Podcasts about retailing

There are few more respected economic analysts in the world than the Financial Times Chief Economic Commentator Martin Wolf. Yesterday, we ran a conversation with Wolf about the survival of American democracy. Today, we talk Trumpian economics, particularly tariff policy. Wolf characterizes Trump's trade policies as historically unprecedented in their scale, comprehensive nature, and unpredictability. But are they “dumb”, I asked? He acknowledges genuine issues driving tariff policy like global imbalances and deindustrialization but believes the current approach won't solve these problems. Wolf explains that the US-China trade war is causing significant economic disruption, with prohibitive tariffs likely stopping trade between the world's two dominant economies. He warns that investor confidence is damaged by unpredictability, which will take years to restore, and questions the wisdom of dismantling America's alliance system. Dumb, dumb and dumber. Five Key Takeaways* Trump's tariff policies are unprecedented in economic history for their scale, comprehensive nature affecting most of the world, and extraordinary unpredictability.* There are legitimate economic problems regarding global imbalances and deindustrialization, but Wolf believes the current approach won't solve these issues and may worsen them.* The economic consequences include potential slowdowns in US retail sales, reduced profits for retailers, job losses, and decreased manufacturing investment due to uncertainty.* Investor confidence is severely damaged by unpredictability, with concerns about US government stability reflected in Treasury markets, and this uncertainty could take "a decade or two" to fully dissipate.* Wolf compares the current US withdrawal from global leadership to America's post-WWI rejection of the League of Nations, calling it "strikingly willful" and potentially destabilizing for the global order. Full TranscriptAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, we are at the London office of the Financial Times with the chief economics commentator of the newspaper, one of the world's leading economists, Martin Wolf. Martin's been on the show many times. Martin, before we went live you suggested to me that this was your moment, that suddenly economics has become interesting again. Is it because of this Tariff thing that a certain Donald Trump has introduced well, there's no doubtMartin Wolf: what you describe as this tariff thing has created a novelty, to put it mildly. He's done things that as far as I can see have never been done before in the history of economics. So and you don't normally live through an experience with a set of policies, trade policy, which has been pretty unexciting since the Second World War, and you're suddenly in a different world. And that was not quite what we expected. In addition to that, it's not even as though it's sort of predictably in a different world. It was sort of every day or so. It seems to be something different. So in that sense, yes, it is very, very exciting. Now, there are other things going on, obviously in the administration and other areas which might turn out to be even more important. The attack on science and the funding of science, for example, the attack on universities. These are all very, important, the dismantling of important parts of the government, the relationship with allies, but I think this tariff war is remarkable for its scale. We've never seen changes in tariffs on this level before. It's comprehensive nature that base effects most of the world and it's extraordinary unpredictability. So this This is a new world for economists and we will be studying this, I'm absolutely sure, for half a century.Andrew Keen: My sense, Martin, is that one of the reasons you're enjoying it is because you're a natural polemicist and you haven't pulled your punches in your columns. I think you recently wrote in one of your last FTPs that America is inevitably going to lose in this war against China. Is it as dumb? As it seems. I mean, you're the chief economist at the chief economics commentator at the FT, one of the world's, as I said, most respected economists. You're an expert on this area. Is it just dumb? Are there any coherent economic arguments in favor of tariffs, of what they're doing? Well, I think...Martin Wolf: There is a genuine problem, and part of that is to do with trade. And more broadly the balance of payments, which is affecting the U.S., is genuine. There's a real set of issues, and economists, including me actually, have been discussing these problems, which you might call actually two problems, the global imbalances problem and the deindustrialization problem. These are two real problems, economic and social. The problem is that it's very hard for me to see how these policies that are now being introduced will solve those problems worldwide, and they are global problems. And the way the war is being pursued, if you like, by the Trump administration is such as, I think, inevitably to lose the many of the allies they ought to have in this contest and therefore they are playing this match, if we like, without the help of lots of people who should be on their side. And I don't think the way they're going about it now will solve that problem. I think making it worse but yes there are a couple of genuine real problems which is perfectly reasonable for them want to for them to want to address address if they can do so in a coherent well-plannedAndrew Keen: relatively inclusive way is it a problem with China essentially in terms of China producing too much and not buying enough of American goods is that the heart of the problem I think the problem China'sMartin Wolf: not the only such country. They are right to observe that Germany has also behaved somewhat in the same way, but Germany's capacity for disruption, though very real in Europe and I wrote about that in my book on the crisis published about a decade ago, is not global. The rise of China was bound to be a massively disruptive event. How could it not be? Suddenly there's a new peer competitor out there in the world. I don't think we had the right or the capacity to prevent its rise I would have strongly opposed any such effort but some people I'm sure would disagree but China is a vast country with a tremendously capable population and an even more capable government than we thought 20 or 30 years ago and its rise was going to be very disruptive its disruption is for the world I mean it's also disrupted Europe a lot it's disrupted any country that is competing with Chinese manufacturers. Actually, that includes Japan. Japan has been displaced as a manufacturing exporter to significant degree by China. So it's not just about America. One of the mistakes is thinking it's just about America. The rise of China is a fundamental transformational moment. And there is a specific problem with China, which is it's been following the general line of East Asian manufacturing-led development but because it's much bigger and because there are features of its economy particularly excess savings which are even larger than in other countries the disruption is even bigger so there's a genuine disruptive force here which we should have started dealing with consistently.Andrew Keen: About two decades ago. My sense is that Trump is trying in his own peculiar way to walk back some of these policies. But has the damage already been done? Well, that's a very interesting question.Martin Wolf: There are two dimensions that some damage has been done because it's working through the system now. Right now, there's essentially prohibitive tariffs between the US and China. And that means that trade between these two countries is largely going to stop and inevitably that's going to do a lot of damage because they, on both sides, but notably with China's supplies of manufacturers to the U.S. There are an enormous number of businesses across the United States that depend on these products. So that's going to be a disruption and it's going show itself up in economic activity and retail sales in the U.S. That's going have a significant effect. But I think the more important point is the degree of unpredictability and the degree of zaniness of what's happened, introducing these so-called reciprocal tariffs, which were reciprocal on one day and essentially getting rid of them the next for 90 days without anyone knowing what will follow them, for example, or introducing these obviously not expected, massively prohibitive tariffs on China, 145% tariffs and 125% on the other side, people suddenly realize that sort of anything can happen, things that they couldn't possibly imagine. It was completely outside their worst nightmares that this is what would happen when Donald Trump became president. After the first term, they didn't experience that. So I think the realization... That the range of possible developments of events is so far outside what you thought was possible changes the way you view the future and inevitably I think it's going to make investors who are going to be affected by trade which is basically anyone in manufacturing quite a lot of other businesses very very nervous about making commitments which they can't walk back so I think that everybody's going to become very risk averse. That includes allies, potential allies, because they don't know what's going happen to them. Should they align themselves with the US? Well, maybe that won't work. Look at what has happened to Canada. So, I think the In this respect, they have broadened the range of possible futures in relationship to the US, still the most important country in the world, beyond anything they could imagine, and that cannot disappear quickly. It will take, I would have thought, a decade or two at best before people will say, Now we know exactly what's going on.Andrew Keen: Exactly how the U.S. Is going to behave again. In terms of the economic consequences, Martin, is the real damage, at least at this point, 100 days into the Trump administration, is there real damage to the U S economy and the U,S. Consumer? I think that...Martin Wolf: That's certainly going to be important. There's no doubt about it. There's a basic proposition in economics, which is still basically true. The biggest victim of protection, particularly at this sort of level. Is your own country. You are imposing massive adjustment shocks on your country by suddenly putting out of reach, a huge range of goods that they were used to buying. So that's a huge shock and they have to adjust their spending habits, the firms have to adjust how they structure themselves. That's ineluctable and as it all goes away, And if it all goes away, will they assume that it's all back to normal? I don't know. But of course, because the US is the US, it has imposed tariffs now, significant tariffs by historical standards. It used to be an average of 2% or so. Now it's 10%, leaving aside China and leaving aside of course the automobile sector which has got higher tariffs and all the other special cases that are being considered. So these all affect other countries. And, of course, the effect on China is certainly going to be very, very substantial because it's losing the ability, really, to export to its biggest single market, if you don't regard Europe as a single market. So there will be damage to China. And then there's a really big question. What does it mean for all the countries that might replace China? Vietnam for example, other East Asian countries, is there now going to be a huge opportunity or is the US going to jack up its, reintroduce its reciprocal tariffs, 50%, close to 50%, which case they're going to lose the market. So I think at the moment you'd have to say that everybody is going to feel... Actually or very close to actuallyAndrew Keen: damaged. And what's that gonna look like? Higher prices, fewer jobs? Well I would be, there will be countries that will, in the US in particular. What should we be so to speak looking forward to in the next couple of years? Well when I assume thatMartin Wolf: There will be a slowdown in retail sales of consumer goods which will be really quite significant. It will affect the profits of major U.S. Retailing and retail firms significantly and jobs in those activities. That's sort of the shock effect. There will be a risk factor in investment above all investment in manufacturing which will also be significant so I would expect manufacturing investment to decline too. Will that lead to an actual formal recession? I don't know. I don t have enough expertise on the day-by-day numbers. I think there s an additional factor which we mustn t underestimate, how that will play out, we don t know, which is the loss of confidence in the U.S. Government, and you can see that in the Treasury s market, which is most important market in the world, and the pricing there suggests some real nervousness about the future of stability of US economic policy. And here, I think the most important thing will be will there be a war on the Fed? Who's going to be the next Fed chair? What will Trump try to do to get the Fed to do what he wants? So there's going to be a shorter term medium short term impact on the economy. Through exports and, above all, also import availability. And there's going to be bigger concern which will affect investment. And, I think, people's confidence in US financial assets, which is ultimately about confidence in the US government and the consistency and probity of its policies. So short, medium, and long-term effects. How bad it will be, that depends very much on what is decided in the next few months. If in the end, the trade war disappears, Trump stops threatening the Fed, everybody thinks well they tried that it was a huge disaster and they've learnt and he's very flexible he could go away still but the next I think the next two three months are going to be very very important do they walk all this back pretty decisively or do they stick with it or even play double or quits we don't knowAndrew Keen: I don't know whether Mr. Trump knows. Finally, and that's one of Donald Runfield's unknown unknowns, especially when we get into the head of Donald Trump. Finally, Martin, you're very good at the big picture. What people are talking about this moment at the end of a US-centric economic world order, the demise of the dollar, perhaps the rise of cryptocurrency, obviously the 90s. Dimension. Was this? Two final questions. Firstly, is that true? Are we seeing a reoriented global financial system in America and the dollar no longer being central? And secondly, for all Trump's stupidity, was this in the long run inevitable? I mean, of course, Kane says in the long run, everything is inevitable, including our own deaths. Uh is this something that we should have expected it's just all come in a rush in a mad rush at the beginning of 2025 well these these are really difficult questions i think that's why i asked you you're the chief economics commentator in the ft if you can't answer them no one let's just say how i think about itMartin Wolf: There are two reasons why you could think the world wouldn't continue as it was. The first is the rise of China has genuinely changed the world. And the unipolar moment was clearly over and China is clearly a more credible peer competitor of the US across the board than the Soviet Union ever was. So in that sense, the world that the US comfortably dominated had gone, and it was bound to require a, and something I've written about many times, a forceful alliance strategy by the US using its web of alliances which are still so potent as the basis of its power and influence to maintain anything like that order. So that was the situation. What I don't think was inevitable is that the president who sort of declared the end of the US-led order would also be someone who basically stands not just for America first but America alone. I always attacked his allies so forcibly. So he has, as it were, taken apart the Alliance system and the values that were linked to that, on which I think U.S. Leadership was going to depend increasingly in future. So that's a, it doesn't seem to be a necessary shock and a rather strange one if you consciously detonate as such an important part of your power, but I suppose it is possible to argue that after 80 years since the war, second world war, the Americans have just sort of got tired of that world and tired of the responsibility of that well and they've sort of gotten tired with themselves, with the system that they've been living under. That's so obvious. Left and right agree they don't like modern America. Well once we look at that, then it may be that this was inevitable, but it was inevitable then for reasons that I don't fully understand. And that's probably a failure of my imagination. And the core remains that while America couldn't go on being precisely what it was in the 90s or early 2000s, where they made a bigger mess of it, but they didn't have to jump out of the world and the world they created with this stupendous speed. And it's very similar, and even more dramatic in its effects, when after the First World War the Americans repudiated the League of Nations, said Europe's got nothing to do with us, we're just going to leave it, gone. You sort it out and you know what happened as a result. Germans elected the Nazis and the Nazis started conquering the whole of Europe. So it's the American withdrawal. So suddenly, and so completely, well, complete, that's unfair, but so suddenly, with no obvious strategy to replace it, that seems to me striking, strikingly willful and a little bit mad and in any case, for me it's a surprise.Andrew Keen: And it changes the world. Well, on that chilling note, Martin Wolff, the chief economics commentator of BFT, given us much to think about. Martin, thank you so much. This story is only just beginning. We're gonna get you back on the show in the not too distant future to explain what comes after America. This is a public episode. 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Catch the week's big car retailing stories on the Motor Trade Radio podcast, powered by MOTORS.   ✅ Dealers say agency model ‘effectively over' ✅ Chery reportedly signing up dealers for third brand in UK ✅ Motor Range supermarket expands with acquisition of former Sytner CarShop site ✅ Motor Ombudsman reveals five most delayed areas of car maintenance ✅ Suzuki boosts car warranty to 10 years for loyal customers ✅ Ford launches free home chargers with all new EVs ✅ Polestar provides battery health report for used cars ✅ Ian Goldbold's Top Tip for April ✅PLUS Mike Allen on EV rollout trends following the ZEV Mandate revisions   And #AllTheChatterThatMatters with your co-hosts, Curtis and Philip

Airline retailing with ATPCO CEO Alex Zoghlin, IATA's New Distribution Capability, Offers & Orders, and the Elevate industry conference. In the news, AI transformation of the airline industry, cyber criminals stealing United FA login credentials, shark skin riblets on Delta 767s, first flight of a prototype hydrogen-powered helicopter, China's tailless 6th generation fighter jet, and a fatal helicopter crash in the Hudson River. Guest Alex Zoghlin is the CEO of ATPCO, a neutral industry partner that provides airline management tools, pricing data, and solutions that support airline retailing. Owned by the airlines, ATPCO blends data and systems with technology to create value for hundreds of commercial airlines around the world. The company turned 60 this year. IATA describes Airline retailing as a customer-centric approach in the airline industry that focuses on enhancing the shopping experience across various channels. It is enabled by the New Distribution Capability (NDC), which allows airlines to offer more personalized services and products directly to consumers. This modern retailing model emphasizes frictionless, intuitive, and personalized shopping experiences for travelers. The transition to this model provides airlines with opportunities to innovate their distribution strategies and create additional value. Alex explains how ATPCO provides value to airlines. We talk about continuous pricing and dynamically generated fares as well as some of the factors airlines use in their pricing strategies. He describes how airlines can have fixed price points for different offerings, then turn specific offerings on or off depending on the circumstances. We look at curated ticket pricing that can create the specific travel experience the customer wants - extra baggage, type of seat, lounge access, etc. With this capability, airlines could potentially compete for the flyer's travel business. ATPCO's Elevate 2025 airline industry conference was held April 7-10, 2025, in Chicago. Alex says the conference theme this year was data and AI: How airlines can use the wealth of available data and some AI tools to make win-win offerings for both the airlines and the consumers. In our conversation with Alex, we consider several other airline industry topics such as the 2050 industry carbon reduction goals and the current tariff situation in the United States. Alex is a long-time airline/travel industry veteran. He co-founded Orbitz, sold a distribution startup to Travelport, and worked as a VP at Hyatt for 6 years. Alex has several aviation-related pursuits: He's a pilot and a flight simmer, he has a Part 107 drone license, and he participates in launching large amateur rockets, specifically the LDRS (Large, Dangerous Rocket Ships), an annual gathering of rocket enthusiasts organized by the Tripoli Rocketry Association. Aviation News How AI is Transforming the Airline Industry The Promise of Travel in the age of AI, a 32-page Skift & McKinsey report (2023), claims that AI could generate an estimated US$45bn in potential value for the airline industry globally through operational efficiencies, revenue optimization, and customer service improvements.  AI is already impacting the airlines through organizational changes, predictive maintenance from aircraft health monitoring, AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots, personalized in-flight entertainment options, and voice-cloning technology to provide a multilingual IFE system. In the future, look for flight path optimization for increased fuel efficiency, refined dynamic pricing models, and even autonomous aircraft. Cyber Criminals Are Going After The Paychecks Of United Airlines Flight Attendants Using Fake Websites That Look Legit Criminals are using website spoofing to steal the login credentials of United FAs. In addition to paychecks, Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are at risk.

