Legends of Retail

Retail is filled with a constant stream of industry jargon, whether it's a strategic play like “omnichannel” or a C-suite title like “Chief Digital Officer”.Staying on top of everything can be overwhelming. But if you're Ujjwal Dhoot, CEO of Allivet, first principles and fundamentals matter more than industry jargon. Ujjwal has led marketing, digital, and executive teams in retail for 15+ years in a wide range of industry verticals, including apparel, fashion, health, and pet. Prior to his time at Allivet, Ujjwal was CMO at Destination XL Group, where he played a pivotal role in their recent turnaround. In this episode, Ujjwal talks to Chris about his approach to retail marketing, strategy, and leadership. Topics they cover include: How enterprises can operate like startups The 80-20 rule of marketing experiments Why marketing attribution isn't really a problem How the Chief Digital Officer role will evolve As you're planning for 2023 and beyond, Ujjwal's perspective will help you get back to basics. We were thrilled to have him on the show.  Connect with Ujjwal on LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out AllivetAbout Ujjwal:Ujjwal is a DTC, eCommerce and Retail expert obsessed with influencing the optimal customer journey and has spent building engaging customer centric organizations and platforms for over a decade. Having successfully compounded eCommerce business trajectories and managed $10's of millions in annual marketing budgets multiple times, he strives to keep building fast-growing marketing and product driven organizations. From when a customer first experiences a brand to managing and extending lifecycle, he loves to emphasize the need to change and measure customer behaviors to increase customer lifetime value. He has diverse experience in aspects of direct & digital marketing, retail, eCommerce, business development & advanced analytics.He is currently President and CEO at Allivet, a fast growing and leading pet pharmacy retailer in the US. He was previously Chief Marketing Officer at DXL Group (NASDAQ: DXLG), the leading retailer of men's Big + Tall apparel in the United States. Prior to that, he was Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Health E-Commerce (FSAStore), a hyper growth eCommerce company that was acquired by Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Company. Ujjwal has also held marketing leadership roles at Charming Charlie, an omnichannel retailer with over 350 stores, 20x200, an online retailer for limited edition art, and at PetCareRx.com, a fast-growing omni-channel retailer for pet medications. In his many roles, he has managed the entire brand, direct and digital marketing driven P&L's, along with product, business development and customer insight functions.Ujjwal completed his MBA in Marketing from Syracuse University in New York, and when he's not at work, he spends his time exploring the great outdoors with his wife and son.

If you've visited any retail or SaaS industry website in the past year, you've seen these headlines:‘X Company lays off 20% of staff'‘Y Retailer files for bankruptcy'‘Z Company reports 80% drop in profitability in Q2'Retail and SaaS are going through financial headwinds in a major market downturn. What can CFOs of these companies do to navigate the current market environment? We brought on a veteran CFO who's had experience in both industries to share his perspective: Bryan Wolff.Bryan Wolff is the CFO of AllVoices, an employee communications platform. He was also CFO of apparel retailer Bonobos and grocery retailer Thrive Market. He's led finance teams of all sizes across a variety of business models, and we were lucky to get him on the show. In this conversation, Bryan and Chris discuss a range of finance-related topics, including: The financial tools retailers should leverage in a downturn Retail vs. SaaS financial models Why retailers should be constantly scenario planning Bryan's concept of “exhaust” in retail businesses One killer strategy for retailers to lower their customer acquisition cost (CAC) Bryan goes incredibly deep into the financial mechanics businesses need to survive right now. We hope you enjoy this episode. Connect with Bryan on LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out AllVoicesAbout Bryan:Bryan has worked as a technology investor and executive for over 15 years; having held senior positions at numerous Venture Capital-backed start-ups and other Institutional Investment firms. He is currently the CFO at AllVoices, a Los Angeles-based employee communications platform. Recently Bryan was a Managing Director at Anthos Capital Management, a Santa Monica-based private equity firm, where he had worked from 2017 to 2020. Prior to that, Bryan was the CFO of Bonobos, Inc. (acquired by Wal-Mart), DogVacay (acquired by Rover, Inc.) and Thrive Market, all privately held companies. Bryan has sat on numerous boards over his career, both public and private. Bryan holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University. He and his wife, Melanie, live in Santa Monica and have 3 young children.

