World Retail Forum Podcast

We will look at the business dynamics of the new grocery and retail customer journey leading Chinese grocery executives and the CCFA. Our special guests include Kevin  Peng, CCFA Secretary-General.  The China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA) is the official representative of retailing & franchise industry in China. Currently, there are more than 1000 enterprise members with over 388,000 outlets, including domestic & foreign-invested retailers, franchisers, suppliers, and relevant organizations.  The T11 Food Market is a smart, omnichannel grocery chain powered by cutting-edge research capabilities. Its business is run entirely through a software solution that integrates front-end sales with back-end production with Derek Du, Founder & CEO of T11 Food Market.

The Museum of the Dog incorporated every best practicewe have seen around the world into one physical place.It should be studied as a benchmark for success and servesas blueprint for the future of the store. Jan Gross, Principal and Studio Director, Gensler said: “The design teamunderstood the importance of  what the museum represents as anextension of the AKC. The result is a distinctive design that shares the organization's mission with a new generation of dog loversand visitors in a unique and memorable way.”

Discover and experience what's behind the bricks and mortar of these high-style designer stores and hotels. We visit the most current and innovative stores from SoHo to Shanghai Virtually We will look at design in retail from stores, home décor, stationery, and more.

It used to be that changing your makeup regimen meant sitting at a beauty counter for hours, applying and removing different combinations of foundation, eye shadow, and lipstick until you found just the right one. No longer. All of that has been made obsolete by facial recognition software, hydration meters, SkinIQ, and even more advanced diagnostic capabilities. This tour brings you to the cutting edge of virtual artistry and extreme personalization in the beauty industry.

 Pick up on the pre-event" conversation! A thirty minute live executive briefing on how to drive your business forward and prosper in the stay-at-home economy. One of the key questions for companies is how do you pandemic proof your organizations and prosper in the stay-at-home economy? As we conclude 2020, many organizations have achieved levels of innovation difficult to imagine even six months ago. COVID-19 was the earthquake that delivered a shock wave to the world. In 2021, a tsunami of change will impact organizations unprepared for the stay-at-home economy. Successful organizations need to understand the SHIFT driving consumer behavior in 2021 and beyond.

Best Practices: Serving The New Customer Journey discusses the importance of ensuring customers returning have an enjoyable experience. We will chat with Nino Bergfeld from Salesforce about ways businesses can stay in touch with their contacts and make sure they are ready to return to retail.

Best Retail Practices in Asia for COVID-19 is a comprehensive collection of insights from top retailers such as T11 Supermarkets, Chaoshifa, and Rainbow Department Stores. We also talked with Kevin Peng, head of the largest retail organization in China, and Juanita Neville-Te Rito, the Founder of Retail X.

We talk with Satish Malhotra, Executive Vice President and Chief Retail and Operating Officer. Sephora responded to the pandemic by quickly closing all of its stores on March 17, 2020. It then set to work creating new health and safety protocols based on recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to reopening, it made use of its close contact with customers to communicate these guidelines so that the customers could reenter the stores safely.

COVID-19 Retail Innovation Awards will show some of the top performers in the "New Retail World" post COVID-19. See what they are doing to maintain and even build business during challenging times.

On The Frontline will review the impact on holiday shopping and how the election impacts consumer confidence. We will review the winners and losers and discuss the impact of delayed election results on the world economy. Next, we will examine the impact of local vs. national and look at what new business models will emerge, and the impact on holiday shopping.

We take you inside this incredible retail destination to learn how incorporating theme parks, pools, ice rinks, ski slopes, and other activities have made this center the cutting edge in experiential retail.

Retail Future Forward Forum. This is a 90-minute executive summary for CEOs and senior executives.Trends: Innovative Strategies and Business ModelsJeff Fromm, author & trend expert and Stephanie Wissink, Sr. Research Analyst & Managing Director at Jefferies in a joint presentation will discuss innovative strategies and business models—grounded in research—that impact your company and sales growth in 2021.Making New Retail Work in Covid-19A discussion with Molly Langenstein, Chief Executive Officer and President of Chico's FAS and Oscar Sachs, Industry Innovator & Chief Executive Officer, Salesfloor on how they are making new retail work in the Covid-19 pandemic.The 2021 U.S. Economic OutlookIn a to be released study for this event, Mike Reid, Senior Economist, Oxford Economics leads the U.S. cities forecasting effort.Sustainability: Best Practices In The Retail BusinessGlobal leader in the best practices for sustainability in retail, Aisling Ryan is Managing Partner at WPP.

Live Stream Shopping will discuss current practices and success from retailers sharing live streams of their products in real-time. Retail executives around the world have seen the benefit to this practice during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been able to maintain, and in some cases even boost their sales using this process. Live streaming expert Philip Nelson, President of Nelco Media, will share best practices and how to get started.