In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP editors Hannah Hammond, Heather Lalley, Rachel Gignac, Diane Adam and Chuck Ulie share highlights from CSP's Convenience Retailing University (CRU) conference.The event took place Feb. 24-26 in Nashville, Tennessee, and was filled with educational content in all convenience-store categories, from tobacco to center store to packaged beverages and more. Also, Hammond interviews five of the 2025 Category Manager of the Year winners: Foodservice, large chain, winner Kevin Dixon of Circle K and small-chain winner Jamie Kennedy of Weigel'sAlcohol, large chain, winner Jackie Pfeiffer of Circle K and small-chain winner Nick Triantafellou of Weigel'sLoyalty + Tech/Operations, small chain, winner Jessica Starnes of Weigel'sThey talked about what they love about their categories, what challenges they face and more. Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP's 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Weigel's Stores Inc. is No. 79.

SEASON: 4 EPISODE: 35Episode Overview:Ever feel like you are working hard, but not always smart? This week on Becoming Preferred, we're diving into the world of sales enablement with Dr. Stefanie Boyer, a true expert in the field. Stefanie helps businesses equip their sales teams with the tools, resources, and strategies they need to close deals and boost revenue. She's here to break down what sales enablement really is, why it matters, and how you can implement it in your own organization. Get ready to transform your sales performance with my guest, Stefanie Boyer. Guest Bio: Dr. Stefanie Boyer, Professor of Marketing at Bryant University, is the Co-Founder of RNMKRS, a virtual platform for training and assessing sales talent. She is Executive Director of the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition, linking organizations with top talent, and is the recipient of the prestigious American Marketing Association Sales Educator of the Year Award. Stefanie coauthored The Little Black Book of Social Media, Strategies to Ignite Your Business, Influencer, and Professional Brand. She brings unique and valuable experience to the classroom and to organizations that want to build their client base.Since 2003, Dr. Boyer has held various roles in training and developing sales professionals working in sales and preparing to go into sales. Her expertise leverages self-directed learning philosophies to help organizations get more out of their training resources. What does that mean? Your team will learn more effectively and efficiently and you will see an improvement in performance when you use this approach. Dr. Boyer uses an adaptability approach to training teams to shorten their decision making cycle and capitalize on revenue opportunities.Dr. Boyer created a sales movement at Bryant University with a sales minor, various sales competitions and events, a vibrant sales team and mentorship programs. She strives to bring together the brightest sales students and leading sales organizations in the northeast and expanding around the country for networking, recruiting, competition and skill-building.Dr. Boyer has won several teaching, innovation, research and service awards over the years in the sales field.You can find more information about her research and the training she does in the following outlets: Wall Street Journal, Sales Education Foundation Annual Magazine, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Selling, International Journal of Education, Journal of Marketing Analytics, Journal of Self-Directed Learning, Marketing Management Journal, Journal of Marketing Channels, Journal of Business to Business Marketing, Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of Marketing Education, Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education, Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, International Journal of Sales, Marketing and Retailing, and the Journal of Research and Interactive Marketing, among others. B.A., M.B.A., Ph.D. University of South Florida.Resource Links:Website: Website: https://www.bryant.edu/academics/faculty/boyer-stefanieProduct Link:

In just over a half century since the first c-store opened in Tokyo, the definition of convenience has been reshaped over and over throughout Asia. Hear what the big ideas are in Tokyo and which ones could be coming to your market. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Mark Wohltmann, Director, NACS Global Mark is responsible for the strategic development of NACS Global, a worldwide network that supports convenience retailers and their businesses. He has more than 20 years of experience in research and consulting, with a focus on FMCG/CPG and retail. Mark began his career in the advertising industry, focusing on trade marketing and sales advertising in impulse retail channels at Dorland in Berlin and at Grey and BBDO in Duesseldorf.

Happy New Year! In the first episode of 2025, the team - Atul Sodha, Natalie Lightfoot and Aman Uppal – talk to us about Christmas, Easter, community, hampers, jacket potatoes and, of course, stacks.With Christmas sales down year-on-year, we hear how retailers are moving into new areas - air fryers, fragrances and wax melts, to name but three - and how the build-up to Easter is now the really exciting retail event.It isn't just looking back though, as the team also look forward and give us their Retail Resolutions for the new year. What should you be focusing on over the next 12 months, and should it be resolution - or revolution!Hopefully the stories in this episode resonate with retailers out there – please do share your own stories and feedback with us via any of the methods below.---------------------------------------------------------------------To get in touch with us, ask a question of our retailer panel, or get involved with any of the conversations, please email betterretailing@newtrade.co.uk, or send us a message via Newtrade Media on LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fast Retailing Co. on Thursday reported record profits and revenue for the three months ended in November thanks to robust sales at its Uniqlo casual clothing store chain in Japan.

Japan's Fast Retailing Co. said Wednesday that it will raise the starting monthly salary for new employees by 10pctto 330,000 yen from March 2025, taking their annual pay to slightly over 5 million yen.

Dr. Forrest Morgeson, Interim Chairperson of the Marketing Department, Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at Michigan State University, and former Director of Research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). With over two decades of rigorous research and numerous publications in top marketing journals, Dr. Morgeson shares his deep insights into the cyclical relationship between customer satisfaction and the economy. Discover how economic fluctuations, global events, and energy prices intricately affect customer contentment, and why satisfaction decreased pre-COVID only to rebound post-pandemic. Dr. Morgeson provides a critical analysis of the Biden administration's efforts to enhance citizen satisfaction through executive orders, exploring the complexities that set governmental services apart from the private sector. Join the discussion on common misconceptions, the importance of correlating customer satisfaction with ROI, and the challenges businesses face in capturing accurate data on satisfaction and churn. Learn why optimizing, rather than maximizing, customer experience is key to outpacing competitors, and what strategies can improve satisfaction and earnings across different industries. Tune in as Dr. Morgeson shares practical advice for business leaders and reflects on his own career journey, providing valuable nuggets of wisdom for anyone interested in customer experience and satisfaction metrics. Don't miss this opportunity to gain expert knowledge from a leading authority in the field. Subscribe to the Delighted Customers Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music, and leave a five-star review to help us spread the word. New episodes drop every Thursday! For more information on the topics discussed, visit the Michigan State University's marketing department website.   Meet Dr. Morgeson Forrest V. Morgeson III is Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing, Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University. He also serves as the Co-Director of the Doctoral Program in Marketing. Dr. Morgeson teaches marketing management, marketing strategy, and marketing research courses to graduate students. Dr. Morgeson's past position was Director of Research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), where he managed ACSI's academic research and team of researchers, advanced statistical modeling and analysis, and the company's international projects and licensing program. Dr. Morgeson's research focuses on customer satisfaction and customer experience measurement and management. His work also explores the marketing-finance interface, the impact of political identity on consumer attitudes and behaviors, and the impact of information technology on customer service delivery (e-commerce and e-government). His highly cited research (4,349 citations on Google Scholar) has been published in the leading journals in marketing, including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Journal of International Marketing, along with several publications in the leading journals in public administration and management. Dr. Morgeson has recently published two books: Citizen Satisfaction: Improving Government Performance, Efficiency, and Citizen Trust (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), and The Reign of the Customer: Customer-Centric Approaches to Improving Satisfaction (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). In addition, over the past 20 years

In this episode, we speak with Luis Mata and Gabriel Llaurado, the co-founders of Meat N' Bone, an innovative retailer and direct-to-consumer provider of high-end proteins, including a variety of meats and fish. Discover how Meat N' Bone is filling a critical market gap by offering an extensive selection of quality meats, ranging from ribeyes to Wagyu, appealing to serious home chefs and food lovers. Learn about their unique omnichannel approach that combines online convenience with physical store experiences, significantly lowering customer acquisition costs and fostering high customer retention. Highlights include…Concept and Unique Selling Proposition of Meat and Bone (3:53)Growth and Business Model (6:08)Expansion Plans and Market Strategy (9:25)Competitive Advantage and Brand Building (13:26)Consumer Engagement and Future Plans (20:01)Sourcing Strategy and Quality Assurance (22:25)

Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We're breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use.In this episode, Elena and Rob explore how sunlight influences consumer spending habits, revealing that brighter days lead to bigger sales across all product categories.Topics covered:   [01:05] "The Effect of Weather on Consumer Spending"[02:45] How mood impacts purchasing decisions[04:10] Six years of retail data analysis[05:30] Artificial sunlight experiments[08:20] Weather-based marketing opportunities  To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast or subscribe to our newsletter at marketingarchitects.com/newsletter. Resources: Murray, Kyle B., Fabrizio Di Muro, Adam Finn, and Peter Popkowski Leszczyc. "The Effect of Weather on Consumer Spending." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol. 17, no. 6, July 2010, pp. 512-520. Elsevier, doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2010.08.006. Get more research-backed marketing strategies by subscribing to The Marketing Architects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

You set up an assumption, you have a theory, you analyze your data, and you show that the assumption does not hold. Doing good qualitative research is that simple. Except that it's not, of course. On the ground, in the research and writing process, these basic rules can be quite tricky to implement. So we discuss some heuristics researchers can use to limit their conversants, settle on suitable theoretical lenses to examine their data, and collecting more data than what they thought was necessary.   References Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation Of Cultures. Basic Books. Goodall, J. (1986). The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. Harvard University Press. Popper, K. R. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Basic Books. Durkheim, E. (1895). The Rules of Sociological Method. Free Press. Giddens, A. (1976). New Rules of Sociological Method. Hutchinson. Barley, S. R. (1986). Technology as an Occasion for Structuring: Evidence from Observations of CT Scanners and the Social Order of Radiology Departments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31(1), 78-108. Kellogg, K. C. (2022). Local Adaptation Without Work Intensification: Experimentalist Governance of Digital Technology for Mutually Beneficial Role Reconfiguration in Organizations. Organization Science, 33(2), 571-599. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1445 Mertens, W., Recker, J., Kummer, T.-F., Kohlborn, T., & Viaene, S. (2016). Constructive Deviance as a Driver for Performance in Retail. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, 193-203. Markus, M. L. (1983). Power, Politics, and MIS Implementation. Communications of the ACM, 26(6), 430-444. Berente, N., Lyytinen, K., Yoo, Y., & King, J. L. (2016). Routines as Shock Absorbers During Organizational Transformation: Integration, Control, and NASA's Enterprise Information System. Organization Science, 27(3), 551-572. Alashoor, T., Keil, M., Smith, H. J., & McConnell, A. R. (2023). Too Tired and in Too Good of a Mood to Worry about Privacy: Explaining the Privacy Paradox through the Lens of Effort Level in Information Processing. Information Systems Research, 34(4), 1415-1436. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (4th ed.). Sage. Berente, N., Recker, J., & Leonardi, P. (2023). . This IS Research podcast, 13 September 2023. Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research: Notes on the Gioia Methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15-31. Lebovitz, S., Levina, N., & Lifshitz-Assaf, H. (2021). Is AI Ground Truth Really “True”? The Dangers of Training and Evaluating AI Tools Based on Experts' Know-What. MIS Quarterly, 45(3), 1501-1525. Ryle, G. (1949). The Concept of Mind. University of Chicago Press. Langley, A. (1999). Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data. Academy of Management Review, 24(4), 691-711. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd ed.). Sage. Cramton, C. D., & Hinds, P. J. (2014). An Embedded Model of Cultural Adaptation in Global Teams. Organization Science, 25(4), 1056-1081. 

In the latest edition of Omni Talk's Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: How E.l.f.'s Dollar General Expansion Will Impact Beauty Retailing For the full episode head here:https://youtu.be/HfqxboxZ35Q

As the competition for eyewear stays hot, how can opticals rethink the patient experience and their marketing to stay competitive? Liza Amlani, principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, talks about how to promoting individual brands can help a practice create its own brand, as well. Hear her tips for incorporating what successful retail brands do. 

What does it take to create a shopping experience that captivates customers around the globe? To answer that question we're diving deep into the minds of two extraordinary leaders in the retail industry. CEO of Le Bon Marché in Paris, Patrice Wagner, and Chairman and CEO of the Selfridges Group in London, André Maeder. Both of these guys began their careers in retail working on the shop floor; selling face-to-face with customers. They express true appreciation for front-line employees, and inherent joy in the process of improving the customer experience. They each rose through the ranks at some of the most prestigious department stores in the world, accumulating a wealth of knowledge and expertise suitable now to uphold the legacies of the aforementioned Le Bon Marché in Paris and Selfridges in London. Each of these stores, in its own way, continuously garners worldwide attention and respect through unique customer engagement that goes far beyond just shopping for clothes. From incredible food offerings to fine art exhibitions and theater performances, to indoor skateparks and celebrity appearances, Patrice and André take big swings and try new things to surprise and delight customers with distinct one-of-a-kind environments. Together they'll share insights into the key focal points of running their businesses, the challenges they face, and an inspiring vision for the future of department stores. Thanks for tuning in to episode 73. We hope you enjoy it! Did you know that YOU can be on The Nordy Pod? This show isn't just a one-way conversation. We want to hear about what Nordstrom looks like through your eyes. Share your Nordstrom experience, good or bad, by giving us a call and leaving a voicemail at: 206.594.0526, or send an email to nordypodcast@nordstrom.com to be a part of the conversation! And, be sure to follow us on Instagram @thenordypod to stay up to date on new episodes, announcements and more.

