G'day folks, have we got a treat in store for you with this episode. If you've been wondering what on earth those crazy Aussies have been getting up to lately, well, through the magic of digital, Pat & Andrew were able to venture down under to bring you the story, direct from Sydney.

Stuart Freer is a Brit who moved to  Australia eight years ago having latterly been IT Director at Dixons Carphone & Home Retail Group. His time down under includes spells with Coles & Mecca. 

His insights into how Australia is handling the pandemic and the impact on the economy, especially retail, are both fascinating and enlightening. 

We've had some fantastic guests on Behind The Mask but in this episode, Mark Pilkington delivers some amazing insights which you won't want to miss. As well as discussing his forthcoming book, Retail Recovery (which we were more than happy to plug) Mark discusses the triumph of the dot coms, using data in a different way and the way physical needs to blend with digital, "The key to everything is the correct use of the channels".

If you're contemplating your physical / digital strategy, this one's a must.

In which Pat Kelly displays his mythical knowledge of football, not only accurately predicting the score but one of the scorers and when. Remarkable! In other news Freedom Day can't come soon enough for many whilst for others it's a source of fear and dread. Sadly, it would appear that Mask Wars are set to become a thing.  DJ Buzzer spins the discs whilst Pat 'Mystic' Kelly offers up his thoughts on the double jabbed, social media polls, 'boobles' and much more besides.

Pat and Andrew were feeling a little poorly for this episode, so who did they call? Not just any doctor but Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor! And as luck would have it, the good doctor had just the tonic to get them sorted and right as rain once more.

Should you also be in need of a retail pick me up then please tune in, the prognosis is good.

On the eve of the grand reopening, we were thrilled to be able to chat with Greg Deacon, Chief Customer Officer at Jisp.

We are beginning to hear more and more about what physical retail needs to do in order to come back stronger and digitally level up with online. And Greg supplied us with some absolute solid gold insights. 

"When that customer wants to come to you, you need to make them feel like it's the safest place they can be", Greg Deacon. 

Pat and Andrew decided it was time to introduce a rather more cerebral element to Behind The Mask, and what an inspired decision it was. Former House of Commons clerk and now co-founder of Pivotpoint, Eliot Wilson  provided some fascinating insights.

On the consumer: "People have been shutting themselves away and therefore experiencing a more bespoke existence".

On business: "Let's assess what you do well, what not so well and in some cases (post 2020) there may need to be wholesale revisions to your business model"

On the country: "If ever Britain were to have an unofficial motto it would be, "there's always one isn't there""

Absolutely delighted to welcome Jani Moran, partner at Clenzair to the Behind The Mask podcast. Clenzair could provide the route out of all of the restrictions the pandemic has placed upon us all. And coming just a week or so after new research into how Covid-19 is transmitted, this was a very timely discussion. So, if you want to find out how we're all going to get back to something approaching the lives we once knew, take a listen. 

We were thrilled to welcome founder and CEO of Situ Live, Warren Richmond to the Behind The Mask podcast. Despite Pat and his budgie smugglers and irreversible pints, it was an absolutely fascinating conversation. Situ Live is most certainly the future of retail and will be opening in Westfield White City later this year. Listen in to find out more.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Go Instore co-founder Aman Khurana to the Behind The Mask podcast. If you're interested to learn more about the future of shopping, consumer behaviour, attitudes to Covid plus the future of live video streaming this episode makes for compelling listening.

In which our intrepid duo, freed from the constraints of having any guests, are let loose on one another once more. It has to be said that the old fella Kelly puts up a spirited defence in the face of some enthusiastic Busby ballestras. And whilst he manages to parry the majority of them, it is the young pretender who ultimately triumphs with a most emphatic flunge.