Retail Gets Real
Episodes
#109 Logistically speaking: Wayfair’s innovative supply chain
11 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As customer expectations and behaviors change, retailers need to change too. That means creating new processes, implementing new technologies, and bui...
#108 Nordstrom sets the standard for customer experience. Again and again.
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nordstrom is known for offering a great customer experience, and they manage to continue offering exceptional experiences even as customer needs chang...
#107 The art and science of personalization at Zulily
25 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Zulily launches over 9,000 new products and 100 sales every single day — and curates a unique storefront for each of its millions of customers. Thro...
#106 Reinventing the Getaway
18 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Getaway takes a fresh approach to hospitality, offering cabins in the woods designed for city dwellers overworked and burned out by the digital age. G...
#105 Investing in creativity: Perfumer Jo Malone’s fighting second chance
11 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jo Malone is an English “scent maverick” responsible for creating some of the world’s most loved fragrances. A Dreamer on the NRF Foundation's T...
#104 Birchbox CEO on the evolution of the disruptive beauty brand
04 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Beauty was a $500 billion industry that hadn’t been disrupted since the market shifted from department stores to specialty stores — until Birchbox...
#103 The very near future of AI and automation in retail
30 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Automation isn’t just a trend, it’s a new way of working. Chris Wong, vice president of strategy and alliances at IBM Global Consumer Industry, sh...
#102 Walmart's CTO on digital transformation
28 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How does one of the world’s largest and most successful retailers achieve digital transformation at scale? From NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, Walma...
#101 Better together: IKEA and TaskRabbit
23 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Partnerships that create customer value are good, but for partnerships to be great, they should be built on shared values. Joining us at NRF 2019: Ret...
#100 Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO on leadership and service
21 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the last year, Ed Stack, Chairman and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, has made headlines and left a lasting impression on the retail industry. The ...
#99 Levi Strauss & Co.’s Chip Bergh: Reviving a brand that stands for something
16 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Levi’s experienced almost a decade of sales stagnation and nearly lost a generation of young consumers, but new leadership and a clear strategy help...
#98 Reporting on retail: What’s changing in 2019 and beyond
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
People might think reporting on retail is simple because “it’s just about shopping,” says Phil Wahba, senior writer covering retail at Fortune m...
#97 Convenience, culture and curation: Innovations that transform retail
07 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The retail store is transforming, and innovation means opportunity and change. Oliver Chen covers retail for Cowen and Company and sees a lot of this ...
#96 The state of retail heading into 2019
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
2018 has been one of the best years for the retail industry in a decade. While the economic environment will be more complicated in the year ahead, re...
#95 Scott Galloway: The retailer with the best workforce wins (Rerelease)
24 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, we talked to business guru Scott Galloway about what it takes to succeed in retail today, the importance of a great workforce and what Amaz...
#94 Last-minute holiday shopping
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of consumers spread out holiday shopping over the last two months of the year, but “people still have a lot of shopping left to do,” says NR...
#93 Retail predictions for 2019: What’s in and what’s out
17 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From experiments in retail experiences to robotics in fast casual restaurants, NRF’s Director of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen and...
#92 ‘Tis the giving season
12 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
NRF’s Director of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen discusses what NRF’s holiday consumer survey revealed about how people are givin...
#91 How Neiman Marcus innovates to adapt
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Neiman Marcus has learned a thing or two over its 109-year history — and one thing is for sure: The company must anticipate future customer needs if...
#90 Gifting trends for the holidays
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
NRF’s Director of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen is back to tell us more about one particularly interesting bit of data from the Th...
#89 Holiday Special: Thanksgiving weekend and beyond
03 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
NRF’s Director of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen walks us through the biggest surprises from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, how...
#88 Zenni Optical’s vision for change
26 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Zenni Optical isn’t replacing the demand for glasses — it’s creating new demand by changing the business model for prescription eyewear. Zenni’...
#87 Neighborhood Goods: The department store of the future
19 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Retail is one of the most dynamic industries in the world and retailers are driving innovation. On this episode, Matt Alexander, co-founder of Neighbo...
#86 Blockchain: Building a chain of trust
12 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We are in the early days of blockchain and not everyone yet understands the full scale and scope of its impact. Scott Likens, new services and emergin...
#85 Tariffs: What retailers need to know
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone in the United States — and everyone who trades with the U.S. — is likely to experience the impact of the administration’s newly impleme...
#84 How CVS is redefining convenience
29 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
CVS Pharmacy is a purpose-driven company dedicated to helping people on their path to better health. But that path is rapidly changing, and CVS has to...