Join me as I discuss Cox's Omni-Channel retail platform which is delivering a profound change in how consumers engage with dealers and how dealers efficiently operate their business

Duane Scott Cerny is an expert on dead people. Or, more precisely, marketing and selling their possessions after they've passed to the afterlife. He is the author of the bestselling book Selling Dead People's Things: Inexplicably True Tales, Vintage Fails & Objects of Objectionable Estates and Vintage Confidential: Retro Rattled, Tales Tattled—Confessions of the World's Third Oldest Profession. Duane co-owns Chicago's largest multi-dealer antique mall, Broadway Antique Market. As you'll hear, he is also quite the sage when it comes to understanding the formula for business success. Thanks to his ability to adapt to ever-changing tastes and listen closely to his customers, Duane is celebrating his mall's 34th anniversary this year. Not only is Duane business savvy, but he is also a born entertainer and storyteller — truly a treat to listen to. Happy Halloween.  [Watch Jordan Phelps's music video tribute to Broadway Antique Market, which opens this week's episode, on YouTube here. Read Duane's columns in The Village View here.] Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. Photo: Duane Scott Cerny, Broadway Antique MarketPosted: October 28, 2024 Monday Morning Run Time: 51:50 Episode: 13.20 RELATED EPISODES: Aaron LaPedis is a Master of Garage and Estate Sales, and Online Auctions Talking Trash with Patty Penke, An Expert on the Hidden Treasures Many People Consider Junk The Legacies of Dead CEOs Can Inform Today's Business Leaders

Deep insights in this episode of the BizNews Briefing as top retail analyst Evan Walker of 36ONE explains what impact the annual financial results will have on the super-charged share price of Clicks and the sector generally in the context of the Takealot v Amazon v Temu; and mining guru Peter Major assesses the latest news from Afrimat; Anglo American; Anglo Platinum and Kumba. Also in this show, Western Cape focused property stock Spear's CEO Quintin Rossi; Wilgenhof; implications of North Korean troops in the Ukraine front line; and chances of success for Putin-punted BRICS currency.

Join me and Kerri as we discuss the breakthrough results dealers are experiencing with AutoFi Showroom and how dealers implementing a connected retailing sterategy are seeing higher PVR and lower staff turnover rates

Join host Chris Carril and guest Wendy Ritz Ph.D., AIB-SE Conference Chair, and Dr. Brittney Bauer, Ph.D., AIB-SE Marketing Chair, as they discuss planning the annual AIB-SE conference, the history of X-Culture, and defining a successful international business conference.More info on the 2024 AIB-SE Conference: https://us-se.aib.world/pre-conference/Chris Carril is the Vice President-Tax Planning and Treasury Management for Maritz Holdings in Fenton, MO.  His responsibilities include the company's treasury, tax and risk management functions and he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Missouri. He has previously held financial positions at A.G. Edwards, Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company, and Furniture Brands International. Recently, Chris has joined the Advisory Board of the Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University. Chris enjoys spending time with his four children and rescue dog, Lyla, enjoying St Louis Muny theatre, and attending St. Louis University Billiken basketball games.Dr. Wendy Ritz is Associate Professor teaching Marketing at Florida State University. She is a fellow with the Direct Marketing Education Foundation and an active board member with the Academy of International Business Southeast Chapter. Her research focuses on the buyer journey in various markets, such as prosumption, business-to-business, international sales and marketing, and across various electronic platforms. She has published in several marketing journals such as Industrial Marketing Management, Journal in Research of Interactive Marketing, and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, The Journal of Consumer Behavior, Marketing Education Review, and the Harvard Business Review.Dr. Brittney Bauer is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago and the Director of the Quinlan School of Business Behavioral Lab. She earned her dual Ph.D. in marketing and international business from Saint Louis University in 2019. Furthermore, she received a Certificate for University Teaching Skills from the Center of Teaching Excellence and a Research Methods Minor during her doctoral studies. Dr. Bauer received the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 College of Business Outstanding Research Awards. Her work has been published in well-respected journals such as the International Journal of Research in Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Product & Brand Management, and Academy of Management Perspectives. Dr. Bauer has an extensive research pipeline currently under review at top marketing and international business journals, and her work has also been noted in the media. She is an editorial review board member and ad-hoc reviewer for various academic journals. Moreover, Dr. Bauer is an active member of the American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, and Academy of International Business, and has performed various leadership roles for their respective annual meetings. She has also earned several Best Reviewer and Best Paper Awards at these national and international conferences. https://www.luc.edu/quinlan/faculty/brittneybauer.shtml Visit Guest Wendy Ritz's LinkedIn

In December 2022, Finnair started its journey towards modern retailing by adopting Amadeus Nevio. In this episode we are taking stock of the progress made by Finnair, the achievements, the challenges and the key benefits Finnair is now able to offer to its travelers. As part of the Travel Technology Investment Trends 2024 research, we surveyed airline executives across the world about their investment strategy for the coming year. They told us that they were planning to increase their investment in technology by an average of 13% year-over-year. With all the industry initiatives around Offer and Order and NDC, we can feel we are right now at a turning point. What can we expect in this next exciting chapter of our industry? Tune in to find out with our speakers: Pia Viljaniemi, Head of Commercial and Financial Applications at Finnair Fabrizio Calcabrini, Executive Vice President, Airlines Solutions at Amadeus  To stay up to date on the latest news from Amadeus, and to catch the next episodes in our series, check out the Resource section on our website or follow us on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

Join me and Daniel Able, National Sales Manager of CarCutter as we discuss the breakthroughs in vehicle merchandising and photography which will become the standard in future automotive retailing.

Sermon Resources: 1. “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” -Ecclesiastes 1:8 2. “Desire alone, of acquiring goods and possessions for ourselves and our nearest friends, is insatiable, perpetual, universal.” -David Hume, "A Treatise of Human Nature" 3. "I can't get no satisfaction." -Mick Jagger, "Satisfaction" 4. “In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by a relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” -Edward Bernays, "Propaganda" 5. “Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…The greater the pressures upon the individual to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more he tends to express his aspirations and his individuality in terms of what he wears, drives, eats, his home, his car, his food, his hobbies. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, ride, live with ever more complicated and, therefore, constantly more expensive consumption. ” -Victor Lebow, "The Journal of Retailing: 1955" 6. Harvest Queen vs. Homecoming Queen: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1991/november-25/murder-envy-and-harvest-princess-what-really-poisoned.html&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1723312423553888&usg=AOvVaw1ZO4y_-tCOr2mrBn_u6LFG 7. “We have tended to turn the Christian faith into a relationship with a God who is the divine vending machine in the sky, there to meet our every want. Unhappy? Unattractive? Unsuccessful? Unmarried? Unfulfilled? Come to Christ and he'll give you all these things you asked for. We forget that God is not primarily in the business of meeting our wants. When we make him out to be, we squeeze him out of his rightful place at the center of our lives, and we put ourselves in his place. God is in the business of being God - of redeeming and restoring and forgiving and healing and loving. Christianity cannot be reduced to meeting peoples' wants, and when we make it so, we invariably distort the Gospel message.” -David Henderson, "Culture Shift" 8. "I Will Never Cast Out," by John Bunyan 9. Examen resource: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/

Dr.Suresh Ramanathan | Dean, Great Lakes Institute of ManagementDr. Suresh is a leading academic expert on consumer emotions and motivations. His research focuses on the role of changing emotions and goals in different domains, such as social consumption of experiences, self-control and impulsive behavior, health-related marketing and sales promotion effectiveness.Suresh's work is highly cited in the academic literature and has also received extensive mention in the popular press, including New York Times, CBS News, Times of India, Los Angeles Times, and Science Daily. He was till recently on the Editorial Review Boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of Retailing, and also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several other journals in marketing. 

Our guest on this week's episode is Tom Behnke, vice president of sales and marketing at distribution 3PL Boxzooka. With the turning of the calendar pages to August, it's back-to-school season for most American families. While stores have been stocked for some time with the latest in shoes, clothing, and school supplies, parents are now shopping in earnest to prepare their young learners for a good school year. What does it take for distributors and retailers to succeed in this second-biggest peak shopping season of the year, and will they experience any hiccups?Lineage Logistics, a cold storage warehouse and transportation company, has now gone public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. They raised $4.4 billion in shares sold in their initial public offer, which translates to an overall valuation of the company at $18 billion. So, what do you do with $4.4 billion? When the IPO happened last week, they shared some pretty typical plans: mostly paying down debt from all the borrowing they had done to grow so large. But this week, we learned about some new plans, which involve sharing some of that windfall profit with employees. The global outlook for investments in warehouse automation was revised down this week, mainly due to challenging economic conditions in some other parts of the world. That's according to research from British consulting firm Interact Analysis, which released a mid-year report Tuesday updating its global warehouse automation forecast from last fall. Conditions look better in the Americas. Warehouse-automation revenue forecast projections for the United States have increased compared the fall forecast, mainly as a result of higher consumer spending, improved sentiment toward the economy, and Amazon starting to invest again, according to the report.  Supply Chain Xchange  also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes.Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:BoxzookaLineage shares IPO windfall with its workersReport calls for slower growth in warehouse automationGet episode transcriptsVisit Supply Chain XchangeListen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Xchange's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcastSend feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.comPodcast is sponsored by: Storage SolutionsOther linksAbout DC VELOCITYSubscribe to DC VELOCITYSign up for our FREE newslettersAdvertise with DC VELOCITYTop 10 Supply 

Retailing is an art and a grind. Kristina Cavallari has both - the art to retailing and the grit to grind it out in retail. We talk about Aura Natural Market, how Kristina thinks about retail and serving her customers.  In case you're wondering what the store looks like...we filmed a tour. https://youtu.be/Pshrw-SMKbkTo find Kristina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-cavallari-923341b4/To find Kurt Astle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-astle-22343a170/To find Aura Natural Market: https://www.auramarket.ca/

In this episode, our guest Darko Tushev explores the vital role of Order Management Systems (OMS) in modern retail. Learn about the importance of breaking down silos between online and physical retail operations, promoting leadership alignment on customer-centric values. Darko addresses challenges like meeting heightened customer expectations for fast delivery and seamless returns, advocating for a holistic approach to retail operations, where OMS plays a central role in orchestrating inventory visibility and order fulfillment across diverse channels. His insights emphasize the importance of adapting technology to serve both online and in-store customers effectively, fostering a unified retail experience driven by customer satisfaction.

Smartphone gimbals have transformed the landscape of content creation. With the evolution of technology, these devices have become more user-friendly and efficient, enabling creators to produce professional-grade videos using just their smartphones. A notable example is the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal from Hohem, which is lauded for its user-friendly design and innovative features.Smartphone Gimbal: A Game-Changer for Content CreationThe iSteady M6 stands out for its simplicity in balancing. Unlike other stabilizers that necessitate multiple adjustments for optimal balance, this gimbal requires just a single adjustment before activation. This feature significantly simplifies the setup process, allowing creators to start filming their content without any inconvenience.Another distinctive feature of the iSteady M6 is its AI tracker. This function enables users to track their faces and movements by merely showing an OK sign. The gimbal then tracks the user's movements in real time, making it ideal for capturing dynamic shots without manual adjustments.The iSteady M6 also offers a variety of functions that can be controlled via an app. While the app provides additional features like zooming in and out, the gimbal itself can be used without any extra installations. This is particularly beneficial for users who prefer simplicity and wish to record with their phone in its raw form.The iSteady M6 is also known for its robust design, making it one of the top smartphone gimbals in the market. Its multiple functions for the shutter button enable users to effortlessly switch between different shooting modes, including portrait and landscape. The built-in light feature adds another layer of versatility, allowing users to adjust the brightness and color temperature of the light according to their needs.Affordable and Versatile Tech ProductsThe iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal is an affordable and versatile tech product that stands out in the market. Retailing at $209 on Amazon or the company's store, it offers users a high-quality stabilizer that can accommodate various devices, including phones, action cameras, and mirrorless cameras. The inclusion of different adjustments and inserts in the kit eliminates the need for additional accessories, making it a cost-effective choice for content creators.Hohem also offers a portable microphone, another affordable and versatile tech product for creators. Priced at $119 for the iPhone version and $109 for the Type-C version, this microphone provides a wireless solution that doesn't require extra wires to connect to phones. With features such as noise cancellation, shutter control, and a micro SD slot for recording, this microphone offers a range of functionalities that make it a valuable tool for content creators.Both the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal and the portable microphone from Hohem offer affordable pricing without compromising on quality or features. These tech products provide users with the tools they need to create professional-quality content without breaking the bank. Their user-friendly designs and innovative features are a testament to the advancements in technology that make content creation easier and more accessible.Conclusion: Affordable content creation toolsIn conclusion, the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal and portable microphone from Hohem exemplify the affordability and versatility of tech products available to content creators. With their competitive pricing and range of features, these products offer users the ability to enhance their content creation capabilities without investing in expensive equipment. As technology continues to evolve, affordable and versatile tech products like these will play a crucial role in empowering creators to bring their creative visions to life.Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.Sponsored by: Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy. Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more. The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.

Smartphone gimbals have transformed the landscape of content creation. With the evolution of technology, these devices have become more user-friendly and efficient, enabling creators to produce professional-grade videos using just their smartphones. A notable example is the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal from Hohem, which is lauded for its user-friendly design and innovative features.Smartphone Gimbal: A Game-Changer for Content CreationThe iSteady M6 stands out for its simplicity in balancing. Unlike other stabilizers that necessitate multiple adjustments for optimal balance, this gimbal requires just a single adjustment before activation. This feature significantly simplifies the setup process, allowing creators to start filming their content without any inconvenience.Another distinctive feature of the iSteady M6 is its AI tracker. This function enables users to track their faces and movements by merely showing an OK sign. The gimbal then tracks the user's movements in real time, making it ideal for capturing dynamic shots without manual adjustments.The iSteady M6 also offers a variety of functions that can be controlled via an app. While the app provides additional features like zooming in and out, the gimbal itself can be used without any extra installations. This is particularly beneficial for users who prefer simplicity and wish to record with their phone in its raw form.The iSteady M6 is also known for its robust design, making it one of the top smartphone gimbals in the market. Its multiple functions for the shutter button enable users to effortlessly switch between different shooting modes, including portrait and landscape. The built-in light feature adds another layer of versatility, allowing users to adjust the brightness and color temperature of the light according to their needs.Affordable and Versatile Tech ProductsThe iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal is an affordable and versatile tech product that stands out in the market. Retailing at $209 on Amazon or the company's store, it offers users a high-quality stabilizer that can accommodate various devices, including phones, action cameras, and mirrorless cameras. The inclusion of different adjustments and inserts in the kit eliminates the need for additional accessories, making it a cost-effective choice for content creators.Hohem also offers a portable microphone, another affordable and versatile tech product for creators. Priced at $119 for the iPhone version and $109 for the Type-C version, this microphone provides a wireless solution that doesn't require extra wires to connect to phones. With features such as noise cancellation, shutter control, and a micro SD slot for recording, this microphone offers a range of functionalities that make it a valuable tool for content creators.Both the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal and the portable microphone from Hohem offer affordable pricing without compromising on quality or features. These tech products provide users with the tools they need to create professional-quality content without breaking the bank. Their user-friendly designs and innovative features are a testament to the advancements in technology that make content creation easier and more accessible.Conclusion: Affordable content creation toolsIn conclusion, the iSteady M6 smartphone gimbal and portable microphone from Hohem exemplify the affordability and versatility of tech products available to content creators. With their competitive pricing and range of features, these products offer users the ability to enhance their content creation capabilities without investing in expensive equipment. As technology continues to evolve, affordable and versatile tech products like these will play a crucial role in empowering creators to bring their creative visions to life.Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.Sponsored by: Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy. Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more. The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.

