Remarkable Retail Podcast

Joining us for a special bonus episode recorded live in the Scratch Event DJs remote podcast studio during RevTech Ventures annual summit is RevTech's very own David Matthews. David shares his deep experience with early stage investing in retail technology and shares exciting news about a new fund his firm is launching.

Promotional consideration for this episode was provided by RevTech Ventures.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Joining us for the first of our interviews recorded in the Scratch Event DJs remote podcast studio at the Revtech Rev Summit in Dallas is Greg Merrill, most recently global head of digital transformation at Nike. 

Greg draws on his extensive start-up experience, board advisory roles, and his just completed tenure at global powerhouse Nike, to help us understand how to accelerate the pace of innovation, ensure better cultural buy-in, and a whole lot more. it's a master class from the front lines of driving change that executives at any company will benefit from.

As usual we open by unpacking the most important retail news of the week, starting with the good news that the potential port strike in the US has been averted--at least for now. Then it's on to the stalled turnarounds at two iconic retail brands: JC Penney--whose situation seems increasingly dire--and Levi's, which is caught up in a challenging shift from wholesale to DTC. We wrap up with a bit of optimism, highlighting the continued success of JD Sports' global expansion.

You can check out our interview with Arianne Parisi, JD's EVP & Global Chief Digital Officer here.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Joining us for a fascinating interview is Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, one of the most successful and innovative "disruptor brands" to emerge in the past two decades. Neil shares the brand's origin story, what makes Warby Parker remarkable, why they've aggressively invested in brick-and-mortar locations, the critical interplay between digital and physical, and a whole lot more.

As usual we open by dissecting the most important news of the week including a big change of leadership at Nike and fears over the impact of the dock strike. Then it's on to Amazon and Walmart joining in on the early holiday promotional fun, solid earnings from Costco, while H&M and Five Below suffer, and word that Amazon Fresh has reached 50 locations (yawn) while K-mart (finally) says "buh-bye." We wrap up celebrating Primark's 50th anniversary.

Our interview with Primark US President Kevin Tulip.

About Neil

Neil Blumenthal is a co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a transformative lifestyle brand that offers designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. In 2015, Fast Company named Warby Parker the most innovative company in the world.

Prior to launching Warby Parker in 2010, Neil served as director of VisionSpring, a nonprofit social enterprise that trains low-income women to start their own businesses selling affordable eyeglasses to individuals living on less than $4 per day in developing countries. 

 He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. He serves on the board of RxArt and on the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council. 

A native of New York City, Neil received his BA from Tufts University and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Neil lives in Greenwich Village with his wife, Rachel, the founder and CEO of Rockets of Awesome, and their two children.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

BMO Analyst Simeon Siegel is back on the pod for the fourth time in as many years to help us understand the increasing bifurcation in retail, how soon we can expect declining interest rates to have impact, and where things might be headed with growth of Temu and Shein. We also revisit the great DTC vs. Wholesale debate and what it portends for luxury brands, Nike, and more.

But first we unpack the week in retail news, including the potential impact of the US Fed (finally) reducing interest rates, what to make of the latest monthly retail sales figures, a tres exciting new event announcement from the NRF, and Amazon's not so subtle return-to-office decree. Then it's never to early to start prognosticating about the holiday season. All this brought to you by Scayle, the world's fastest-growing enterprise commerce platform.

About Simeon

Simeon Siegel is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst at BMO Capital Markets specializing in Retail and E-commerce. Simeon started his career at Goldman Sachs and his since worked on the #1 ranked Retail franchise at JPMorgan and Nomura | Instinet.  

Simeon has been named a Rising Star of Wall Street by Institutional Investor, a Rising Star of Equity Research by Business Insider, a Top Stock Picker by StarMine and a Top Earnings Estimator by Thomson Reuters and Refinitiv. He has worked on the Institutional Investor #1 ranked All America Research Team for Specialty Retail and the Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" list of top analysts. He is in constant dialogue with investors and C-Level Management across the industry, analyzing and advising on the ever-evolving retail landscape. He is a regular guest on CNBC and frequently quoted across the media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, The Business of Fashion, Barron's and Bloomberg, among others.  

