Talking Shop by Retail Sector

This episode we are joined by Mary Sadlier, CEO of premium Irish cream liquor brand Coole Swan. We discussed Mary's start in retail and what characteristics she thinks make her an effective entrepreneur, how she helped the business scale into international markets like the US and her advice for retailers wanting to follow suit, and how seeing obstacles as opportunities may help firms navigate current foreign trade challenges.

This episode we are joined by Guy Blaskey , the founder of pet brand Pooch & Mutt and Detrash, the British watch brand crafting timepieces from recycled materials. We discussed the similarities and differences between launching and scaling Detrash compared with Pooch & Mooch 15 years ago, the importance of getting the right organisational structure in place to break through the £2m turnover barrier and his advice for founders looking to go through the exit process.

This episode we are joined by Matt Hildon, Retail Portfolio director at Valtech. We discussed Matt's early career in retail and the key skills and experiences he brought from other sectors to his current role, examples of how digital transformation has helped retailers improve their bottom line and boost staff morale and why retailers need to stop putting a ‘band-aid' on tech and organisational problems and get to the route of the problem.

This episode we are joined by Mike Fantis, Vice President Managing Partner at DAC. We discussed the secrets to effective local marketing, why it may not be a bad idea to look to local business celebrities from the US for inspiration, and the one piece of advice he would give to retailers struggling to connect with customers.

This week we speak to Abby Guthkelch, VP Executive Advisory at Flip, an app that aims to empower and engage employees across all levels of business. Abby talks about how Flip is revolutionising communication between management and frontline retail staff, why retail staff are feeling undervalued and overstressed, and how leaders can help turn this around, how happy staff leads to happy customers and the future of digital communication in the workplace.

This episode we are joined by Hugh Stevens, UK MD of data collaboration platform LiveRamp. We discussed how retail media has developed over the years and how he has seen Liveramp create relationships with major UK retailers such as Boots and Ocado, what are the first steps a business should take when launching its own retail media network? And where he sees the biggest growth opportunities in the space over the next few years.

This episode we are joined by Emile Naus, a partner at management and technology consultancy, BearingPoint. We discussed Emile's 30+ years of experience in logistics and supply chain management, including his time as a long-term planning manager at Tesco, why retailers should not just focus on unit cost when making supply chain decisions and what he thinks will separate the winners and losers in terms of logistics over the upcoming years.

On this week's episode we speak to business entrepreneur and mentor, Mike Greene. We spoke about Mike's early interest in the psychology of shoppers and their purchase choices, why some major retailers are getting left behind when it comes to change, and the importance of a solid business plan for adapting to today's climate, as well as his time on the TV show Secret Millionaire, and the ways in which the experience changed his outlook on life.

This episode we talk to Amir Malik, Managing Director of Alvarez & Marsal's Digital Practice. We discussed the opportunities for retailers to use first-party data to drive revenue and create meaningful customer experiences, how retailers can best juggle pushing its capabilities while using first-party data responsibly and how its application could evolve over the next five years.

This episode we spoke with Edward Drax, managing director of Yocuda, the digital receipts platform, working with major UK retailers like Argos, M&S and Decathlon. We spoke about his career in retail and the key lessons he's learned along the way. How receipts have evolved, from simple proof of purchase to an integral part of the $293bn retail ecosystem, and how Yocuda is transforming this everyday touchpoint into a tool for sustainability, customer engagement and innovation.

In our first episode of season three we are joined by Ella d'Amato, CEO and co-founder of social commerce platform ‘i love it'. We discussed Ella's career journey from leaving school at 15 to becoming the interim CEO of Not On The High Street, how i love it enables users to earn commissions for recommending products they actually love, and what the future of social commerce may look like.