Returer är ett växande problem för individer, modeföretag och miljön. Där vissa modekonsumenter upplever returer som krångliga och kostsamma ser andra möjligheter att använda hemmet som provrum och shoppar loss utan hämningar. För företagen är returerna en mycket kostsam historia. Många modeföretag får tillbaka ungefär hälften av köpen som returer. Denna shoppingkultur får förstås också konsekvenser för klimatet: plagg som returneras är inte alltid i ett sådant skick att de kan säljas i ordinarie återförsäljningskanaler. Samtidigt kan företags åtgärder för att minska returer leda till att felköp istället blir hängande hemma hos konsumenter. Hur stort är problemet med returer idag? Hur agerar modeföretag för att minska mängden returer? Hur har modekonsumenters beteende förändrats över tid? Hur kan modeföretag bäst hantera returer, om man utgår från forskningen? I dagens avsnitt träffar vi forskaren Christoph Baldauf från Center for Retailing vid Handelshögskolan i Stockholm och entreprenören Oscar Rundqvist, Handelsalumn och grundare av eComID, en startup som erbjuder modeföretag tjänster för att minska returer och därmed också få ner koldioxidavtrycket. Sedan tar vi fasta på att returer lätt hamnar på soptippen, tar oss över till Miami och pratar med Patricia Ermecheo, grundare till företaget Osomtex som gör textilier av gamla kläder och bland annat samarbetat med Nike. Programmet leds av Jenny Lantz, docent i företagsekonomi med inriktning på kulturekonomi vid Handelshögskolan i Stockholm. Intervjun med Patricia Ermecheo görs av Sofia Hedström de Leo. Bakom podden står också forskaren Tina Sendlhofer, Stockholm Environment Institute. Tack för att du lyssnar! Följ oss gärna på Instagram.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Ownit AI and Mirakl. Ownit AI helps brands and retailers win Google search by answering their shopper's questions online. Learn more at ownit.co. Mirakl is the global leader in platform business innovation for eCommerce. Companies like Macy's, Nordstrom, and Kroger use Mirakl to build disruptive growth and profitability through marketplace, dropship, and retail media. For more, visit mirakl.comHere are today's top headlines:Target's Store Companion: Target announces the nationwide rollout of Store Companion, a GenAI-powered chatbot for store team members. Amazon's AI Expansion in Europe: Amazon extends its generative AI-powered product listing capabilities to sellers across major European markets. Fast Retailing's Tech Drive: Fast Retailing, parent company of Uniqlo, adopts RFID technology for barcode-less checkout systems to optimize operations and enhance customer service. Stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail insights. Be careful out there!