In March 2020, Harry Rosen closed their 17 stores in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand also dried up for their products as customers stopped buying luxury clothing and switched to athleisure as they worked from home. Harry Rosen President & COO Ian Rosen turned what would have been a major setback for the business into a golden opportunity. He accelerated his team's digital transformation plans to deliver a best-in-class online experience unique to Harry Rosen on their website. He also pursued adjacent product category opportunities to expand the Harry Rosen brand and strengthen their relationship with their loyal customers. In this episode of Legends of Retail, Ian talks to Chris about how he led the company through this crucible moment for the business. Topics they cover include: How they replatformed their online store The features they prioritized during their replatform and why How they launched a grooming product category with dropship How Ian decides to promote internally vs. hire externally If you're interested in a retailer that's at the forefront of luxury and apparel retail, this episode is for you! Connect with Ian on LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out Harry RosenAbout Ian:Ian Rosen is the President & Chief Operating Officer at Harry Rosen, where he is responsible for driving profitable growth across each of the company's three banners: Harry Rosen, FinalCut and The Outlet by Harry Rosen. In his role, Ian works with Executives across Sales Management, Merchandising, Marketing, Digital and IT functions to ensure operations are aligned towards delivering on the Harry Rosen brand promise to provide exceptional service to clients throughout every touchpoint.  Since joining Harry Rosen in 2018, Ian has led the company's transformation to extend relationships with customers onto digital channels and enhance the shopping experience with technology (both online and in-store). Ian marks the third generation of Rosen's that have joined the company founded by his Grandfather. Prior to joining Harry Rosen, Ian was a Management Consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago where he focused on Strategy, Retail and Digital projects. Ian holds both an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and an HBA from Ivey Business School.About Convictional:Convictional helps retailers add new brands and categories to their assortments, without any inventory risk. Learn more at convictional.com.

How do you maintain relevance as a 47-year-old pet retailer? How do you stay true to your values through multiple acquisitions?Scott Arsenault answers these questions for us in this episode. He's the CEO of Ren's Pets, a Canadian specialty pet retailer that has been in business since 1975. Arsenault has been with Ren's for over 10 years and he's seen the company go through multiple acquisitions, first by Porchlight Equity and then by the Legault Group. In this conversation, Scott and Chris discuss Ren's growth under Scott's leadership, including their strategy for how they open stores, how they tested and experimented with frozen food in their assortment, and how they remain focused on their core mission of providing their customers with their Pet's Best Life. They also discuss a number of different leadership topics, including how to become an executive athlete, the power of executive coaching, and why leaders need enough sleep to do their best work. Connect with Scott on LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out Ren's PetsAbout Scott: Scott Arsenault is the CEO of Ren's Pets a Canadian specialty pet retailer, proudly committed to providing your Pet's Best Life.Scott brings more than 15 years of experience providing executive leadership, senior level sale and marketing in both corporate and franchise environments. He oversees the company's real estate strategy and budgeting process.Scott's expertise includes P&L management, vendor relationships, ERP and platform solutions, real estate development, resource management and employee engagement. He was the co-founder/owned Persuasive Marketing which designed marketing plans and strategies for clients such as Pita Pit.Scott graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in Bachelor of Arts and holds a Bachelor of Education from D'Youville College with a bachelor's degree in History from Simon Fraser University. 