Simeon received a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Columbia University and is a CFA charterholder. He serves on the Boards of Read Ahead and the Hebrew Free Loan Society and is Vice Chair of the UJA Luxury Division.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

One of retail's most insightful minds makes her triumphant return to the pod. 

Sucharita Kodali, Forrester's Principal Analyst, was our very first guest when we launched the podcast in September of 2020, and now she's back to separate the hope from the hype on key topics like the important difference between e-commerce and digital commerce and the critical role of digital influence on brick-and-mortar performance. She also gives us her fun and fascinating perspective on how Amazon is different under Andy Jassy, where retail media networks are headed, the challenges in online grocery, luxury's future, and a whole lot more. We also get a bold prediction about Temu and rocket through a lighting round of hot-takes.

But before our interview we unpack the week in retail news brought to you by Scayle, the fastest-growing enterprise commerce platform in the world.

We kick things off with the implications of the latest news on inflation, before discussing Forrester's remarkable prediction on the dominance of Walmart and Amazon. We then move to two pieces of interesting Amazon news, discuss Couche-Tard's rebuff by 7-Eleven, ponder Big Lots bankruptcy, before wrapping up with two noteworthy quarterly earnings announcements.

About Scratch Event DJs

For over two decades, retailers like Nordstrom, Hugo Boss, Sephora and Nike have trusted Scratch Event DJs to boost vibes, drive sales, and immerse store guests in each brand’s unique identity. The Scratch team curates talent from their proprietary global network of top-tier local DJs to deliver energizing experiences that keep people coming back for more – for any event, any time, anywhere. 

Website Link:scratcheventdjs.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scratch-music-group/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scratcheventdjs/

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

We're back, with our Season 9 premier episode.

Next week we'll return with our usual format of news of the week and fascinating interviews with the retail industry's most remarkable executives and thought leaders. But having devoted our summer episodes to our special 6-part series on accelerating retail transformation, we're taking the opportunity to unpack some of the most important stories from the past two months.

We kick things off admiring the incredible recent results from the two biggest retailers on the planet (that'd be Amazon and Walmart) and dissect recent trends in e-commerce growth. Then we delve into the "stampede to value" and other critical trends before sharing our thoughts on why dollar stores seem to have hit the wall. We also marvel at the phenomenal results from Abercrombie & Fitch, wonder whether Starbucks new CEO can work his Chipotle magic, and take on the notion that there is a return to physical stores. We conclude with our view on the possibility that Nordstrom will go private and ponder whether results from Gap, Target, and Best Buy are merely a case of premature celebration.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

If we're learned anything in the past few years, it's that the pace of change is only accelerating and the difference between the winners and losers often centers on those that understand the fierce urgency of now and choose to aim much, much higher and move, much much faster.   Remarkable brands know that speed is essential. But what exactly separates those that successfully transform for a new era, that consistently move to where consumers and technology is headed, that leap ahead of the competition, and those that remain hopefully stuck?

This is Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author of Leaders Leap  and  Remarkable Retail inviting you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as we share the keys to rising above the rest in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly evolving world. 

Listeners worldwide have made us one of the retail industry's top-rated and most listened-to independent podcasts. This season, we'll continue with our unique take on retail's most important news and feature guests who are shaping the future of modern retail. So be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcast today and get ready yourself for a steady stream of wisdom, no BS points of view, and lively conversation.

Season Nine of the award-winning Remarkable Retail podcast launches on Tuesday September 10th. We can't wait for you to join us.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Welcome to a special Remarkable Retail podcast summer series focused on what leaders need to do to help their organizations win the future and leap to higher ground. In this six-part limited series, Steve will be unpacking key lessons from his new best-selling book “Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption,” available everywhere books are sold.

If you have been following this short special series—or if you just think about what distinguishes organizations that are winning the future from the also-rans, it is very often that they act more boldly, they take more chances, they fail regularly, they adjust, they fail some more.