Dwayne Keys grew up in Wilmington Delaware in what he describes as a very low income home with a single mother and two younger sisters. Dwayne constantly talks about how his mom instilled in him high values of ethics and self sufficiency. At the age of 16 his mother told Dwayn that he needed to get a job and begin earning an income to help support the household as well as to be able to buy things he wanted as a growing boy.   As Dwayne tells it, he moved from the 2nd smallest state in the country to the smallest one when he moved to Providence Rhode Island at the age of 18 to attend college. By the end of his college career he had obtained a Master's degree in marketing. He worked at several financial institutions, but in 2017 he decided it was time for a change in his life. He switched careers from working in the profit-making world to working for a nonprofit, Compass Working Capital as a financial coach to educate and assist low income people through a HUD program called Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS). He has risen through the ranks at Compass as you will hear.   Dwayne is quite passionate about his work. Over the next five years he hopes to continue to grow at Compass. Also, he plans to run for political office in Providence in 2026. He will tell us all about his plans. I bet he succeeds.   About the Guest:   Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, I grew up in a single-parent household with my mother and 2 younger sisters on my maternal side. As the oldest child and only boy, my mother was determined to instill responsibility and accountability in me from a very young age.   As a student, I was very interested in my marketing classes and participated in DECA, which led to me applying to Johnson & Wales University. In moving to Providence, Rhode Island to pursue higher education. While studying to earn my Associate's degree in Retailing, my Bachelor's degree in Marketing, and my M.B.A. in International Trade at Johnson & Wales.   After deciding to make Providence my permanent home during my first year of graduate school, I made it a point to expand my friends and networks to people outside of my college life by getting involved in many community organizations and activities in line with my passion for economic justice and prosperity. By participating in the Urban League and their Young Professionals, I was able to experience being a community organizer and activist while also being involved in politics at the state and local levels.   Over time, my focus has transitioned to that of ending systemic oppression and structural exclusion while also being a proponent of an�-racism and economic opportunity for all. While I remain a community organizer at heart, I've participated in decision making bodies with the City of Providence – Equal Pay Task Force, Special Commission to Study a Progressive Tiered Property Tax, Providence Municipal Reparations Commission – as an additional way of achieving equity and inclusion along economic means for Black and Brown residents in the city. This hasn't been easy working in the for-profit financial services industry, yet under my current employer I've found the perfect balance between my vocation and my commitment to community advancement.   Ways to connect with Dwayne: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynekeys/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dwayne.keys3/ Twitter/X - DKeys_PVD Instagram – dkeyspvd   About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi, I am your host, Michael Hingson. And you are listening to unstoppable mindset today, we get to chat with Dwayne Keys. And Dwayne has an interesting story. One thing that really attracted me to Dwayne when we first started talking is he pointed out that he moved from the second smallest state in the union to the smallest state in the union. And I want to know more about that. So we'll have to deal with that and who knows what else. Dwayne, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Dwayne Keys ** 01:52 I am so glad to be here with you as well, Michael, and I'm just looking forward to, you know, speaking and you know, for your listeners to hear more about my experiences story.   Michael Hingson ** 02:04 Well, let's start then. We do have to get to how come you went from bigger to smaller, but tell us tell us a little bit more about you growing up sort of the early Dwayne, if you will. Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 02:17 the early to Dwayne. I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. I am, you know, some of the facts that people don't know until they really get to know me, I am the younger of fraternal twins that was born. So I had a twin brother to White who had passed away when I was a year, we were both a year old. So you know, I, you know, I my family expanded with my mother had two other children, my younger sister lover, who was two years younger than me. And then 11 years later, my mother had another addition with my other sister, Vivian. So in terms of growing up, that was my family unit in terms of what I knew, in terms of my father, I always say, I can count the number of memories on one hand of my father, although he did live in the same city. And he also had children as well. Siblings that I really didn't even today don't really know. But knew of and we're aware of.   Michael Hingson ** 03:23 So they were in Wilmington. Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 03:27 we were all in Wilmington. My first few years were obviously live, we're living with my grandparents. And, you know, my mother was a young single mother. You know, in hindsight now, it's very easy to say and speak of that. I grew up in a low income household because my mother always was working full time. Also, part time, she was always supporting us, the family, and there are moments where I can reflect on it, we were financially challenged, but yet, I didn't know it growing up, you wouldn't ever known that just how my mother was determined that we would have a comfortable living environment and that we had we need but it's now knowing when I know it's like, oh, we definitely were poor.   Michael Hingson ** 04:16 Yeah. Isn't it interesting how parents keep that from children. And I can appreciate that and understand it because she didn't want you to worry about those kinds of things right. Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 04:29 I mean, it's you know, it kind of thinking about it like you didn't you can remember there's moments where the electrical turned off or something that disconnected or there was a notice of something. But as I you know, I she was very supportive of me really, she was very direct on getting good grades, anything with less than a C was unacceptable in the house, and then even if you got to see that was still she always emphasized you can always do better But she definitely had a very high expectation of me not only of, you know, doing well in school, staying out of trouble, but also just being more then the lived experience. So, you know, you know, just, you know, questions about going to college she was very big on, I see you going to college, I see you doing these things, I see you doing more than what we knew in terms of Wilmington, Delaware, more than what the life and she would always emphasize that I don't want you to have to work two jobs, I don't want you to have to struggle like this, I want you to be able to have a you know, have an excellent life have a way of life where you can do work, but get compensated for it. So it was always my you go to school to get the good grades to get the degree so that you can get paid well and not have to struggle financially.   Michael Hingson ** 05:54 Like she did. Did she say those things to you?   Dwayne Keys ** 05:58 Yes, she did. She was as I gotten older, and particularly as I became a teenager. And then as I got to the point where I was able to work, she did emphasize that. So when I turned 16, a month after my 16th birthday, she got me a job working at one of the supermarket that she had worked at as well at that time, that was her second job. And her statement to me was that you are going to now start paying bills in this house, you're going to contribute financially because you're good. And what I didn't realize at that time, but what she was doing was instilling that sense of responsibility. And so she didn't tell him it to me at that time. But years later, she instilled that she was happy that she had made me go to work, because then the concept of me going out earning a living being able to support myself that was instilled early on   Michael Hingson ** 06:52 about what's your sister's? Did she do the same thing with him.   Dwayne Keys ** 06:57 She actually this, my youngest sister lover, started actually working with she was what 15 1415 years old, because, you know, I there was extra money, I was able to have spending money, do some stuff I was you know, I was able to drive my mother's car because I have my license. And so I think my younger sister saw that and wanted some of that for herself, you know? And so it was, well, if you want to have those things like Dwayne does, well, you should consider getting the job, you know, you have to shoot my mother's wedding, you're like, alright, well, Dwayne's works, that's why he's able to get those things and have those things. And so the idea was, well, I should get a full time get a part time job. And so she started working part time, during summers, and also in school, you know, you know, time restricted, but she was able to find her own part time job to work. And that has been the same thing. Also my younger sister Vivian, with, you know, getting employment where all I would say where we all when we want to accomplish a goal and we want to do something, we find a way to do it. We just do I, we may not have everything planned out or or organized at that moment. But we are very determined people when it comes to accomplishing our goals and getting when we want. And so that sense of determination is in all of us. It just shows in different ways at times.   Michael Hingson ** 08:20 Yeah. Well, I appreciate what you're saying. I can't save that growing up, we had such a low income, that we had electricity or anything turned off. But I know we weren't really rich by any standard. And we we had an income that allowed us to sometimes drive to visit relatives and things like that. But we we didn't have a lot of money. And when my parents finally passed, we certainly didn't have a lot of money. They didn't have a lot of money to, to give to my brother and me. But still, I think the same kind of ethic was in what they instilled in us, which was you got to work you got to learn to make your own way. And I think although they didn't say it, probably a little bit more for me than my brother. My parents were told when I was born four months later, it was discovered I was blind that I was gonna that I should be sent to a home for handicapped children because no blind child could ever grow up to a mountain anything and my parents said to the doctors, you're wrong. He can grow up to do whatever he wants. And they really made sure that I grew up with that kind of an attitude. And I certainly have absolutely no regrets with him doing that.   Dwayne Keys ** 09:35 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's amazing how parents have their plan. They don't always tell you or communicate their plans to you. It's only until even more recently, I'm like okay, now what she said made sense. Now what she did make sense. I didn't understand that at times. And at times. It was frustrating because it did feel like oh gosh, she's controlling Oh, got it. It's never good enough. But then in hindsight, I'm like, everything. She had had a purpose that it's now being fulfilled now, but I can see. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 10:08 the other side of that is she may not have had such a well spelled out plan that she really understood all those things. It was just kind of the ethic that was in her.   Dwayne Keys ** 10:19 Exact exactly. I agreed. So   Michael Hingson ** 10:21 you went off to school and you got a diploma and all that, then did you go to college and what did you do there? Yes,   Dwayne Keys ** 10:29 so um, I you know, after completing Brandywine high school, during my senior year of high school, I had been involved in some activities. One was deca, that was the marketing club. And I had participated in the DECA State Conference in Delaware in February, and had won second prize in one of these categories. And lo and behold, Johnson Wales University was there at the conference, and they were handing out brochures, they were, you know, talking about the university and how they offered their, you know, programs in terms of marketing, and then how they had progressed that specialize in advertising, promotion and Fashion and Retail. Sounds exciting? Well, I mean, look at it, you know, it's not gonna hurt to apply. I was debating about what I stay in Delaware, when I go apply to University of Delaware Delaware State, do I stay Do I go? What I found was appealing that Johnson was his curriculum was just, it was not the traditional school. And so it stood out to me that there was more focus, they called themselves back there America's career in a university. So it was appealing to me because it wasn't like, I'm just going to be stuck in where I've been hearing this, this nightmare about people in terms of just going to college, and I have no life, it was more of like, wait a minute, we're going to prepare for you to get that job that you that so desire. So that was very appealing to me in terms of the university. It was also appealing to get out of Delaware. It just it just, you know, I loved my hometown, but I felt that I was stifled there. And I didn't feel so that I could be myself in terms of my ambition, my attitude, the things I aspire to. I saw Wilmington, Delaware. I mean, my mother was saying it's like, it's kind of like a retirement state at times. And, you know, if you want to have an active social life, we will go to Philly Philadelphia, which is like half an hour, 45 minutes away. And it just, he was like, Okay, here's your chance, an opportunity to get away. So I did apply to the school. I did get accepted. what my mother did not know at the time, and I have since revealed I took a secret trip to Providence. High school time join, swim break. during spring break, my mother would took a trip down to Atlanta. And so she was during that year, you know, seeing visited Atlanta, my aunt, her sister had moved, got married and moved down there. And my mother was being told you got to come down to this city, you need to see this, you need to, you know, experience like down here. My mother was falling in love with that city. And during the week when my sister state when my grandparents, I had made a day trip by train to Providence, Rhode Island form, it's in Delaware. When I came here, the mall had just opened up, they were having WaterFire it just felt good. I liked the look and feel of Providence. I liked how it just sounds like yeah, I could be down with this spot. So I was comfortable with coming here, although I never told anyone about that. So most of my family had thought I was just coming to this place not knowing what it was I was coming into when in fact that I had an idea of what I was going to be experiencing. And, you know, I had worked for most of that summer in between graduating from high school and getting ready for college. And then in August, the beginning of August, right before I was due to come to Providence, my mother made a decision. She was moving out to Atlanta, so she and my sisters moved down there first I stayed with my grandparents temporarily. And then my grandparents took me to Providence Rhode Island School instead of dorms.   Michael Hingson ** 14:21 So what did mom say when you finally told her about your secret trip? Ah.   Dwayne Keys ** 14:28 She did not really get mad. I mean, now when she sees all the stuff that I've been doing, and I've been involved in, I think she accepts it that it was it was divine intervention. It was you know, it was only revealed like I said within the last year or so, so well not much that can be done. But I think she now accepts that. It was meant to be meant to be for me to be in Providence. Hey, mom taught   Michael Hingson ** 14:55 you some of the skills you Oh, gosh, yeah. So that's that's still is a great story, though, you, you did what you needed to do, which is certainly a good thing. So you went there. And I gather that you decided to study marketing.   Dwayne Keys ** 15:18 Yes, I mean, my associates was in retail because I was looking at the different areas, the different pathways that Johnson was offered. And so the one that caught my eye, which is the one that I was very familiar with was retail retail. And, you know, the initial idea was okay, you can learn about the aspects of running a retail store or retail management. And then at the end of your two years, when you complete your associate's degree, you can decide if you want to continue on with retail for your bachelor's, if you want to change it up. And so I, you know, just created that pathway. When I complete my associate's degree, I decided to move on to get into bachelor's degree in marketing. I was like, I loved I loved at least at that time, I loved retail, but I was like, I didn't want to limit myself to just retail as my education. And that's generally marketing, because then I can transition to any other aspects of marketing, FYI, so decided in the future.   Michael Hingson ** 16:19 And so you went off and you got your, your Bachelor's in marketing? Correct? Correct. Correct. So when did you graduate with that?   Dwayne Keys ** 16:27 I graduated my bachelor's degree in 2003, and 2001.   Michael Hingson ** 16:33 All right. So they offered an associate's degree at Johnson wells. Correct.   Dwayne Keys ** 16:37 They believe they still do again, it's been 20 something years. So I'm not sure what has changed the curriculum. But that was the pathway at the time. Well, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 16:45 So you, you did that? And did you go get any kind of advanced degree after the bachelors? Or did you just stop there? No, I   Dwayne Keys ** 16:55 had decided to continue on with Johnson law. So my graduate degree, at that time there was this debate, do you get your master's degree get an MBA male, I had took along with myself, and I was saying, I don't want to have to come back to school later on. I did not. I, like many other people thought, okay, college is done, I'm never gonna have to do a study. And again, obviously, I've seen that not to be the case, I can see you to study even in my career. But at that time, I was like, you know, what would make sense. And that was like, I rather get that degree now. Get it out of the way you'll have it and your educational levels, and they you will focus on your professional experience so that when the time comes, and that is a preferred or required education level, I would have already had that in my possession. I didn't have to worry about going back study and be in a position where I'm working full time ever in a career having kids with doing that. So my aspect was, you're still in study mode, you can still take the test easily, you still can do all those things. Go ahead and do it right now.   Michael Hingson ** 18:03 Yeah, I hear you. I decided, when I got my bachelor's to continue on as well. I just thought that it was probably better to to, to get most of the schooling done. The formal schooling at least done all at once. I never had the attitude that I wouldn't go off and continue to learn and do other things. But as far as formal college, I just did it all at once. And I enjoyed it and have no regrets about doing that. Yes, yeah. So when did you graduate with your bachelor's or your masters?   Dwayne Keys ** 18:38 I completed and graduated in 2005. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 18:42 and then what did you go do?   Dwayne Keys ** 18:45 So, um, one of the things that's also amazing and interesting is that I had always been working full time. For most of my college life. I think the first year in my freshman year I lived on campus, I did work study, I may have taken a job here and there. But the second year, I lived off campus and I hadn't lived off campus ever since. And the second year, you know, my mother had a very honest conversation with me when she was very clear, I can only pay your rents have you been paying rent just for this this year, your sophomore year? And are you on your own? You're gonna have to find a way to pay for your bills. I did have some support from my grandparents. But living with my grandparents in between my school breaks was definitely a challenge. My grandparents were Pentecostal who would you describe is conservative, traditional in terms of their outlook on life? And, and then in terms of, you know, how you should be living in life. But then also, one of the things I I really had a challenge for, for them is the distance a country All. And so anyone who knows me, I'm one of which I definitely am for making my own decisions supporting you in what you want to do, regardless of how I may think about it. But I, I had came up against this experience that because I was being supported financially, that also meant that I needed to do what they said. And that was everything from if I even read a book, I remember reading this book on Islam. And it wasn't that I was thinking about converting, I just wanted to learn more about the religion, the culture, the people. And I can remember her seeing that book, looking at it with the stain, and wondering why we're looking at that. And I didn't need to bother myself with such things. And so it's that type of limitation that I have a problem with. And I was really determined that no one's not going to do that. But at that time, you know, you're 1819 years old, you're trying to figure out this word, they are your grandparents be as respectful as you can. But to kind of sum it up, there were mountain building conflicts that happen. And Christmas Break in 2000. I came down for a few days, and I was like, Okay, I need to get back to Providence, I need to get my life in order, I need to get the shop, I need to get things settled. And my grandfather wanted me to stay longer. And I originally thought we were going to take a trip down to Atlanta to see my mother and my sisters. That was the reason for me coming down. And when that didn't happen, I said, well, I need to get back up to Providence and get this all sorted out. And my grandfather being an upset about that. I had asked my grandmother for some money as I as she had promised. And she wrote a check to me, I want to say was like 250 $300. And he said to me that last Yvette Shepherd their chairs, because that's the last money you get in? Don't you ask for anything else ever again. And I said, Okay. And he took me to the bus station. And I got on my bus back to Providence, Rhode Island, and had to just really work on what were my next steps. So between January and March, I struggled to find a job. And there were days where I didn't eat, there were days where I was behind the bills, there were days I almost, if he was was threatened with eviction, but I eventually got a full time job working for one of the department stores Nordstrom. And that was the pathway on working full time. So really ever since before right around, I turned to age 20, I've always worked full time in my field. And so after doing these different jobs, working in retail working for the school, working in the PR office, I decided that I needed to do something that was different, I needed to do a sales job. And long Behold, I got my job as a financial advisor trainee with Morgan Stanley, and that began my pathway into financial services.   Michael Hingson ** 22:52 So were you doing Morgan Stanley while you were still in school?   Dwayne Keys ** 22:55 Yes, I had gotten that job in April. Yeah, April of 2004, at the end of my first year of grad school. And so in order to keep that job, you have to pass your series seven license. So my first three months, were just studying for that exam, which I, you know, had passed incredibly fast and was grateful, and then had to get additional licenses. But yes, while I was completing my grad school studies, I was doing those license studying for those licenses. And again, working full time and also taking classes in the evening. Series   Michael Hingson ** 23:30 seven is not a trivial thing to get a license for. Um,   Dwayne Keys ** 23:35 and, you know, I can say that now, but we get jobs on the line, because I was like,   Michael Hingson ** 23:39 Oh, sure. The incident was there.   Dwayne Keys ** 23:42 We want to do so. Now. I was like, Okay, I knew what I did with the practice exams and retaining information. Absolutely. But at the time, that was that was really a major mental hurdle. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 23:55 yeah. So McCobb that's my point. It isn't. It isn't trivial to do. Yeah. So. So anyway, you did that? And when you got your masters and what did you do? Were you working for Morgan Stanley then or what? I   Dwayne Keys ** 24:10 was still working for Morgan Stanley. You gotta remember, this is 2004 2005. So the mindset was, even if you're 20 something years old, or, uh, you know, you, you need to meet sales goals, you need to bring in business, the culture wishes. Now, we will call toxic. You know, again, this is language and words you didn't know about it. But this is a very, at that time, very cutthroat industry. And one in which I just it's like, you know what, I'm not going to be able to thrive here. I'm not going to be to meet the sales goals. So I went to another advisory firm called strategic point that was local nearby. I was there as an advisory associate for about a year. And then I was able to get a job in a call center with Bank of America. Bank of America had just bought fleet. And they were converting all of fleet banks, departments into Bank of America and so fleet on Quicken, Riley and Quicken Riley was becoming Bank of America investment services. That's B, A and C. And so I had gotten that job as an investor. As a investment specialist. That's what they call this. And I was with them for almost five years. So I worked during the 2008, you know, the 2006, market crash and 2007 2008. Financial crisis and in that following Great Recession, which I say for Rhode Island, that recession actually never went away, which is still here in some shape or form. So   Michael Hingson ** 25:43 you say you were a BFA? What about a year? Oh,   Dwayne Keys ** 25:48 actually, almost five years, I suppose. Yeah, I will stay as a investment specialist. I had been moved to the sales gates, I was, you know, opening up accounts online, I did you know, what they call priority service associate or trading gate. So I did every type of securities trade for self employment accounts that you could think about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options. I was on our Platinum worker services, which was the high net worth trading gates. And then I was promoted to senior vessel specialist or a team leader. So I was one step below being a team manager. And then I also had to get the Series Nine and the 10, which was the supervisors licenses. So I did do that for at least about, you know, I guess, almost five years, how, when Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch, there was the conversion of the companies and Merrill Lynch was coming in with its own, you know, ways of how he ran business. And I think by that time, I had gotten to a point where I was in the call center. And I was like, Yeah, I think it's time to get back into being client facing but not necessarily leaving the financial services world. But I also wasn't desiring becoming a financial advisor, again, like I had been before. And so I came across this role of what they call a licensed banker. So someone who works at a bank, who just happens to have the investment licenses that they can be a connection between the financial planners and financial consultants, but also still being a banker and retail branch and sovereign bank, we now know what a Santander but back then was still called Sovereign was hiring for this license banker role, and Pathak kid, and I had applied for that job and got accepted. And I was with them for almost like two and a half years, aspire to be an assistant manager. And Sunday air when they took over for sovereign, they took away the assistant manager role. So you just there was no way to build up to become an assistant manager or to become a branch manager, it was this, you need to meet your sales goals. Just keep doing what you're doing, but no type of development, no type of mentoring. And, again, that just wasn't gonna do it for me. So another local bank, Baker, I was hired from the system manager I interviewed applied for him interviewed for that role got accepted, and was an assistant manager for two of their branches and was there for almost three years. And then I got cursed back to coming back to South Sudan when they created the premier client manager group, which was a new department that was supposed to be a new way of remote banking, supporting clients remotely, instead of run a branch. And that department was in place for two years. And in May of 2017, they announced that they were going to close that department. And as they did, I had evaluated what should I do? What's my next move? I was applying to other different roles at the bank and other different financial institutions and wasn't getting anywhere back. And I just something said, why don't you check out some nonprofit jobs. I had always served on different nonprofit boards and was part of different, you know, community events when it came to economic justice. And I was like, let me check those out. And I came across the job posting in Brown University Square center for our financial coach. And I'm just learning more about this nonprofit organization called compass and their focus on families with low incomes and subsidized housing.   Michael Hingson ** 29:31 So what exactly does compass do? So   Dwayne Keys ** 29:34 compass was basically providing financial coaching to families who were in what's called the Family self sufficiency program, or FSS for short. And so that is a program that is a HUD program, which your housing provider either like public housing authorities or private multifamily owners can offer to residents To have a section eight voucher. And so compass provides program management to those programs while also the financial coaching in that time, compass was moving forward with one of their one of the fall partners, power preservation affordable housing on launching FSS in the name, you know, FSS at six different locations in New England. So this is the first time that FSS is being offered to multifamily properties. And it only been public housing authorities that could offer FSS and just for people to know what this program allows us that in the family self sufficiency program, participant is able to save rent increases, that happened as a result of increases in earned income. So when your income earned income goes up, your rent goes up. But what happens is the difference between what your rent was when you first started the program versus where it is when you have increases in your earned income, that rent increase is put away in a savings account for you about the housing authority. And there's a five year plus program that a participant can be enrolled in.   