#83 How Spa Destinations built a thriving small business on Amazon
22 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As retail continues to evolve, online marketplaces are booming. Millions of sellers have turned to Amazon Marketplace to grow their retail business. T...
#82 Digital meets physical in the retail experience of the future
15 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How can retailers bring the best of online thinking into the physical world? It’s a big question, but one retailers must tackle to give customers th...
#81 Sur La Table: From cooking class to loyal customer
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sur La Table is one of the nation’s largest kitchenware retailers and a huge component of the business is its culinary school — over 80 stores hav...
#80 The Brass Owl: Rallying the local business community
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Nicole Panettieri is much more than a retailer – she’s an advocate for small business and her community. As the owner of The Brass Owl, a boutique...
#79 The evolution of retail with the host of MSNBC’s “Your Business”
27 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Retail is evolving — gone are the days when a company needed was a good product or service. Now they need to create an experience, a brand and a com...
#78 Creating the retail experience at PGA TOUR Superstore
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Shopping is no longer about visiting a store to pick up products. Consumers expect a visit to the store to be much more than browsing and checking out...
#77 Retail trends that will gain traction in 2019
20 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The retail industry loves to talk trends, but SapientRazorfish’s Jason “Retailgeek” Goldberg says that many are overhyped. So what will stick? J...
#76 For the Pin: Discovery and the Pinterest shopper
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For millions of people around the world, Pinterest is the first stop on their retail journey — it’s a place to discover, get inspired and personal...
#75 ThirdLove: Using data to create the perfect bra
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Shopping for bras is generally an unpleasant experience — so ThirdLove takes shoppers out of awkward dressing rooms and allows them to shop for unde...
#74 How Brandless is reimagining modern consumption
04 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brandless is “unapologetically a brand,” says co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey, and it’s one specifically designed to appeal to millennials. On i...
#73 Generation Z is shaping the back-to-class shopping season
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Back-to-college spending is expected to reach $55 billion this year, and many of those shopping for themselves are members of Generation Z. Katherine ...
#72 Intel’s innovation leader on the future of retail tech
20 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Intel is at the forefront of today’s retail revolution, driving the technology that incorporates the best of the physical and digital store. Stacey ...
#71 Boon Supply: Where fundraising meets retail
13 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Boon Supply is a vertically integrated product company that gives 50 percent of each purchase to various causes and schools. It’s a disruptive new i...
#70 Lululemon athletica: The intersection of business and technology
06 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Julie Averill has been at lululemon athletica for just over a year and is still impressed by how innovative and entrepreneurial the 20-year-old compan...
#69 From science project to global solution: FreshPaper takes on food waste
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
FreshPaper is a simple but powerful innovation that keeps food fresh for up to four times longer, in or out of the fridge. It started as a middle scho...
#68 Akola: Empowering women through jewelry-making
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brittany Underwood’s first visit to Uganda as a college student completely changed the course of her life. “I had never witnessed extreme poverty,...
#67 TreeHouse’s bold plan to dominate a $200 billion industry
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The “do-it-for-me” segment of the home remodeling and renovation industry is worth over $200 billion annually — but it’s fragmented, with no o...
#66 Millennial parents shop differently than other parents
09 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the Spring 2018 Consumer View report, NRF takes a look at how millennial parents, now ages 24-37, are shopping differently than previous generatio...
#65 The Army & Air Force Exchange Service balances profitability with community
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Serving military troops, families and veterans at home and abroad, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service operates more than 2,700 facilities around th...
#64 Cybersecurity for business and life: A guide from a former White House CIO
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If businesses and individuals don’t take any steps to proactively protect themselves, they are increasingly at risk online. Theresa Payton, founder ...
#63 Fitzroy rethinks discovery for toy shop owners
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Like many entrepreneurs, Stefanie Botelho created Fitzroy as a solution to a problem she faced: She was buying a lot of gifts for children, but it was...
#62 In with the new: When returns are a win-win
11 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sara Whiffen loves to shop, but was running out of room in her closet. Applying the sales model she saw in the auto industry to fashion, Whiffen devis...
#61 Politics and Prose: Books, community and evolution in D.C.
04 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When co-owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine took over Politics and Prose seven years ago, they took on a big challenge: Growing an independent b...
#60 The reinvention of Levi’s: Staying cool for over a century
29 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After over a century, Levi’s is still making waves. Brand President James ‘JC’ Curleigh explains how the company went through a reinvention to a...
#59 The new normal: How retailers continue to evolve
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Forrester Retail Analyst Sucharita Kodali knows a thing or two about how the retail industry has evolved over the years. For one, more brands plan to ...
