing directly about their behaviors, views and fears?  What if you could hear from more than just your own consumers and...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and this episode is sponsored by RIWI. This episode is for listeners 18+ What if you could take a daily pulse of retail shoppers in every market in the world - hearing directly about their behaviors, views and fears?  What if you could hear from more t...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.   In the heat of the pandemic, furniture experienced a massive boom in demand since everyone  wanted to freshen up their homes. Today we’re joined by Bob Sherwin, head of North America marketing at Wayfair, who gives us a glimpse of what it was like d...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and this episode is sponsored by RIWI.. What if you could take a daily pulse of retail shoppers in every market in the world - hearing directly about their behaviours, views and fears?  What if you could hear from more than just your own consumers and...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada In this episode I meet Helen Nightingale, Vice President of Ecommerce at Draper James.  If you haven’t heard of Draper James, it’s a six plus year old online retailer that is actor Reese Witherspoon retail concept with both stores and a thriving online...