Michael Hingson ** 31:10 So what do you do in your day to day job than what compass? So you went to compass in 2017? And you're still there? Right? I am still there. Six years? Yeah.   Dwayne Keys ** 31:21 I mean, so you can say, well, the wall has evolved. Again, I joined as a financial coach, and I've been a senior financial coach. So as a financial coach, I was working with one on one with clients and my portfolio. Meeting with them, we have minimum required times that we're supposed to work with, but it's really supporting them in achieving their financial goals. And I described how I look at financial coaching is, we're in a car, the client is the driver, I'm in the passenger seat. I'm helping with navigation, I'm giving information on what could happen to where, where, what are you going to experience, if you turn left, if you go right, if you go backwards or forwards with the mindset that we're supporting the client, and they'll be making their own decision as to where they want to go on this financial journey. And the emphasis is on asset building my client, you know, people take to move from being asset poor, to asset secure and a public benefit system, you always hear about an emphasis on income and income is important. Yet we do know that having assets having savings for emergencies to be able to buy, you know jumping around the hall to be able to have an asset such as owning your own business, you know, owning your own home having money for retirement, just emergency savings, we know that this is key to families and to people's, you know, success. And so I had started off again, working directly with families one on one. And as a senior coach, I worked on other special projects and supporting compasses of mission. The last three years I was a coaching manager, I was leading a team for up to four financial coaches. We're making sure that we're providing that high quality financial coaching that I did as a coach, and which I was still doing and then more recently, I was promoted to director of programs for our multifamily partnerships. So I mail overseeing the team of coaching managers, program managers who are overseeing coaches and outreach specialists, Sunday making sure they're having effective program management, getting high quality financial coaching, and I'm working with six different multifamily partners on strategies for expanding FSS scaling the FSS program.   Michael Hingson ** 33:35 So how does compass make money? I mean, are they do they get it from funding? Do they get it from the investments that you help people acquire or what? Okay,   Dwayne Keys ** 33:45 so essentially, I combination is, obviously philanthropy. We do do a number of fundraising, but you know, foundations definitely do help. We do get paid for running these programs for the housing partner. So that's the additional source of income as well. Really funded program. So the federal funding it Yes, it is. So, more recently, it used to be the only public housing authorities could get HUD funding to fund these positions to fund the work of FSS now, multifamily owners can do so depending upon if you receive an award from HUD so there is some federal funding involved you also make it the housing provider that we work with this their own sources of funding that they used to pay compass with and then I'll put the bulk of our money that we do is philanthropic   Michael Hingson ** 34:35 Okay. It seems to me and I have to go look I know we've had a somebody else from campus elsewhere on unstoppable mindset, but it's been a long time so I'm gonna have to go back and look, but I know it was it was fascinating to hear what what compass did and and what all you guys are doing. So for you, though, having heard about your upbringing, and so on, and heard about how your life has evolved over time? What would you say your passion and areas of focus in your life is or are? So   Dwayne Keys ** 35:12 the role is where I'm really fulfilling is how do we help families rise up out of poverty, you know how to set one a panel discussion a few weeks ago, which was the witness that world with no poverty where people are not having to rely on this mindset of just pull yourself up from your bootstraps. But wait a minute, we're really giving people the financial education that they need. And I say that financial education, not financial literacy, because I can't stand someone thinking, you know, that we're the financial literacy, people are illiterate, they just may not have the education that you have in terms of this area of personal finance. But also having the assets, the cash, the capital to do what it is that you need to do, is very significant. I appreciate what I've seen some of my client experiences. In the last, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, like that first year of the pandemic, I had two clients who were able to buy that house. So even in the issue of this, the scary situation of COVID have this uncertainty with the economics of what's happening with our country and all that was going on, I still have clients who are able to persevere who are able to move forward and achieve their goals of homeownership, or, you know, other goals, or just having the money to be able to survive and emergency. And it was also a unique time, because many some of my clients had to then pivot when they had lost their jobs temporarily. They use that time to think about should I go back to school? Should I you know, focus on being self employed? What does that look like in terms of starting my own business? So it definitely opened up opportunities for people to be creative, how do we still thrive and be able to accomplish our next steps in our goals, in spite of all the uncertainty that we're still facing that we still face today? But for me, too, as I said, it's who better to help you support you in this and navigating through these financial systems and the experiences that someone who grew up with it and also experienced it themselves? You know, I kind of joke, you know, joke here and there. But I was like, Who better to help people to death collection that someone who had a debt collection who had to endure that experience and go through it? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 37:25 you are very fortunate that you had a mother who helped you through it by requiring you to do the things that you did. And so and you also have obviously had to discover some things on your own as well. But you did that, which gives you the skills now to do what you're doing, which is teaching others? Yes,   Dwayne Keys ** 37:47 yes, absolutely. Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 37:51 Go ahead. Yep. So all right, go ahead. Go ahead. I   Dwayne Keys ** 37:55 was gonna say, you know, even at Compass, you know, there's been a lot more that I've had to learn, because even though that's what we do, you know, my current role, I've had to learn project management, program management B, what does it mean to run a nonprofit? You know, so there's been quite a number, quite an education I've continued to receive even there in terms of that arena, while at the same time, you know, following up with just making sure that we're providing the high quality financial coaching.   Michael Hingson ** 38:22 So you, you work with people who are probably coming to you with a lot of fear and uncertainty in their lives, right? Correct. Correct? How do you help them overcome fear? What do you do to help them overcome fear and not be so daunted if you will, or blinded by having all this fear in their lives? Because of all the things that have happened to them? Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 38:47 I mean, one of the the initial steps with all of our training is you have to build trust with the clients. And it's very hard, because you have to remember, they've experienced systems and organizations and peoples in the past, who may not have treated them well, or they may have not had a best experience. So really, establishing building that trust is key. The next step is understanding their journey, their story, what they what have they done, and also celebrating successes that they've achieved on their own, because we never want to disconnect or distort this, dismiss what someone has achieved. But it's also then having to get back to what is it that you want to accomplish, and when you want to do and, again, we're going to go at your pace. So I've had some clients that they come in, I know they want to buy their house, they know what they need to do they know what they need to work on. Great. We're gonna go with you on that. And then I've had some clients who will say, You know what, I actually don't know what I want to do. I want to start I further say, you know, I want to start my own business. I don't know what that is, okay, well, then we're going to go on this pathway, and then on at this pace, so that we can focus on that. And again, we're going to be flexible and adaptable. So if right now, there's a goal that you'd be focusing on but then something that's happened to you you got to prioritize The other thing that we prioritize that other thing I will say is that this is your journey, this is your financial coach. And this is not my journey, you know, my appointment, and I'm gonna tell you what you need to do, you set the tone of where we're going to focus on. And I'm here to make sure you have the information, the resources, and the support that you that you need to receive in this program. And I think one of the main key things I have been able to do is help people recognize their own successes, people may be just doing things because they needed to do it. Or they may experience a situation where they think it's a failure, when actuality is success, and what are the things which makes him so minor, but I think it's majors, clients work on building up an emergency fund, then they put away their savings, they reach that goal, and then next, an emergency happens. And then they have to use that money. And they're saying, I'm so depressed, because yeah, this happened with the car, this happened with this thing. And I had to use it. And I'm like, great, because that's what an emergency fund is for. That was exactly, so think about it. By using having that money, you didn't have to worry about using credit cards using credit using any type of predatory lending, you didn't have to borrow, you didn't have to do any of the things that would have gave you additional stress, you had the money right there. That's excellent. That's the goal that was accomplished, you accomplished your goal. So just thinking about those things about stuff, which people may feel as though that's not really a major accomplishment. And actually is when you think about how you're trying to achieve financial security and success in your life,   Michael Hingson ** 41:32 trying to bring some perspective back to people because they, they really don't necessarily see what really happened. I mean, you, you guided them, they did stuff. But until something happens that causes them, for example, to use that emergency fund. And then you have to remind them of what that means, then and only then do they really internalize what happened. Yeah, if you had to really give us one story, that was just a great success story, what would it be?   Dwayne Keys ** 42:04 One story was one of my clients who ended up she had saved I'm gonna say up to $30,000 in the program. But even up to that moment where she was completing the program, she still had doubts about if she was going to get that money. And we were she, she had been, you know, increasing our income had been saving. But her budget was becoming very challenged with affording both the rent increase, and the other bills because she also had a car payment. And she had gotten this car loan in order to be able to get to work. But it was causing this this great challenge in her budget. And so we just asked the question, it was like, you know, you're struggling with this payment, you're struggling with being able to meet other obligations, when it makes sense to take some of that money that you've already saved, pay off that car loan. And then by doing that, that helps you get, you know, you'd be able to meet all the obligations and get budget you're able to save on your own, you won't have to worry about that. That item being on your credit, you know, being an obligation, the more you own it outright, you can even maybe adjust your insurance rates, you have to worry about full coverage and save some money that way. What about that, and she was like, You know what, let's do that. And we have put the request in the check arrived two weeks later. And even when she's coming there, she's looking with the tears and running up her eyes because she's like, this is really she's I can't believe this is really happening. You know, because you hear about it, you talk about it, you say this is going to happen for her to actually see that that's happening, we're going to do that right now. And that's why it wasn't just it was one less thing she had to worry about. It was like, think about all the stuff she's not going to be able to do now that that goal, you know, being able to pay down that debt, pay off that debt entirely, not have to worry about that and have a car and her own right that she owns was the phenomenal. So just I always talk about like, even to that moment to see that, oh, this is this is really I'm really going to accomplish this goal, this is really going to happen, I'm really going to be able to say that I did this, that memory still stays in my mind, just but the reaction of you know, the opposite that very moment of the cheque being placed in your hand there was this disbelief that this is really a true real true program to actually exist and helps people. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 44:26 And they wouldn't have had access to those resources in any other way if you weren't there to advise them.   Dwayne Keys ** 44:32 Correct. Exactly. Exactly.   Michael Hingson ** 44:36 Well, you've been doing this now for quite a while. What do you see yourself doing in five years?   Dwayne Keys ** 44:43 So that you're singing about you know, as we've been talking about, what is the next pathway and I have put that out there? So I do see myself as an executive at Compass we have different levels. You have all staff obviously individual contributor manager level director level Which I'm at now. And I just says, I can see myself as an executive, you know, and I look at my own pathway. I'm like, you know, things could change. Compass has expanded. When I first started, the organization was 25 people. We're now at above 70. So you know, this growth money in the company, where I also see myself is that, as I said to you, you know, I've always done this volunteer work in terms of advocacy, special events, work, doing things with different nonprofits, and I've come to be a specialist when it came to like community engagement strategies when it comes to people of color, particularly in this part of Providence, just being a special advisor, facilitating meetings. And what I've done is I've been able to wrap up all those of the special projects and what I've done in terms of workshops and teaching, and things outside of campus, and to my own sole proprietorship, Deacy solution, which I've had in place since 2015. But really, this past year was really one in which I've done a number of projects. So just being like a business coach and a workshop instructor to participants who are looking to design, you know, set up their own design business and supporting them in terms of business developments, and how did you set up a business bank account and have you set up your own business to be able to, you know, launch as a business entity. That's been fulfilling, but a number of other projects have been doing. And then obviously, I aspire to hold elected office, I did run for state rep in 2018. And I will be pursuing running for our local city council races in 2026.   Michael Hingson ** 46:45 Oh, not till 2026. Every four   Dwayne Keys ** 46:49 years. So my counsel first and just read in one her third, third term in 2022. But she's term limited, the more currently I've been supporting her ever since she first ran in 2014. Definitely have been a, you know, great admirer of the work that she's done with our area. And in a way I want to be able to continue which he had started in our terms. So you know, it's been something we're we've been openly discussing, but I've been very firm to it. Yes, I am running in 2026. I do have my campaign account open, I do have things are in place. And as we get closer to that date, more TOCOM?   Michael Hingson ** 47:29 Well, I would only say the other side of that is that at least her term limits are causing her not to be able to run, then you won't be able to run against her, which is a good thing.   Dwayne Keys ** 47:38 Correct. You know,   Michael Hingson ** 47:41 good to have friends, you know? Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 47:43 yeah. I mean, people have asked that question, why don't you run? And I said, No, no, no, I made it very clear that I do support our incumbent, I definitely do admire her work and what she's done. And so no, I was not going to challenge her. But I said the moment she said that she was done, I'm running.   Michael Hingson ** 47:58 Well, that's fair. In a lot of ways. So what what issues are there in your surrounding community? And I guess I would say overall, for all of us, that we need to be a little bit more aware of things that you want listeners to know about that they ought to deal with.   Dwayne Keys ** 48:17 Yeah, I mean, this is also reflecting that up, you know, the last seven and a half years, I was the chairperson of the South Providence neighborhood association. So that was a nonprofit that was launched in 2015, when, you know, the council person had just gotten office. And there was the desire for us to have a group a body a place to come, where we can get information and talk as a community neighbors, you know, neighbors, what was going on the neighborhood, what's impacting us, and how do we move forward? In this experience, I will say there's a number of things that are going on. One has to deal with zoning and urban planning issues. You know, with Providence, we have huge issues when it comes to housing design. We have a situation where I like it, you know, I have to say this, I use just words. You still have segregation and redlining practices embedded in how we have housing development housing projects that are being done. We definitely have this issue of housing affordability, which is across the nation, but you know, it here in Providence, we have displacement that's happening where a lot of residents, you know, low to moderate income, primarily, black and brown residents have had to move out or move elsewhere. And because they haven't been able to afford the high cost of prices, you know, they're not able to the wages aren't keeping up with the prices of inflation and the housing costs of class in Providence, unlike some other cities, where they require housing developments to include units include price points for low to moderate income Up. in Providence, we're okay with people who want high luxury housing development just behind luxury development, know what the subsidies. So it's also creating these divisions in my view where we're not. We're not providing opportunity for families, individuals, those from different walks of life to be living in all parts of Providence, it's almost as if, oh, this price point, you only have this type of housing and this one part of the city or that part of the city, and it's perpetuating that. Another thing has to also deal with the issue of taxation, you know, Providence, we are a college town, but literally half of our properties or either owned by colleges and universities or by governments, because we are the capital city, or we're an island. So we've definitely had financial issues, when it comes to our pensions. When it comes to our viability, there was this huge major issue between what we call the pilot program payment and low taxes with the universities, colleges, universities, many residents and think that the universities are paying more than they should. And we do have a big hospital community in my part of the neighborhood in which there's been debates about that community not paying their share, and also fears that that hospital community will take more land in the neighborhood for their, their buildings, their parking lots. So there's a history of how do urban renewal eminent domain homes were take, you know, were bought, and people had to move out of the neighborhood for the expansion of the hospital community. And you have many residents will still talk about that today,   Michael Hingson ** 51:37 without any kinds of issues that you might be seeing or encountering regarding persons with disabilities, which is, you know, usually a large minority that people don't talk about.   Dwayne Keys ** 51:49 So one of the things that has already come up in terms of the city where I already said, I'm like, we are not ABA compliant, when it comes to our sidewalks, when it comes to people with wheelchairs, a major issue that happens and this is where we're talking about, you talk, think about something as simple as shoveling the sidewalks during the wintertime. And what I've seen, you've had people but in particularly those people who have mobility issues having to walk in the street, because that person or that company or organization did not shovel the sidewalk. So we have a public safety issue, which is every one that I find with people with disability disabilities, for those who have a mobility issue, that is a major crisis that is going on. And then the main thing also with Rhode Island, and particularly Providence, we have old housing stock. So there's a number of people who may again, because of mobility issues, they can't get to the third, second or third floor. So they are limited, but housing. So we have a number of people and actually one of my good friends, colleagues Titi Podesta, and she was like She's someone who has mobility issues, she was speaking about this, you know, there's housing, there's units, there's places that she can't go, because it's not accessible. So that is one thing that I definitely see here that you don't think about until it's time to have the activity or until it's time to do something and that person candidate get in and she made a good point. She was like, I bet you the majority of the folks if I was if you were to have an event or something that your house will not be able to come to your house? And I'm like, no, because I'm on the third floor, no elevator, no other way for you to get off to the third gift to me.   Michael Hingson ** 53:25 So yeah. How do you deal with that?   Dwayne Keys ** 53:27 So I mean, one of the things we have to do is we talk about infrastructure, we have to invest and we upgrade or design the housing a way that is accessible for people to be able to get into the dwellings. And then you also have to deal with this practice of preservation and look and feel and care, because we are an old historic New England town. Absolutely. And we to have nice gorgeous Victorian houses and everything else. And at the same time, we have this housing crisis, people need to use that space. How do you balance look and feel and character and uniqueness with this need of mobility of access?   Michael Hingson ** 54:12 Well, to go another direction, though, which in some senses ought to be a whole lot easier to address. So what about things like? Are the city websites accessible? What are you What is the city doing to make information readily available? website accessibility across the board and so on? Michael,   Dwayne Keys ** 54:29 the website accessibility, it's not even accessible to those who can say so we have a we have a whole issue,   Michael Hingson ** 54:37 good political answer, no information really works.   Dwayne Keys ** 54:42 So you have people who struggle to just get information in general from the city at times. And so we're, you know, so you bring up a very good point. It's not even at the forefront, not because it's not, it's not important. It's more of like we're just struggling to get the basics of everyone just know what's going on. Er yet.   Michael Hingson ** 55:01 One of the things that I talk about from time to time in speeches that I give as well, as I've mentioned a few times on this podcast is, when people talk about diversity, they never really talk about disabilities, because we're not part of the conversation, we're not part of the discussion. And that's what really needs to change until people recognize that diversity. If it's going to truly be diversity needs to include everyone, then that's not going to change. And so I oftentimes have discussions with people about inclusion as opposed to diversity because they say, Well, we're, we're working on being inclusive, but you're not inclusive, well, but we're partially inclusive, Nope, doesn't work. You either are inclusive, or you're not. And if you're inclusive, it's a mindset. And if you are inclusive, then you're going to be dealing with disabilities and so on. It's unfortunate that we're not there yet. As I said, we don't really make disabilities part of the conversation. But I know what you're saying about housing and so on, you know, my, my wife used to watch when she was alive, a lot of the shows on house building and all the people who come and renovate homes and all that sort of stuff, they would not invariably do anything, to think far enough ahead that if somebody had a house, and they were renovating it, that they might make it accessible for the next person who might buy that house. And so none of the people that really deal with all the house stuff on TV, deal with it, either. The only time it ever comes up is if you happen to have somebody in a wheelchair or whatever it is, it is unfortunate, we're not part of the conversation. Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 56:42 and I think that goes into this other piece, too, is equity when it comes to design and decision making. So when we're making the decision of what gets done, or how it gets done, or do we have everybody who needs to be included, not just in that conversation, but agreeing that this is the way that this is going to go. And that is very, that is lacking in many particular cases, I see it both not just in terms of like accessibility, but even with those who have a disability, who are also receiving public benefits, SSDI or SSI. In some cases, I have seen that where there's limitations when it's time to transition for them being able to go back to work and be able to earn a living, you see that limitation there in terms of you're limited to how many hours that notching it, how many hours how much you can earn in that particular time period. Yeah, if you can lose this benefit, you lose that benefit. And so that was one of the things to your point, when I first came to Compass, we had always up to that point at work with more public housing authority clients, who see almost all of them very rare that you came across someone who had a disability who was receiving one of those benefits. And when I came into, you know, compass, I encountered a number of people who enrolled, who had SSI SSDI benefits, particular SSI, who wanted to go back to work, but he had all these limitations and how he could save how they can earn. And lo and behold, even at Compass, I'm like, what do we do, and we had nothing in place. So I had to use my first two years are really just like researching developing content and information for us to put in place to support those clients. So even to your point, it wasn't intentional. But that never been considered a compass until it presented itself.   Michael Hingson ** 58:33 We still do not recognize it. Inclusion should be part of the cost of doing business and part of the cost of life, which is really the issue. But yeah, you're right, there are so many limitations on people who are receiving benefits, like SSI and SSDI. There's only so much that can be done. And Congress isn't really willing to change that. So it is unfortunate that it did it continues to happen. Yeah,   Dwayne Keys ** 59:01 I mean, even one of the blessings was the ABLE account, which was That was great. But you have to be aced what your disability had to have occurred on or before get 26 birth that right? I'm like, okay, so what happens if I'm 30 something years old? And it's something Oh, I can't use that. So still is excluding a segment of population who could benefit from that program? So   Michael Hingson ** 59:23 there's a lot of that, oh, it's an very unfortunate situation. And we're not. We're not anywhere near dealing with any of that yet. You also have your own little enterprise outside of campus, right?   Dwayne Keys ** 59:33 Yeah. So the key solution that you know, as I said, I've been doing a number of practical projects. I don't have any like formal business model. But what I in the past I've been asked to facilitate a meeting or lead a workshop or do this one on one, you know, business coaching. So there's a number of areas that I have outside of, of compass that I've worked on, like I said a lot of stuff in terms of just my expertise with planning A zoning committee engagement just thinks, you know, supporting Black and Brown business owners in terms of moving forward. And it was like, Well, why don't you start, you know, maybe doing that as a business. So long Behold, this past year, like I said, there's always every once in awhile, I will have a project where I was asked to do something, pieces, you know, you know, you know, some money, but nothing significant. This year, I had been sign up for a number of activities, as I said, like being a workshop, instructor, business coach, doing consistent, you know, activities, and I was like, Oh, this is gonna be different. And so I said, it's hypothetical, this is this is not going to be something I should file like, I should not, I should treat this as a business income that it is. And I had had the key solution already set up. And I was like, Okay, why don't you make this a regular thing? Why don't you put this out there that you do these activities at a price. And so that has been a whirlwind. But I've completed a catalyst Fellowship Program, which is a paid fellowship program to learn how to be a nonprofit consultant. There has been other particular things that I've done in terms of CES, like, there's one pro