For the final episode of series 2 of Talking Shop we are joined by Damian Hopkins CBE, who is the CEO and Founder of PDS Radius Brands and The Brand Group. We discussed Damian's successful career in retail spanning over 25 years, what it was like being an early adopter of ethical sourcing practices and the challenges of using fairtrade cotton back in the mid 2000s, and how he successfully oversaw product licensing deals with celebrities like the Kardashians and most recently helping to launch Kelly Hoppen Home at M&S

This week we spoke with Diane Wehrle, founder of Rendle Intelligence and Insights. In a special episode, we discuss Diane's analysis of the retail market's performance as we head into the final run up to Christmas. We find out why Diane's calling it a ‘cautious Christmas', what's driving increased spend among smaller numbers of customers, and how every region showing an increase in sales year on year.

In this episode we speak to Sam Smith, the Managing Director of Household, a design and branding agency that helps create innovative customer experiences in retail. Sam spoke about the process of helping businesses create and communicate cohesive brand identities, helping online businesses jump from URL to IRL and launch in-store, and the benefits of creating fandoms out of your customer base.

This week we spoke with Sam Henderson, Group Manager of Beverage Development for EMEA at Starbucks. We spoke about his career starting as a barista and working his way up to a senior role over 18 years; how new beverages are conceived and developed from the idea to the cup being sold in-store; and how consumer tastes change over time.

This week we are joined by Sarah Bird, head of Local Services at National Business Crime Solution also known as (NBCS). We discussed some of the positive work Sarah has done helping to fight retail crime, what are some of the leading factors that have caused the recent spike in incidents retailers have been facing and what they can do to secure the safety of their staff.

This week we spoke with Guy Elliott, Executive Vice President, Industry Lead TMT Global, Retail and Consumer Products EMEA and APAC for Publicis Sapient. We discussed how AI can help retailers optimise their supply chains to be more resilient and efficient and how it will change retail business models in the future.

In this episode we speak to Simon Houghton, the founder of social movement, Unseen Aware. Simon discusses how Unseen Aware helps organisations to better communicate with and support customers and employees with hidden disabilities, the ways in which an inclusive retail experience can improve awareness and customer loyalty, and how staff can become an Unseen Disabilities Ally, promoting greater understanding and empathy in retail and beyond.

This episode we are joined by Al Gerrie, CEO of Zig Zag Global. We discussed Al's journey in retail and his experience guiding an ecommerce business during the early days of eBay, the current discourse around returns and why retailers are switching back to paid returns and how retailers can find the right balance between providing a smooth returns process and eliminating serial returners.

On this episode of Talking Shop we are joined by Julie Austin, Chief Digital Officer at VML Commerce. We discussed what a customer-first approach really looks like for retailers, how customer behaviour has changed over the past year and how omni-channel retail is adapting to meet their new needs.

On this episode we are joined by Tim Waterton, chief revenue officer and feedback management expert at HappyOrNot, a Finnish company that makes feedback terminals for measuring customer satisfaction. We spoke about how instant feedback can reveal surprising insights even down to the time of day, how employee experience is just as important as customer experience, and how AI will revolutionise the collection of customer feedback in the future.

In this week's episode we are joined by Liz Warren, interim director of public charging and Tim Johnson, head of sales for Mer UK. We discussed how the uptake of EV sites in the UK compares with countries abroad, the increase in footfall and other added benefits retailers can expect from having charging ports readily available and how in 10 years time EV charging could be an expectation rather than a value add for consumers.

In this episode we speak to Mike Shaw, Director of International Ad Sales at Roku. Mike talks to us about the advent of retail media and how TV commerce is in an exciting new phase of growth, the benefits of shoppable ads in both the retailer and consumer journeys, the democratisation of the television ad industry, and the exciting developments ahead in the shoppable ad space.

This episode we are joined by Jack Newman, Head of Onboarding Customer Success at Cegid. We discuss his career journey and the lightbulb moment where he knew working in retail was truly what he wanted to do, how retailers can best prepare for peak trading and why effective communication is so vital for retailers when onboarding new employees and beyond

This episode we are joined by Elaine Wrigley, Retail, Operations, and People Director at American Golf. We discussed some of her career highlights including launching M&S' first ever stores in Greece, the changes American golf has made over the last 18 months to improve performance and the dos and don'ts when it comes to effective succession planning.

