Future Shop Podcast with WSL

Wendy Liebmann talks with Martin Waters, CEO of Victoria’s Secret, about the transformation of the iconic Victoria’s Secret brand, with lessons for retailers and brands about how to stay relevant, always, and how to boldly move ahead when evolution is not an option.  

They discuss:

• How to ensure a company is sensitive to cultural shifts that ensure a brand’s continued relevance to shoppers
• How to tell the new story fast and boldly (no small steps allowed)
• Becoming a digital-first company, personalizing relationships with shoppers, and how and when to integrate technology into physical stores
• Building a corporate culture of openness; the importance of listening to retail associates and internal executives 

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In this episode:

Wendy Liebmann and Candace Corlett preview WSL’s latest How America Shops® research, The New Shopper Truths. The study reveals the now entrenched shopper values that define how companies need to position themselves and communicate to shoppers in the coming years.

They discuss:

• That “fairness” is now the underpinning of what shoppers expect from companies
• How shoppers question the way companies deliver sustainability (not well), and how they have turned an important value into merely a buzzword
• That shoppers are frustrated -- they cannot do it all alone, and they expect companies they buy from to share the burden, to show up, to make a difference, and
• How Generation Z is very different from Millennials in attitudes and expectations around these new truths and values

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In this episode Wendy Liebmann talks with Ping Hao and Burke White, founders of Brand3P, and developers of the Walmart.com marketplace about the current opportunities -- and challenges -- for brands and retailers as e-commerce marketplaces fast become a primary distribution channel.

They discuss:

• Why marketplaces are growing (Hint: because shoppers are there), and when to consider them as part of your overall distribution strategy
• Why listing a product is only the beginning
• Using brand and shopper marketing to create an immersive brand environment just as in any physical retail space
• How to avoid the “butterfly effect”
• When to participate on a marketplace, and when it may not be right for you
• What a comprehensive marketplace strategy looks like

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In this episode, Wendy Liebmann and Jo Horgan, Founder & Co-CEO of Mecca Brands, discuss how retail innovation must be a discipline embedded into the culture of organizations to stay relevant to what shoppers want in a fast-changing world.   

They discuss:

• Putting shoppers at the center of a company’s innovation culture
• How retail innovation is not something that companies can stop and start; it must be a continuous process
• How to build the innovation discipline throughout the company
• Building a process of innovation that goes beyond product and store design to include all aspects of business -- from backroom efficiency, to supply chain, and team education
• The tools to evaluate innovation continuously in order to refine, adapt and continue to iterate 

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In this episode, Wendy Liebmann and Candace Corlett provide a preview of What’s Up in WSL’s latest How America Shops® research.

You’ll learn 

• Why retailers’ efforts to differentiate are not working.
• How spontaneous shopping is impacting traffic, both in-store and online. 
• What categories are most susceptible – and most opportune -- to the spontaneous trip.
• What to do about it. 

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In this episode:

Wendy Liebmann discusses how retailers have the opportunity to reintroduce themselves to shoppers as they move out of their COVID-cocoons with Steve Sadove, retired Chairman & CEO of Saks Incorporated, and current board member of Colgate-Palmolive and advisor to Mastercard and private equity.

They discuss:

• The new foundation for retail 
• How to build relationships with shoppers in a mobile-first world
• How shopper data and analytics and perfect information will separate retail winners and losers
• The future of marketplaces, commercializing live-streaming, Tik Tok, and new payment methods that open up shoppers’ wallets
• The need to create a seamless total experience for shoppers
• Supply chain challenges and opportunities

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In this episode, Wendy Liebmann discusses the expertise, mindset, and agility retail leaders will need in the future with Professor Stephan Kanlian, Chairperson of FIT’s Master’s Program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management, and Morgan Hagney, AVP, Maybelline New York. 

They discuss:

• Critical capabilities required in the new phygital retail environment
• The urgency to build consumer- and shopper-centric organizations
• How to deal with a fluid and fast accelerating channel strategy 
• The need for a broader global perspective as context for change
• The social role brands must play today
•  The future of supply chain and emerging agile technologies 

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Wendy Liebmann and Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, the behavioral research company, discuss how retail must respond faster to social change if it is to keep up with shoppers.  

Wendy and Paco discuss:

• What shoppers expect now from retailers and brands
• What made a good store a decade ago does not work today
• How supply chain innovation opens the doors for curation, personalization, and localization 
• Why internet shopping needs to “be beaten up”
• How effective leadership is about being on the “selling floor”
• Examples of best – and worst -- retail experiences

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Wendy Liebmann and Terry Thomas, EVP & Chief Customer Officer, Unilever US, discuss how diversity and inclusion are critical to building a modern, socially responsible company that today’s shoppers expect.

Wendy and Terry discuss:

• What Diversity and Inclusion actually mean (it’s more than ethnicity)
• Why an intrinsic, top-down approach is critical, and how to execute it
• How to build and retain the best talent through diversity and inclusion
• How manufacturers and retailers need to collaborate to deliver a cohesive approach to diversity and inclusion 
• Why shoppers are at the center of this, and why “seeing them” is the key to success
• What retail needs to look like in the future

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Our own Wendy Liebmann and Candace Corlett (WSL’s dynamic leadership duo) discuss the new realities of the emerging retail world and challenge whether or not new shopping patterns formed during the pandemic will endure. 

 Wendy and Candace discuss:

• Whether physical stores will remain viable
• How time is now the focus of every trip 
• How “spontaneous” shopping is the biggest retail opportunity and challenge 
• Why Amazon is facing pushback now
• How national brand trust has diminished (in spite of what companies say)
•  The biggest mistakes companies are making 
• What companies must focus on right now
• What Shopping Next really looks like

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