The first SMS message was sent in 1992, but it's taken a while for messaging to become a standard communication and marketing channel for ecommerce brands.  Mobile commerce only really took off in the past decade as smartphones and ecommerce were widely adopted by consumers. According to Insider Intelligence, US mobile commerce will nearly double its share of total retail sales between 2020 and 2025. Postscript is a poster child of the mobile commerce trend. Founded in 2018, Postscript powers SMS for thousands of Shopify stores including brands like Native, Brooklinen, and Olipop. They use Postscript for everything from abandoned carts, to product drops, to 2-way customer support communication.In this conversation, Chris and Postscript President Alex Beller discuss Postscript's early days in startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC), where they were in the same cohort as Convictional. Alex shares why SMS has the potential to be a higher revenue-generating channel than email, how brands can leverage it more effectively, and best practices for the upcoming Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) holiday season. Finally, Alex and Chris reflect on the challenges of scaling companies in a remote environment and how they each have grown as young leaders since their time at YC.  Looking for some more resources to level up your SMS game during BFCM? Check out Postscript's BFCM Planner here. Connect with Alex on Twitter and LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out PostscriptAbout Alex:Alex Beller is the co-founder and President of Postscript, an SMS marketing platform for growing Shopify businesses. Brooklinen, Kopari, Native, and Olipop rely on Postscript for hyper-segmented campaigns and texting with customers. Forbes named his company a Next Billion Dollar Startup in 2021 and has raised more than $106M from top investors like Dick Costolo's venture firm 01 Advisors, Twilio Ventures, Expanding Capital, m]x[v Capital, Greylock, Accomplice, Elephant, and OpenView. He was previously a Director of Business Development at StackCommerce and received his Bachelor of Arts in both Philosophy and Music from the University of Southern California.About Convictional: Convictional helps retailers add new brands and categories to their assortments, without any inventory risk. Learn more at convictional.com.

Shopify might be arming the rebels, but what happens if a rebel wants to retire and fight for another cause? Not every DTC business can be an Allbirds or a Figs. Shopify entrepreneurs don't have too many options when they want to exit their business. That's why our guest Michael Rubenstein co-founded OpenStore. Michael has a fascinating background. He started in the early days of adtech, as General Manager of Google's DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX), and then as President of AppNexus, which was acquired by AT&T and rebranded as Xandr. At OpenStore, he's offering instant liquidity to Shopify entrepreneurs by acquiring and operating their businesses.In this conversation, Chris and Michael discuss his previous startup experiences at AppNexus and DoubleClick and how they've informed his leadership at OpenStore. They also discuss the need for a business like OpenStore to defragment the long-tail of ecommerce.  If you're curious about OpenStore's journey and where it's headed, you'll want to listen to this episode.  Connect with Michael on LinkedinConnect with Chris on Twitter and LinkedinCheck out OpenStoreAbout Michael Rubenstein:Michael Rubenstein is the President and Co-Founder of OpenStore. He previously served as President and Board Member at AppNexus before and after the company's acquisition by AT&T. Prior to AppNexus, he founded and served as General Manager of Google's DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX). Michael served on the Board of Directors for IAB for more than four years. He graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA and McGill University with a BA.About Convictional:Convictional helps retailers add new brands and categories to their assortments, without any inventory risk. Learn more at convictional.com. 

Can a struggling company change its destiny? Can you reliably turn a company's fortunes around? If you're Matt Hulett, the answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes.Over his 30 years as an executive in the technology sector, Matt Hulett has become the go-to company fixer. From RealNetworks to Rosetta Stone to Expedia, he has steered start-ups and large companies into renewed areas for growth and driven more than $2 billion in value creation. He's in the midst of his latest venture as the CEO of PetMeds. In this conversation, Matt shares his operating framework for turning companies around and evaluating a company's likelihood of success — T3PM: trends, timing, track record, planning and momentum. Matt recently documented the T3PM framework in his book Unlock: 5 Questions to Unleash Your Company's Power. He relates each of these factors back to real-world examples from companies like Expedia, Rovio, Concur, and yes, even Convictional. He also shares how he's leveraging T3PM through his current turnaround at PetMeds, where he is CEO and President. No matter where you are in your career, you'll have something to learn from Matt. Episode Highlights 09:37 - How Matt built his triage mindset 13:58 - The T3PM framework 25:28 - The difference between TAM and SAM 32:53 - Finding the right timing with learned secrets 38:58 - How Matt earns trust from his teams 50:32 - Navigating PetMeds through the market downturn 55:54 - PetMeds' competitive edge in a crowded market About MattMatt Hulett is a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience building and leading world-class SaaS and consumer companies. Matt has led the growth of companies in the private and public sectors, including Rosetta Stone, RealNetworks, Expedia and many more. He has had multiple turnaround successes as a public company president as well as a private company CEO. Matt has a proven track record raising venture capital from blue chip firms (Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Allen and Company, Intel Capital) with multiple liquidity events.Connect with Matt on Linkedin and TwitterCheck out Matt's book UnlockConnect with Chris on Linkedin and Twitter