Embark on a compelling exploration of airport retailing and industry advocacy with Shantanu Chakravartty, Vice President of WH Smith India and General Secretary of the Airport Services Association of India. With 15 years of experience in commercialising airports globally, Shantanu shares invaluable insights into optimising retail spaces and adapting to changing customer expectations. Join us for a journey through the dynamic skies of airport retailing and discover Shantanu's innovative strategies for navigating this ever-evolving landscape. [00:34] - About Shantanu Chakravartty Shantanu is the Vice President of WH Smith India.  He is also the General Secretary of the Airport Services Association of India. He has been recognised and felicitated several times. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tbcy/support

In this episode of Furniture Industry News, we delve into the latest and most impactful stories shaping the furniture retail landscape. Here's a quick rundown of the key topics covered:Hybrid Retailing: Exploring the innovative combination of online and in-store shopping experiences.U.S. Mattress Market: The implications of unfairly priced imports on domestic manufacturers and consumers.Dufresne Spencer Group Data Breach: Details of the class action lawsuit following a significant data breach.Amazon Lawsuit in the UK: The £1 billion lawsuit filed by an independent retailer association against Amazon for alleged misuse of retailer data.Lovesac's Financial Performance: Insights into the company's recent sales drop and their strategic response.Flexsteel's Freight Surcharge: The impact of rising ocean container rates on pricing and logistics.RH's First-Quarter Losses: Analysis of RH's financial challenges and their ambitious growth strategy.Key Highlights:Hybrid Retailing:Definition: Combining the convenience of online shopping with the sensory experience of in-store purchases.Wayfair's Move: Opening a massive 150,000 square-foot store in Illinois, blending retail with dining experiences.Challenges: Converting store visits into substantial sales growth remains a hurdle, despite Gen Z's preference for in-store shopping.U.S. Mattress Market:Import Issues: Mattresses from eight countries sold at less than fair value, harming domestic manufacturers.Antidumping Duties: The Department of Commerce to issue duties to level the playing field.Long-Term Impact: Potential for higher consumer prices and ongoing industry adjustments.Dufresne Spencer Group Data Breach:Breach Details: Unauthorized access compromising sensitive customer data.Legal Action: Class action lawsuit seeking damages for negligence and delayed customer notification.Consumer Impact: Long-term risk of identity theft and financial fraud.Amazon Lawsuit in the UK:Allegations: Misuse of non-public retailer data to gain competitive advantage.BIRA's Claims: Independent retailers facing unfair competition from Amazon's practices.Potential Outcomes: Significant financial repercussions for Amazon and a shift towards stricter data usage regulations.Lovesac's Financial Performance:Sales Decline: 6% drop in net sales attributed to cautious consumer spending.Product Launch Success: Positive reception of new products like the PillowSac accent chair.Future Plans: Expansion of showrooms and testing of a resale and trade-in program.Flexsteel's Freight Surcharge:Rising Costs: Response to increased ocean container rates with a new freight surcharge.Strategic Move: Balancing cost absorption and maintaining service levels.Industry Implications: Other companies may adopt similar measures in response to global logistics challenges.RH's First-Quarter Losses:Financial Results: Net loss due to growth-related costs and economic conditions.CEO's Outlook: Aggressive investments aimed at long-term market opportunities.Expansion Plans: New Design Galleries and Studios to enhance market presence.Conclusion:Join us as we unpack these stories and more, providing you with the latest insights and developments in the furniture retail industry. Subscribe to Furniture Industry News for regular updates and expert commentary. Follow us on social media for additional content and share your feedback to help us cover the topics you care about most.Stay informed, stay innovative!

In this episode, Jeff Fisher, the VP of Retail at Blenders Eyewear, shares his insights on various aspects of the retail industry from significance of customer experience, emphasizing the role of store associates in building trust and facilitating online sales. He also speaks on inventory management strategies and the benefits of using Shopify POS for digital-first retailers and more.Gather valuable insights into navigating the dynamic retail landscape while prioritizing customer satisfaction and sustainability efforts.

IKEA is a global retail and furniture giant that has grown up with the modern era, defining a spare but elegant Nordic style that influences many of our homes. Mardi Ditze, IKEA's Country Sustainability Manager, joins the conversation to discuss how the company partners with customers to reduce, reuse, and recycle across its products' lifecycles. Mardi leads the IKEA team that is creating and implementing IKEA's climate goals, which include designing all products for a circular lifecycle, using renewable or recyclable materials in all its products by 2030, developing new circular services and the business models to support them, and collaborating with other organizations to lead the way to a sustainable economy by example.Mardi explains the business benefits of IKEA's Buy Back and Resell program, which does not markup used goods when reselling them, and how providing free replacement parts deepens customer relationships. She also addresses global retailers' challenges when interacting with the fractured local recycling infrastructure in different U.S. communities. IKEA has partnered with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop a circular economy glossary, which integrates into its marketing, customer communications, and retail experiences. IKEA's massive, multifaceted stores may be a model for spurring local innovation simply through its ability to connect flows of materials to collection programs and processors that will keep wood, metal, glass, and more in use over many generations of products. You can learn more about IKEA and its sustainability efforts at https://www.ikea.com/us/en/this-is-ikea/sustainable-everyday/

In this episode of Aviadev Insight Africa, Nomusa joins Jon to discuss Tourvest's involvement in revolutionizing the African travel landscape and their support for airlines and airports in developing their retail and catering solutions. Specifically, we explore how Tourvest has been working with FlySafair to deliver an improved onboard experience, driving ancillary airline revenues whilst rewarding crew for performance.  We finish by looking to the future and how a shift towards radical personalisation, focusing on flexibility, sustainability, and enhancing the passenger experience will change the passenger experience- all driven by harnessing the power of data.  You can meet Nomusa and the team at AviaDev Africa, June 19-21 in Windhoek, Namibia www.aviadev.com  Find out more about Tourvest here Connect with Nomusa  