On this episode we are joined by Suzy McClintock, VP of Grocery and Retail at Deliveroo. We discussed Deliveroo's current retail and grocery offering and how Suzy oversees its Hop rapid service and why on-demand delivery could help high street retailers reconnect with consumers who are looking for instant purchases.

In this week's episode, we are joined by Shahnila Rashid, founder and CEO of SR Retail Consultancy. We discussed her experience working in merchandising roles for a variety of retailers – from River Island to TK Maxx – and how merchandising has translated into her current work as a consultant for large corporate giants.

In this week's episode we speak to Blair McVicar, Global Head of Customer Success at Proximity. Blair talks about the lessons learned during his time at David Jones in Australia (where he was the youngest store manager in its history), how Proximity's tech and insights help retailers best engage with customers, and how creating a strong employee experience leads to higher customer satisfaction.

This episode we spoke with spoke with Pete Champion, Director and Shareholder at I-Am Associates, a creative agency working across insights, strategy, digital, branding, interiors and architecture, serving retail and other sectors. We spoke about how consumers forge an emotional connection with good brands, how counterintuitive branding choices are often what makes a great retail experience, and how retailers are slowly getting better at integrating their in-store and online channels.

This episode we are joined by Natalie Frow, managing director for retail at DHL Supply Chain UK. We discussed her role at DHL and how she manages its relationships with retailers, how technology is reshaping the logistics landscape and what is actually meant by the term smart warehousing, and how DHL has adapted its strategies in response to global disruptions.

On this episode of Talking Shop we are joined by Erin Brookes, Managing Director and Head of Retail and Consumer for Europe at Alvarez & Marsal. We discussed her career to date including her time as interim CMO at Debenhams, how she supports retail clients with turnaround and transformation programmes, and what she has learned thanks to her new role as non-executive director at Revolution Beauty.

On this episode of Talking Shop, we are joined by Fraser Smeaton, the founder of MorphCostumes – the company that seized upon the morphsuit craze of the late 2000s. In this episode, we discussed the crucial early stages that signified the businesses' growth potential from a side hustle into a multi-million pound business, how he successfully diversified the firm's product offering and his tips for managing a rapidly growing business.

This week we speak to Olly Johnson, co-founder of Valerie, a soon to launch Perimenopausal supplements and social community brand. We spoke about why pre-existing products in this space are seen as inadequate by the women they're aimed at, how Valerie intends to address this market of a billion women, and what the R&D process behind the brand looks like in practice.

This week we are joined by Alexander Otto, Head of Corporate Relations, at Tradebyte and Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics. We discussed the findings from a joint report by Tradebyte and Retail economics on the impact of Brexit on UK retail, why some segments have fared better than others when it comes to exporting to the EU and their advice for retailers looking to make the jump and sell overseas.

This week we are joined by Ishveen Jolly , the CEO and founder of OpenSponsorship, an influencer marketing management platform with a focus on working with Athletes, Teams, and Musicians. Ishveen told us about her journey from management consultant to sports agent and how that helped inspire her idea to make it easier for brands to partner with athletes. How she advises brands on what to consider when trying to maximise the potential of their campaigns and how influencer marketing differs between the US and the UK.

This week we are joined by Melissa Minkow, director of Retail Strategy at global digital specialists CI&T. We discussed how CI&T works with retailers to solve a number of problems to help improve their efficiency, how AI is transforming the way consumers interact with retail stores - particularly in terms of store layouts and personalisation - and some of her own personal favourite retail experiences.

This week we are joined by Clare Cryer, Vice President of Growth at Global innovation agency Outform. We discussed how Clare's early work honed her focus on shopper psychology, the work Outform does with big retail clients designing and manufacturing solutions for their stores and how the role of the store may change when shaping the overall consumer experience.