#58 Crazy dog people: How passion drives BARK
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
BARK, the makers of BarkBox, began where so many great companies do — in a heart-shaped bed on a cruise ship. Henrik Werdelin and his co-founders bo...
#57 UrbanStems uproots the floral industry
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ajay Kori knew nothing about the floral business. But after too many bad experiences when ordering flowers online, he devised a brand-new supply chain...
#56 How Warby Parker and STORY approach innovation
30 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What do Warby Parker and STORY have in common? Entrepreneurs with a keen eye for innovation. Warby Parker’s Neil Blumenthal and STORY’s Rachel She...
#55 Making magic with Disney: Danielle Nicole designs around an icon
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dream job doesn’t even begin to describe Danielle DiFerdinando’s career. The young fashion designer started the Danielle Nicole brand of handbags ...
#54 How DSW stays a step ahead
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After 25 years in business, DSW is re-evaluating its strategy and adopting new retail concepts to skip ahead of the competition. CEO Roger Rawlins and...
#53 The real world of loss prevention
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 35 years of a loss prevention career, truth has sometimes been stranger than fiction. Rosamaria Sostilio, vice president of loss prevention for Bar...
#52 Bra shopping reimagined: Harper Wilde supports women in a new way
02 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Two business students set out to make the bra buying experience more comfortable, affordable and accessible, establishing Harper Wilde around the conc...
#51 Inside the Walgreens mobile experience
26 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do companies design smooth mobile experiences? Most retailers keep this question top of mind, and Walgreens is no different. The retailer has opti...
#50 Leading with passion: The values that saved Ashley Stewart
19 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After serving urban communities for more than 20 years, plus-size fashion retailer Ashley Stewart was on the brink of closing in 2013 when investment ...
#49 How Kidbox creates a new family shopping experience
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kidbox, a curated clothing service for children, uses a proprietary algorithm to serve up the perfect styles. For every full box kept, the company don...
#48 Staying a step ahead in fast fashion
05 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From humble beginnings to 4.5 million global subscribers, TechStyle brands JustFab and ShoeDazzle are now the largest subscription ecommerce brands wo...
#47 A new kind of customer: What’s driving retail evolution
26 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Retail is going through rapid transformation driven by changing consumer behavior — consumers simply don’t shop the way they used to anymore. NRF’...
#46 Tractor Supply creates a winning online experience
19 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tractor Supply Company (which does not sell tractors), celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, and SVP and CIO Rob Mills says that 70 percent of it...
#45 Natural talent: How spreading wellness grew a business
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The joy of life, as Kate Ross LeBlanc feels, is being well. As CEO and Co-Founder of Saje Natural Wellness, her mission is to care for a devoted commu...
#44 Entrepreneurship’s role in social change
12 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Soles4Souls was established as a way to help those affected by catastrophic natural disasters. Since 2006, the non-profit social enterprise has distri...
#43 Using data to shape the shopping journey
07 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With all the new advancements in retail technology, it’s important for retailers to know how it applies to their business. In this episode, Salesfor...
#42 Inside Walmart's next-gen tech incubator
05 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Walmart’s Store No 8 incubates cutting-edge retail technology to help people save money and live better. Lori Flees, Walmart’s SVP of Next Generat...
#41 Terry Lundgren looks back on a career in retail
31 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With his tenure as Executive Chairman of Macy's Inc. coming to an end, Terry Lundgren sat down with NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay to discuss a de...
#40 Tomorrow’s cool retail tech, today
29 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As one of the curators behind the Innovation Lab at NRF 2018: Retail’s Big Show, Seth Webb of Tusk Ventures has his finger on the pulse of retail’...
#39 Behind the curtain at Retail's Big Show
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
More than 37,000 retail industry professionals came to NRF 2018: Retail’s Big Show this January to talk about retail trends and technology. So how d...
#38 How “Mattress Mack” became a retail icon
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The owner of Gallery Furniture, Jim "Mack” McIngvale, became a Houston icon and hometown hero for his commitment to giving back, especially after he...
#37 How West Elm syncs the in-store and digital experiences
15 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Luke Chatelain began his career as a molecular biologist and is now West Elm’s vice president of innovation. In this episode, he explains how his ba...
#36 How one high-tech McDonald’s is evolving an icon
08 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Carlos Mateos Jr. got his start working part-time at his father’s McDonald’s and now owns the restaurant where he first flipped burgers. In this e...
#35 HSN helps make entrepreneurial dreams come true
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
HSN gives entrepreneurs a platform to sell their products to a large television audience and the prospect of finding the next innovation energizes Dar...