The T11 Food Market in Beijing is one of the most innovative grocery supermarkets in China. DU Yong is the Founder & CEO of the T11 Food Market in Beijing. Mr. Yong is an innovator in the grocery segment and was the Founder of 7 Fresh, which was sold to JD.com. Katherine Hu will provide a guided tour.

We will examine best practices for engaging consumers in physical, virtual, and mixed reality retail. See some of the most innovative brands that are using this practice and learn how they have adapted it during the challenge of COVID-19. Liyia Wu, Founder & CEO of ShopShops, joins us to discuss how to engage shoppers from home using live stream shopping.

We are joined by Rebecca Minkoff to gain insight on the best practices for small businesses to recover quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Innovative Companies in COVID-19 offers a look at some of the companies that have been the most innovative in the face of the COVID-19 challenges. Learn what they have done to be on the cutting edge of new practices in retail and keep customers engaged and sales up during a time of hardship.We are joined by Chelsie Lee, founder & CEO of SHIPSI, the delivery technology platform that enables retailers to offer same-day and scheduled delivery without managing any of the logistics. She's a retail, technology, and supply chain expert who has consulted 500+ top retailers and brands on business strategy, growth, and execution. 

Madison Avenue Safety Tour looks at current practices for safe shopping around the world. We will discuss what is working and what has not when it comes to not only keeping shoppers safe, but building their confidence while returning to retail.We invite back Matt Bauer, President of the Madison Avenue BID, to get an update on Madison Avenue retailers' new safety practices.

We talked with Andrew Powell, a Senior Associate at Gensler, who helped bring to life the world's largest customer experience center, American Dream. The latest trends for retail design are incorporating experience right into the shopping design. American Dream is the largest experience center in the world and includes a theme park, water park, ice rink, and ski slope right into the indoor shopping center.

Virtual Tour of Best Safety Practices on Madison Avenue: Join the  World Retail Forum and find out how Madison Avenue came back bigger and better after COVID-19.  We take a VIP behind-the-scenes looks at the best practices of safe shopping in the most exclusive stores in the world and all led by Matthew Bauer, President of the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District. 

We discuss the importance of incorporating a higher level of service, including safe shopping design practices with Juliana Neves, the Lead architect of Kube Arquitetura. How can businesses shift their focus and still be successful? We look at what businesses are planning on implementing as customers begin to return to stores to boost their confidence. These include adjusting store design for social distancing, booking private shopping appointments, and more.

Best Practices: Using Technology To Improve The Customer Experience covers the importance of retailers implementing the latest technology to improve relations with customers. We talk with Parrish Chapman, Director of Sales B2B Retail from Samsung about lessons from COVID-19 for businesses looking to implement new tech into their operations. Now more than ever it is important for businesses to use all the tools at their disposal to build trust with shoppers.

Ability to Change and the Importance of a Unique Value Proposition will look at two of the top factors in our Consumer Engagement Index (CEI), "Change" and "Unique Value Proposition," and how they correlate with the successful reopening of retail and restaurants. New York City Retail Gets Ready to Open with Matthew Bauer, President of Madison Avenue Business Improvement District. Lessons of Change and a very unique selling proposition – Retail Store Tours On The Frontline: Navigating COVID-19 - May 19th at 9A EST. Learn best practices related to these topics to implement while your business navigates COVID-19.

We chat with Vibhu Norby, Founder & CEO of b8ta, and Mark Ghermezian, Co-CEO of American Dream, to determine best practices with safety, technology, and change in the face of the COVID-19 challenges. See how they ensured their businesses would make it through, and learn how yours can too!The World Retail Forum provides to retailers all over the world the tools, the knowledge, and best practices for recovering from the impact of COVID-19. The World Retail Forum was created in collaboration with one thousand global retail outlets, shopping centers, brands, investors, and architects. Representatives from businesses in fifty countries have participated in our weekly On The Frontline: Navigating COVID-19 live event. Retailers, restaurateurs, and small business owners—whether they are one-person operations or organizations of ten thousand—can benefit from this level of cooperation.

We chat with Leif Göritz, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Thalia Bücher GmbH in Germany. Discover how this company has withstood the test of time, even in the face of the pandemic. Their ability to think ahead and plan kept their business running and their employees safe. Thalia is over 100 years old, and still going strong in the face of the COVID-19 challenges!The World Retail Forum provides to retailers all over the world the tools, the knowledge, and best practices for recovering from the impact of COVID-19. The World Retail Forum was created in collaboration with one thousand global retail outlets, shopping centers, brands, investors, and architects. Representatives from businesses in fifty countries have participated in our weekly On The Frontline: Navigating COVID-19 live event. Retailers, restaurateurs, and small business owners—whether they are one-person operations or organizations of ten thousand—can benefit from this level of cooperation.