Most of the guests we've spoken to on Legends of Retail have been leaders in enterprise retail. Today, we're speaking to someone in the world of ecommerce and DTC. Aaron Spivak is the co-founder of Hush Blankets, a Canadian ecommerce business that specializes in sleep products. Hush started with a weighted blanket and they've since expanded to provide a mattress, pillows, sheets and many other products that help their customers get a good night's sleep. Last year, they joined Sleep Country Canada's portfolio of brands.Aaron is an ecommerce expert who scaled Hush to eight figures in revenue. In this conversation, he shares how he and his co-founder Lior develop their products by doing things that don't scale, how they launch their products, and why retail partnerships are important to their success. You'll find plenty of stories here with lessons you can learn from, including Aaron's early entrepreneurial venture in party buses when he was still in high school, the power of building a brand that customers really trust, and why you should consider sponsoring a sports team if you want to expand your audience.Show Links Connect with Aaron on LinkedIn or Twitter Check out Hush Connect with Chris on LinkedIn or Twitter Check out Convictional

The DTC companies of today are different from their 2010 counterparts. In the 2010s, you could run well-designed Facebook ads with a high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and see incredible results, even if your product wasn't innovative. That advantage has gone away as Facebook ads have become commoditized. Now, as Robbie Deeks points out, the focus is on truly differentiated products delivered to a loyal customer base. That creates real value for customers and leads to sustainable growth for DTC brands. Deeks knows a thing or two about the DTC world. He spent his early career in Shopify before partnering with Gary Vaynerchuk to start VaynerCommerce. In this conversation, he chats with Convictional co-founder and President Chris Grouchy about the following topics: Solve customers' problems Play the long game Redefine your role Help people achieve their goals Attract talent with talent Don't churn and burn Invest in the founder Take back your leverage Reduce friction for the customer Bring back your customers It's a highly insightful conversation from someone who has lived and breathed DTC and ecommerce. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.About Robbie Deeks:Robbie started out at Shopify Plus, where he helped the company explore new markets. Following that he partnered with Gary Vaynerchuk to build VaynerCommerce, a DTC growth consulting firm that works with some of the biggest brands in retail. About Convictional:Convictional is the Supplier Enablement Platform helping enterprise retailers, marketplaces and distributors launch and scale new product assortments by offering a modern way to connect and transact with every third-party vendor, including dropship and wholesale. Powerful API-based infrastructure allows buyers and sellers of products to automate trade no matter their integration preference, including API, EDI, and native platform apps. For more information on Convictional, visit convictional.com.Connect with Robbie on LinkedIn or TwitterConnect with Chris on LinkedIn or TwitterCheck out Convictional

The ability to shift, change, and pivot might be the most important quality in a leader today. Change is the only constant; that's true across every aspect of business – whether it's acquisitions, digital transformations, or simply existing in a rapidly changing market. Munawar Quraishi, General Manager at HD Supply Canada, understands the core principles behind influencing change in teams and organizations. In this conversation, he shares these core principles by explaining how he coaches teams, the art of giving feedback, how he gets leadership buy-in for strategic initiatives, and the lessons he's learned from HD Supply Canada's own digital transformation journey. Show topics:(02:09) Munawar's morning routine(04:59) Why Munawar practices the Wim Hof Method(08:27) Where Munawar's intrinsic motivation stems from(13:03) Munawar's coaching principles for teams(19:19) Getting critical feedback from team members(24:37) HD Supply's acquisition by The Home Depot(26:45) Integrating cultures after an acquisition(33:00) Key lessons in HD Supply's digital transformation journey(42:06) Gaining leadership buy-in for strategic initiatives(43:58) The importance of virtual inventory for B2B retailersConnect with Munawar on Linkedin or TwitterConnect with Chris Grouchy on Linkedin or TwitterCheck out Convictional