This week we spoke with David Muldoon, vice president strategic advisory at MediaLink, a management consultancy which provides strategic media buying, PR, and creative options. We spoke about his 23-year career at Boots, what he learned about effective retail marketing across their seasonanal campaigns and TV advertising, what drives consumer engagement in the modern retail marketing setting, and how retailers should be thinking about the coming years.

In this episode, we're joined by Julian Bambridge, CEO of MPM Products. Julian discusses MPM's unique offering and expansion into 49 global markets, the process of becoming a B Corp organisation and the symbiotic relationship between the business and its investors.

This episode we spoke with Nicky Lovell, head of outlets and retail business development, at Global Mutual, a real estate investor, operator and developer. We covered how outlet retail has developed since it emerged the 90s, how Global Mutual identifies opportunities, and turning outlet shopping into a family-focused destination for the benefit of the local community.

Marcus Fox, CEO of Agile Retail, joins us this week to discuss what he learned during his 15 years at supermarket giant Sainsbury's, how Agile helps retailers trial innovative solutions in order to figure out what their customers will want and need in the future and how the make up of physical stores may change in the coming years.

This week we are joined by Josh Graham, the co founder and CMO of Airtime Rewards. We discussed how Josh identified a gap in the market for mobile strategies for retailers, how a literal elevator pitch helped the business find its feet in its early days and how technology will play an important role in bringing customers back to bricks and mortar stores.

This episode we are joined by Sarah Parham, founder of Sarah Verity Jewellery. We talked about the brand's interesting origins than can be traced back to afternoon tea in India, how a government mentor scheme helped her learn all she needed to run a successful retail business and why she believes the launch of her brands new TV channel may signify an opportunity for all retailers

This week we spoke with Jim Rudall, head of EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp. We spoke about his career in marcomms including founding his own consulting firm, how Intuit Mailchimp is incorporating AI into its toolset to help SMBs drive better customer comms than ever before, and how consumers' expectations around email marketing have evolved over time.

This episode we're joined by Sam Walker, the manager of independent, family-run department store Walker & Ling. He discusses the interesting history behind the building itself, how retailers can best engage with their local community, his approach to running a sustainable independent business, and the return of traditional stores to the high street.

This week we are joined by Stefan Loncar, the founder of data analytics company Loncom Consulting. We discussed how Loncom has helped fashion brands with managing their inventory, common errors retailers often make with their data management, and how technological development may lead to even more opportunities for data-driven decision making.

This week we spoke with Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO of GDR Creative Intelligence, a business futurist consultancy. We spoke about the global macro trends that affect retail and what they mean for a five year horizon, how the age of abundance is giving way to a reconstruction based around efficiency and AI based consumer experience, and why the successful retail firms of tomorrow needs sophisticated strategies from the off.

This week we are joined by Anna Uprichard, Vice President of Commerce for Blackhawk Network. We discussed how the £1trillion pound gift card market has developed over the years, how they can help drive customer acquisition, and how they may be an innovative solution to mitigating rising staff costs.

This week we spoke with Theo Paphitis, owner of Rymans, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue, who became a household name appearing as one of the famous Dragons on the BBC's Dragon's Den. We spoke about how he overcame dyslexia during his education, his early entrepreneurial career, his high street business empire, his experience owning Millwall FC, and how he can't choose a favourite from his collection of cars.

This episode we are joined by Nikolay Piriankov, the CEO of Bespoke Jeweller Taylor & Hart. We discussed his early entrepreneurial spirit and whether retail leaders are born or made, the challenges and opportunities of operating in a highly fragmented market and why retailers should not be solely focused on guaranteeing low returns.

This week we speak with Stuart Russell, chief strategy officer at Plinc, a customer data technology company. We spoke about the changing nature of personalized customer communications and how retail marketeers are adapting, how Plinc can bring together a retailer's disparate data sources and produce insights that help the marketing team have maximum impact, and how AI looks set to revolutionize the space.