About James Damian:James' Profile: linkedin.com/in/james-damian-3a54956Website: james-damian.com (Company)Email: james@james-damian.comJAMES' BIO:Senior Executive and Consummate Business Leader who drove major change across the consumer retail industry by leveraging the power of design thinking as a strategic advantage, delivering economic success. Trusted advisor committed to creating purpose, achieving profit through performance for sustainable growth. While at Best Buy James and his group led innovation and new concept stores making them the most profitable in the history of the company to date. During his time the Store count went to 1400 from 275 and the stock soared from $7 a share to $110.James is a Design Thinking practitioner, Creative Strategist and Motivational Speaker at International CEO Summits, illustrating how to create a Customer Centric Culture through Design Thinking where Culture precedes Strategy, creating growth through an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary process.BOARD LEADERSHIPAs Chairman of the Board for Buffalo Wild Wings from 2008 to 2017, helped to shift corporate focus to an employee and customer-centric culture with the goal to become the ultimate social experience for sports and gaming fans. This strategic shift accomplished through alignment of the board with management enabled an extraordinary run of top quartile performance delivering an 850% return to shareholders.STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP THROUGH CREATIVITYDrove culture of innovation within Best Buy and consequently transformed the 'Big Box' consumer electronics retail format. Pioneered company's “new store” experience by integrating creative visual merchandising and design into the overall corporate vision. Instrumental in expanding BestBuy from 275 to 2,500 stores. This experience based strategy was instrumental in driving revenue from 8 billion to 50 billion in a 12 year period, attaining status as a Fortune 50 company.SHOW INTRO:Welcome to the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast.These dynamic dialogues based on our acronym DATA - design, architecture, technology, and the arts crosses over disciplines but maintains a common thread of people who are passionate about the world we live in and human's influence on it, the ways we craft the built environment to maximize human experience, increasing our understanding of human behavior and searching for the New Possible.    The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD Magazine part of the Smartwork Media family of brands.VMSD brings us, in the brand experience world, the International Retail Design Conference. The IRDC is one of the best retail design conferences that there is bringing together the world of retailers, brands and experience place makers every year for two days of engaging conversations and pushing the discourse forward on what makes retailing relevant.You will find the archive of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast on VMSD.com.Thanks also goes to Shop Association the only global retail trade association dedicated to elevating the in-store experience. SHOP Association represents companies and affiliates from 25 countries and brings value to their members through research, networking, education, events and awards. Check then out on SHOPAssociation.orgIn this episode I talk with James Damian a retail industry leader who was mentored in the fine art of visual merchandising and display by one of retail's icons, Gene Moore of Tiffanys. James has had a brilliant career leading major transformations at Best Buy where he was SVP and Chief Design Officer of Experience Design Group, the Chairman of the Board of Buffalo Wild Wings and now shares his experience and passion for retail as a consultant with GAP international.First though, a few thoughts…             *                         *                         *In 1994 I was working in my hometown of Montréal as an architect and at the same time teaching was the director of the interior design program at College Interdec at LaSalle college. One day my friend and colleague Monique Piroth invited me out to lunch across the street from the school for a sandwich we talked about the world of visual merchandising, the program that she was the director of and where our careers would take us.She explained that the college wanted her to go to Singapore to step into the role of the director of the visual merchandising program at La Salle international Fashion School in Singapore, an affiliate of LaSalle College, because our friend and colleague Guy Lapointe had to return to Montréal to tend to his ailing father. She effectively said that she didn't want to go and I immediately offered up the option that I would instead. This was one of a series of fateful moments of serendipity that would shape my career for the next 30 years. I never planned to be in retail... It just happened. I wasn't out looking for it, but it somehow found me. And so, after that somewhat joking, off the cuff remark, I was on a plane for Singapore not much more than two weeks later. At that point, my life shifted and instead of practicing architecture in the way that I thought that I would, I shifted into the world of visual merchandising and store design. While running the Visual Merchandising program at LaSalle International Fashion School, I was asked to do a presentation on visual merchandising trends at a Retail Asia conference.To be honest, I had very little insight what trends were shaping the retail world since the whole thing was new to me. I was reading everything I could in retail design magazines and trying to learn about who the voices were in the industry and what they were talking about. I scoured the magazines trying to determine who were the thought leaders in the industry and compiled a short list of people who I thought had great insights and sent out invitations, by fax, for them to provide some insight on what they considered to be major trends in the industry. One of those individuals was a gentleman named Tom Beebe who at the time was the visual merchandising director for a men's fashion store in New York called Paul Stewart.Tom was an enthusiastic participant and when at the end of my one-year tenure in Singapore I arrived in New York I made sure to make a point of connecting with Tom.Tom was gracious and enthusiastically set up meetings for me to meet people in Manhattan so that I could start off on the right foot in a new city and upon a path of the new career. One of those individuals was Gene Moore. Gene was the visual merchandising maven that shaped the visual display direction not just for Tiffany's, where he was the master of storytelling in the small windows on 5th Avenue, but he influenced an entire generation of what were then called window trimmers later being called visual merchandising and display people.Genes work elevated the making of stories in store windows into an art form. I was lucky enough to be invited to spend an afternoon with Gene Moore in the Tiffany display studio on 5th Avenue. It was truly a memorable moment of my career but I confess that at the time, I had very little idea about who Gene Moore was and why I might have otherwise treated him with extraordinary reverence. I think the few hours that I spent there were kind of like when you meet someone who's famous but you actually have no idea who they are and so the conversation is casual and unpretentious, and you don't spend time worrying about what you're saying or trying to play to their preferences. Gene didn't have to take the meeting. But he did and shared his delight and passion for his profession with a total newbie with nothing but questions and awe for making magic in retail stores.What an honor…Another of the introductions that Tom Beebe made for me was to the late great Peter Glenn.Peter invited me into his home on Sniffin Court on 36th St. east of Madison where he talked about the world of retail stores and customer experience – his specialty - over a freshly brewed pot of English tea.I look back now at how fortunate that I was to meet these two luminaries in the most early days of my retail career and grateful I am to have had an industry friend like Tom Beebe who, out of the goodness of his heart and genuine love of retail and visual merchandising, shared his passion for the industry as well as his connections to some of the great influencers of the day.Over the years my path has crossed with Tom.His passion hasn't waned neither for the world of creating compelling retail places with stunning and cleaver visuals nor his love of one of his mentors Gene Moore. Tom gave a compelling and impassioned retrospective presentation on Gene Moore, with another industry friend and colleague Eric Feigenbaum, at the International Retail Design Conference in 2023.Both of them aficionados and ombudsmen for the world of visual presentation – Eric being the New York Editor for VMSD magazine and a standout writer and educator in the field.In New York I settled in as the resident architect at a small 3-4 person consulting firm called New Vision Studios lead by another industry icon Joe Weishar. Another strange serendipitous occurrence since I had read Joes book “Design for Effective Selling Space' while in Singapore and had canvassed Joe for a trends report for the Singapore presentation but… he was a non-responder. Ironically I end up working for him.Joe Weishar truly taught me what I know in the retail design and visual merchandising world bringing together the art and science of visual presentation in the making of great stores.In the late 90's, and into the next decade, the world of retail and visual merchandising was magical. The Christmas season in New York meant the NADI show, showroom parties that were spectacular and windows on 5th Avenue were a must-see event.During those years there were a number of people in the New York area who were making things happen in the retail design space. These were the people who were a few years ahead of me in their careers and unbeknownst to them, became my mentors from a distance. James Mansoor, Tom Beebe, Eric Feigenbaum, Linda Fargo, Judy Bell, Ellie Chute and Denny Gerdeman, Ken Walker…A bit later, in the mid 2010's there was Christian Davies, Harry Cunningham, Ray Esheid, Anne Kong and Elisabeth Jacobson, Bevan Bloomendaal, Ignas Gorischek, Linda Lombardi, Bill Goddu, Christine Belich, Tony Mancini - All who had begun to create a wave of new thinking about retail stores and how to design them. And there was James Damian…I knew James Damien more by name and for the fact that at that time he was the head of Design at Best Buy. Things that were happening at Best Buy were extraordinary. The creation of magnolia, the introduction of Apple shops - within an electronics mass merchant - and the complete rethinking of that category of Retail stores was about.But more than that it was a presentation that I saw James giving at the International Retail Design Conference in Atlanta in 2005 or 2006 that completely left me awestruck. I can't truly remember what James was talking about, but I distinctly remember him becoming emotional on stage and needing to take a moment to gather himself. That moment of vulnerability began to change my thinking about being an impassioned, creative an emotional leader.If a senior leader at a major electronics company could become ‘Verklempt' on stage… I don't know… it just captured my imagination and I have not since forgotten it.It turns out that, and maybe not so surprisingly, James Damien and Tom Beebe are deeply connected as long time industry friends and colleagues but also grew up in the retail industry under the mentorship of none other than... Gene Moore of Tiffany's.Are you getting all these weird crossovers of interconnectedness? I don't even think that there's 7° of separation here I think like there's this interconnected interwoven set of interdependencies and crossing paths that keep on surrounding my retail career. In any case, James Damien was another one of those names, luminaries of the retail industry who I, from a distance, would admire and borderline stock over the years watching and following what he was doing in hopes that I would learn what the secret sauce of creating great retail spaces was.And so, it may also not seem as a surprise that I would eventually find my way to getting James Damien as a guest on this podcast and that it would be a delightful conversation that unfolds with ease and mutual admiration. Which to me, makes it all the more special. I have held such great respect for James over the years and that unbeknownst to me he shared the same feelings. I'm not sure whether it's because I followed him, and the others I've mentioned so closely, that my ideas about great retail space, visual merchandising and leadership are so similar or that somehow, independent of each other, we both grew to believe in the same things. In any case, the points of connection are plentiful.James came up in the world of Retail in the windows. Really from the artistic side rather than the  corporate leadership side and I think that gave him a different sensibility that is emotionally closer perhaps to what happens on the sales floor.He took a risky step out of the windows into the machine of corporate retail in a somewhat unlikely segment – consumer electronics – with Best Buy. While at Best Buy, James and his group led innovation and new concept stores making them the most profitable in the history of the company to date. James drove a culture of innovation within Best Buy and consequently transformed the 'Big Box' consumer electronics retail format. He pioneered the company's “new store” experience by integrating creative visual merchandising and design into the overall corporate vision. During his time the Store count went to 1400 from 275 and the stock soared from $7 a share to $110.While there James, evolved into a Senior Executive and consummate business leader who drove major change across the consumer retail industry by leveraging the power of design thinking as a strategic advantage, delivering economic success.Through his own moments of serendipity, James' skills, experience and passions landed him the role as Chairman of the Board for Buffalo Wild Wings from 2008 to 2017. While in this role, he helped to shift corporate focus to an employee and customer-centric culture with the goal to become the ultimate social experience for sports and gaming fans.James Damian is a Design Thinking practitioner, Creative Strategist and Motivational Speaker at International CEO Summits. In his talks he illustrates how to create a Customer Centric Culture through Design Thinking where Culture precedes Strategy, creating growth through an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary process.James knows the power of a good pause… he can tell a good story and he has had some remarkable experiences to share.I have hung on every word in his presentations that I have had the good fortune to listen to and our talk was no exception.             *                         *                         * ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582bWebsites:  https://www.davidkepron.com    (personal website)vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645  (Blog)Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.comTwitter: DavidKepronPersonal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/Bio:David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why', ‘what's now' and ‘what's next'. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott's “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies. As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace. David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation's Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.He has held teaching positions at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.  In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.  The next level experience design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production by Kano Sound. The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.

Opticals combine providing medically necessary eyewear and fashion. So WO turned to Liza Amlani, principal and founder of Retail Strategy Group, to ask if there are missed opportunities in retailing and marketing opticals. In the first of this two-part podcast, she suggests optometrists and opticians can think outside of the box, especially in terms of simply "filling a need to get new eyewear." 

Our guest this week is Andrea Dorigo Head of Global Retail for Adidas. Andrea shares many strategic leadership lessons gleaned from his  incredibly deep and diverse experience working across a spectrum of international brands. Now he leads a network of more than 2,000 stores for one of the world's most iconic vertically integrated brands.We get to learn his thoughts on how to best strengthen overall brand equity while driving operational efficiency and extending product reach. He also shares his view on how to think about the right balance between DTC and wholesale and gives us a sneak preview of his upcoming session at the World Retail Congress in Paris titled "Retailing in a Time of Mass Distraction."But, as usual, we kick things off by delving into the week in retail, starting with lots of news from Macy's, including their lackluster holiday earnings, the announcement of their "Bold New Chapter" strategy, and a revised investor takeover proposal. We also unpack earnings from Best Buy, Lowes, and Warby Parker, before turning out attention to Shein's potential IPO plans. World Retail Congress:  Non-retailer passes and discount offer codes:Non-Retailer pass: REM-SPONRRetailer discount code: REM20Dive into the future of retail with the World Retail Congress's End of Year Report! Explore the latest trends, innovations, and insights shaping the competitive retail landscape, presented in collaboration with the Congress's Knowledge Partners. The Congress's report is a must-read for retailers to become world class in today's retail climate. The End of Year Report reinforces the focus of next year's World Retail Congress on High Performance Retail and our key pillars of winning the customer, winning with innovation, winning with purpose, the winning business models and building winning teams. Furthermore, the report brings together 14 of the world's top retailers' reflections from stores such as Action, Ikea, Zalando, Kmart Group, Woolworths and Wumart to present insights from around the world.   About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in April 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice, a keynote speaker around the world and consumer growth consultant. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada's top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor , Canada's top food industry podcasts and one of the top management podcasts in the nation according to Apple, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. You can learn more about Michael on LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's Last Request Barbecue, his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Cherokee Media Group's Nick Zulovich reconnected with Ken Hill, who is managing director of 700Credit. They shared a conversation about auto financing, regulation and fraud during this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast recorded at NADA Show 2024 in Las Vegas.

In this episode, I'm speaking with Devin Daly, CEO of Impel This episode is brought to you by: Private Auto - The safest way to buy vehicles privately. Use code ‘CDG' to list your car for free. Learn more @ https://privateauto.com/ Valvoline - Go beyond the traditional supplier-dealer partnership today by visiting https://partner.valvolineglobal.com/ Interested in advertising with Car Dealership Guy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:23) - Devin's career and Building Impel (00:03:55) - Pivoting to auto (00:06:28) - Did you come from an entrepreneurial family? (00:07:15) - The evolution of the company (00:09:21) - How are dealers using this data? (00:11:36) - What are you building to help dealerships keep evolving? (00:13:13) - Thoughts on AI  (00:21:48) - Where are you seeing the biggest impact from AI implementation? (00:23:18) - Raising $130m and acquiring a business in the Republic of Georgia (00:26:59) - Where are we headed with AI and the dealership? (00:28:12) - Where are you seeing customers the most frustrated with the dealership experience?  (00:29:15) - What role does licensing play in all of this work? (00:30:52) - Partnering with ACV Auctions (00:33:35) - What do the next 5 years look like for our industry? (00:34:46) - What is your most popular product? (00:35:59) - Having a high bar for acquisitions (00:37:20) - “Oh sh*t” moments (00:38:22) - What products are most important to manufacturers right now Check out Impel here. Check out the website for more (https://dealershipguy.com) and follow me on X @GuyDealership! (https://x.com/guydealership) This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Join host Brooke Furniss in an enlightening conversation with Peter Smith, Managing Partner at Lion Partnership, on this episode of 'Facts Not Feelings.' Dive into the transformative world of automotive retail as we explore the latest shifts in dealership models, the resurgence of digital retail post-COVID, and the electrifying future of vehicle sales. Discover how dealerships are adapting to technological advancements and changing consumer behaviors. If you're passionate about the intersection of technology and tradition in the automotive industry, this episode offers valuable insights and foresight into what's next for car retailing.Subscribe to 'Facts Not Feelings' for more insightful discussions on the latest trends in the automotive industry.3 Main Takeaways Post-COVID Automotive Retail Landscape: Discover how dealerships are navigating the post-COVID era, balancing between digital retailing and traditional methods. Understand the shifts in consumer behavior and market trends essential for adapting to the new normal in automotive retail.Digitalization and Technology in Dealerships: Dive into the critical role of digital tools and AI in modernizing dealership operations. Learn about the strategies for leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiencies, crucial for staying ahead in today's competitive market.Electric Vehicle (EV) Revolution and Dealership Adaptation: Explore the growing impact of electric vehicles on dealership models. This segment provides valuable insights into how dealerships are adjusting their sales strategies and service offerings to align with the rise of EVs, catering to evolving environmental trends and consumer preferences.Connect

In this latest City Council recap from Tuesday, February 6th, 2024, Development Services Director Jeremy Pagan provides an overview. Some of the items discussed included:Information regarding new state grants awarded to the City of ReddingTobacco RetailingEmergency Housing SitesDevelopment Services presentation on discretionary permittingPlease find additional resources below for more information on these topics.Council Meeting Agenda>>Council Meeting Video>>Read the Transcript Here >>Contact the City of Redding Podcast Team Email us at podcast@cityofredding.org Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Visit the City of Redding website Love the podcast? The best way to spread the word is to rate and review!

Learn about the breakthrough partnership that Kia and CarNow have introduced to automotive retailing which allows for dealer choice while preserving a Kia branded retail experience.

A New Year's Quiz: What do the following have in common: Leadership, Economics, Side Hustles, Online Retailing, Business Exit Strategies, Military Contracts, Bras, Walt Disney, Firefighters, and Worms? Answer:  Each was featured on one of Monday Morning Radio's ten most popular 2023 episodes. This week, the podcast revisits the highlights of the year past and shares an audio preview of our first Monday Morning Radio book, All You Can Eat Business Wisdom — an anthology featuring 25 of our most savvy guests over the years. The book isn't due until late March or early April, but listeners can begin profiting from its wisdom to help kick off a prosperous New Year. 2023 Episodes Highlighted In This Week's Year-in-Review Cathy Nesbitt — January 2nd Ed O'Malley and Julia Fabris McBride — January 30th Eric Johnson — March 18th Nick Loper — May 21st Mac Lackey — July 2nd Ricky Howard — July 16th Genesee Fire Rescue — September 2nd The Walt Disney Company — October 16th Carina Ramirez Cahan — October 22nd Matthew Stafford — November 27th Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. Photo: Dean and Maxwell RotbartPosted: January 1, 2024Monday Morning Run Time: 35:52Episode: 12.26 To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link. Donations of all sizes are welcome.

Every day, 3,000 eager entrepreneurs jump into the online sales arena. Ninety percent of them will never make a single sale. Matthew Stafford, co-founder and CEO of Build•Grow•Scale, knows what goes wrong and how to fix it. He and his team use sophisticated analytics to help business owners and entrepreneurs achieve online sales success.  Matthew's passion lies in empowering others to achieve their goals - whether scaling an existing business or starting from scratch with a new venture altogether. Build•Grow•Scale's proprietary formula for increasing internet-based sales has nothing to do with driving more traffic to your website or Shopify store. His approach succeeds by getting those prospects who are already visiting a website to click “buy” more often. In a wide-ranging interview, Matthew reveals the technical aspects of online sales but also his broader approach to helping online retailers succeed, how Build•Grow•Scale has successfully adapted to evolving technologies, and his strategies for hiring solid employees and managing a successful consulting firm. Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son team of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. To show your appreciation for Monday Morning Radio and keep it commercial-free, we encourage you to contribute using this link or scan the QR code below. Donations of all sizes are welcome. Photo: Matthew Stafford, Build•Grow•Scale Posted: November 27, 2023Monday Morning Run Time: 35:25 Episode: 12.21 POPULAR  EPISODES: Join in the Celebration of The Walt Disney Company's 100th Anniversary Zeynep Ekemen is Out to Prove That What Comes Down Can Always Go Back Up What Everyone Can Learn From a Daring Team of ‘Citizen Scientists' and Enlightened Physicians

What you should do to get the most out of your vehicle 1.     Various medias say EV‘s are tanking 2.     More and more EV fires 3.     Price difference and depreciation could be $40,000 or more 4.     Rates are up so credit comparison shopping is a key 5.     Both rate and terms 6.     Which method, trade in, sell to a dealer or sell outright 7.     No matter what you trade in or sell, Recondition as much as you can 8.     Know why you are selling, they will ask 9.     What you should verify and know 10.Retailing pays 11.Preparation is the same 12.Know what you are trading 13.Deal first, trade second 14.Getting all the resale out of yours 15.Small investment, big return 16.No matter how old it is, prepare 17.Trade payoff planning before it is a problem