"The competitive advantage for a team is simply sticking together long enough to figure it out."Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer and EVP - Creative Cloud at Adobe, knows what separates good teams from great ones. He's a successful startup entrepreneur and a prolific early-stage investor in companies like Warby Parker, Outdoor Voices, Flexport, Pinterest, Uber (and Convictional, of course). In this conversation from our live NYC event, Scott shares some of his leadership insights with Chris. Topics they cover include: How leaders can create a learning organization Why merchandising progress is necessary How to hack short-term rewards systems for long-term success Their conversation was all too brief, but has plenty of leadership insights you can apply to your own organization immediately.Want to be notified of future events like this one? Subscribe to our newsletter. About Scott:Scott Belsky is the Chief Product Officer at Adobe and Executive Vice President at Creative Cloud. He's an executive, entrepreneur, author, investor, and all-around product obsessive. He co-founded Behance in 2006 and joined Adobe after they acquired Behance in 2012. He's an early investor in companies like Warby Parker, Outdoor Voices, Flexport, Pinterest, Uber, and Convictional.Scott is also the author of the international bestselling books Making Ideas Happen (Portfolio Imprint, Penguin Books, Apr, 2010), and The Messy Middle (Portfolio Imprint, Penguin Books, Oct, 2018).Scott serves on the Advisory Board of Cornell University's Entrepreneurship Program and the Board of Trustees for the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. He attended Cornell University as an undergraduate and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Scott and his family now live in New York City.Connect with Scott Belsky on LinkedinConnect with Chris Grouchy on LinkedIn or TwitterCheck out Convictional

Andrea Limbardi, Chief Customer & Digital Officer at Indigo, Canada's largest book and gift retailer, is at the forefront of an incredible turnaround for the company. Indigo recently announced a return to profitability for the first time in three years. It took an EBITDA of -$30 million in 2020 to +$32.5 million for the fiscal year ending in March 2022. Andrea is one of the key figures responsible for Indigo's $60 million pivot. We were honored to bring her on Legends of Retail for a wide-ranging conversation. She shared plenty of leadership and strategy insights that you can use for your own digital operations. Here's everything we covered: Hire people you trust How to hire great people and give them autonomy Empathy for suppliers is as important as empathy for customers Why the supplier experience is critical for retailers today Why TikTok is essential for retailers Digital is an enabler, not a replacement  Don't pit online and in-store against each other Connect with Andrea Limbardi on LinkedInCheck out IndigoConnect with Chris Grouchy on LinkedIn or TwitterCheck out Convictional

Being a good leader means knowing how to help your employees get things done. And the bigger your company gets, the harder it becomes to make sure everyone has what they need to succeed. David Cheesewright, former CEO of Walmart International, is an expert on leading well. Whether you're facilitating international acquisitions or just trying to balance work and home life, David has practical advice for leaders who want to grow professionally and personally. In this episode, David shares the importance of being present, how to help your employees get more done, and why finding talent is about so much more than hiring skilled workers. Show Topics (04:50) Work-life balance is a flawed concept (05:49) Be present (10:23) Strive for authenticity (12:21) Live your values (24:18) Define your job (26:17) Don't ignore your weaknesses  (27:08) Find the right talent (29:29) How to get things done (36:38) Have a clear strategy (40:16) When acquisitions are worth the price Show Links Connect with David Cheesewright on LinkedIn Connect with Chris Grouchy on LinkedIn or Twitter Check out Convictional

For retailers, navigating today's business world isn't easy. Whether you're working through how to use electronic data interchange (EDI) in the age of the internet or just trying to make your channels of communication more efficient, finding the right solutions for your company is a constant battle. But Roger Kirkness, co-founder of Convictional, knows how to use an unconventional approach to solve everyday problems. In this episode, Roger shares the pros and cons of EDI in the age of the internet, why you need to reward your hardest workers, and how to build a business culture that prevents employee burnout.Episode Topics: (08:56) Reevaluate how you give promotions (22:06) Why companies use EDI (30:36) The standardization of EDI (38:03) Work actively to fix problems (39:23) Maintain a learning mindset (41:17) Make the most of your communication (42:56) Hire people who understand your values (44:28) Don't push your people into burnout (46:28) Be transparent about your needs (48:53) Aim for the theoretical maximum Connect with Roger on LinkedInConnect with Chris on LinkedIn or TwitterCheck out Convictional

Welcome to Legends of Retail! Press play on our trailer and find out what you can expect from the show.