#34 Retail industry predictions for 2018
26 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
STORES Magazine Editor Susan Reda believes that 2017 was one of the most transformative periods of retail we’ve seen in decades and predicts that 20...
#33 How job-ready candidates give retailers a head start
18 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership helps connect retailers with qualified talent. CEO Karin Norington-Reaves discusses how workforce development i...
#32 Let it snow! How retailers prep for the weather
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As the largest external driver of consumer need, weather is more than just a conversation-starter for retailers. Evan Gold, EVP of global services at ...
#31 BJ’s Chris Baldwin on what keeps a CEO up at night
04 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
BJ’s Wholesale Club has 215 stores in 16 states and sells more fresh food per member than any of its club store competitors. CEO Chris Baldwin says ...
#30 Beautycounter’s foundation of empowerment
27 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Gregg Renfrew believes that a woman with passion can really make a difference. She is the founder and CEO of Beautycounter, a health and beauty empire...
#29 Special holiday edition: 'Tis the season for shopping
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
NRF’s Director of Retail and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen paints a picture of what retailers can expect to see this holiday, from consumer spe...
#28 Neiman Marcus CEO Karen Katz on putting digital first
13 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Karen Katz started as an assistant store manager in a small Neiman Marcus store; 32 years later, she is CEO of the luxury retailer. Retail “has allo...
#27 Making the case for retail as a career
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As director of Kohl’s Center for Retailing Excellence, Jerry O’Brien helps open the eyes of college students to the immense opportunities in retai...
#26 Supply chain management is 'more like rocket science' than you might think
30 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Schart has witnessed a great evolution in supply chain management throughout his more than 40 years in the industry. As SVP of supply chain and ...
#25 From customers to community: How a niche brand built loyalty
23 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
CEO Bobby Farahi’s NSFW rebelliousness shines through when he talks about Dolls Kill, the alternative fashion brand he co-founded with his wife, for...
#24 Allbirds gets a kick out of disrupting shoe design
16 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Disruption seems to be the buzzword these days, and Allbirds co-founder Joey Zwillinger found shoemaking to be ripe for the picking. With longer worki...
#23 Scott Galloway predicts the future of retail
09 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
NYU Clinical Professor of Marketing Scott Galloway’s new book explores the big four companies in retail and tech today, and what their domination me...
#22 Cooking up a revolution: How Chef Roy Choi developed a cult following
02 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Roy Choi was at the lowest point of his life when an idea to put tacos and his Korean heritage together beckoned him to the food truck scene. A decade...
#21 How Lane Bryant contributes to a national conversation
25 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lane Bryant is the most recognized name in plus-size clothing. As chief marketing officer, it is Brian Beitler’s job to tell the story of the brand ...
#20 Help wanted: The retail roles you never think of
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brack Sullivan and Trey Stewart, talent acquisition executives at The Home Depot, discuss how retail jobs have evolved with the changing industry and ...
#19 How Macy’s finds top talent
11 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Retail may be seen as an unconventional career path for college students in fields like computer science, data analytics and accounting, but the indus...
#18 Behind the kitchen door — the business of restaurants
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Running a restaurant and delighting customers enough for them to return is no piece of cake, but Anthony Lupo and Brian Schram of Scarlet Oak and Sout...
#17 The high point of user experience
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Colenso, senior product manager and UI/UX team lead for Total Wine & More, brings a natural curiosity and a knack for user research from his previ...
#16 Talent acquisition’s role in business growth
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
People are at the core of any business operation, and choosing the right employees to help carry a brand forward requires a passion for the search and...
#15 The secret sauce for small biz success
14 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Myles Powell loves a challenge. Starting a food blog and entering Food Network’s “Best Cooks in America” competition were just two he took on. W...
#14 How and why NRF forecasts the economic future
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Kleinhenz is a self-proclaimed “watchdog” as he collects, models and provides perspective for economic data collected on a daily basis. As th...
#13 S3 Active’s journey from pop-up to permanent storefront
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sarween Salih had a successful consulting career, but her undeniable passion was for fitness and fashion. She started an athleisure company as a pop-u...
#12 Emerging trends in urban shopping experiences
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Consumption-oriented retail concepts like shopping malls are transitioning to experience-based urban developments like CityCenterDC in the heart of do...
#11 Everything you think you know about lobbyists is probably wrong
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lobbyists have to counter many misconceptions, and you might be surprised to hear that “a good lobbyist is really ethical,” says David French, NRF...
#10 Small business success requires constant evolution
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Cary Kelly’s passion for cooking led the former executive coach to open her first food retail business. Over the years, Kelly and her company have e...