They believe, as my friend Seth Godin says, “if failure is not an option, then neither is success.” Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is not to avoid failure; it is to fail better. But what does this mean, why is it so important, and how do we do it exactly? Moreover, why must we not only see failure as an inevitable part of our transformation journey, but how we adopt a far, far greater sense of urgency.

Thanks for joining us for our summer experiment!

Season 9 of the Remarkable Retail podcast returns on September 10th in its usual format. Follow us wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don’t forget to give us a 5-star review.

Special thanks to Scott Galloway, Maverick, The Dude, Ted Lasso, Elvis and Billy Joel for lending their voices to this episode of the #pod. 

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Welcome to a special Remarkable Retail podcast summer series focused on what leaders need to do to help their organizations win the future and leap to higher ground. In this six-part limited series, Steve will be unpacking key lessons from his new best-selling book “Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption,” available everywhere books are sold.

Clayton Christensen, the late great Harvard Business School professor, wrote one of the best business strategy books of all time. In his classic "The Innovator's Dilemma" he explains how successful companies often fail by becoming overly locked into their established business models and optimizing the heck out of them, thereby ignoring, more risky disruptive innovations.

Of course, back in 1997, when Christensen's book first started to have impact, e-commerce was in its infancy, smart devices were a decade away, and cloud computing and AI weren't even glimmers in anyone's eyes.  The speed of disruption back then wasn't exactly glacial, but it was far, far slower than it is today.

Fast forward to today, and we are confronted with a New Innovator's Dilemma. Disruption is unrelenting, and the pace of change is often more exponential than linear.

Take a slow and steady approach to innovation and you may well get run over. Move with caution and you may fall further and further behind.

Right now, doing what we've always done, but just a little bit better may feel safe, but it is often the riskiest path we could possibly choose.

The evidence is overwhelming, and the verdict is in. Safe is risky.

And more and more, fortune favors the bold.

This 6-part summer series will explore why we must choose remarkable or risk irrelevance. We will go deep on unpacking the root causes that lead to an overly timid transformation. We will delve into what is required to lead in the face of relentless, unyielding disruption.

Season 9 of the Remarkable Retail podcast returns on September 10th in its usual format. Follow us wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don’t forget to give us a 5-star review.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Welcome to a special Remarkable Retail podcast summer series focused on what leaders need to do to help their organizations win the future and leap to higher ground. In this six-part limited series, Steve will be unpacking key lessons from his new best-selling book “Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption,” available everywhere books are sold.

Remember a few years ago when everyone was talking about a retail apocalypse? Physical retail was dead or dying, they said. Malls were going away. If you wanted to invest in brick-and-mortar, you’d be better off incinerating a big pile of cash.

But as it turned out, well, not so much.

As a keen observer, regular commentator, and strategic advisor on where shopping is headed, Steve pays more attention to these sorts of prognostications than the average bear, particularly since some of them are advanced by his friends and colleagues.

But Steve is also a card-carrying bullshit dispelling enthusiast. And when this sort of nonsense gets advanced as insight, he suddenly and clearly hears the words of Logan Roy from Succession ringing in his ears.

 "I love you, but you are not serious people."

In this episode, we’ll explore why the work of meaningful transformation IS serious work and why it requires that we become serious, courageous leaders who break through our denial, wake up to new and emerging realities, and, ultimately, do what it takes to position our organizations to aim higher, move faster, and act more boldly.

To drive our strategic growth agenda forward, we must develop a clear, well-informed view that’s rooted in reality, not false prophets; that emerges from doing the serious, often uncomfortable work required to transform at the speed of disruption.

This 6-part summer series will explore why we must choose remarkable or risk irrelevance. We will go deep on unpacking the root causes that lead to an overly timid transformation. We will delve into what is required to lead in the face of relentless, unyielding disruption.

Season 9 of the Remarkable Retail podcast returns on September 10th in its usual format. Follow us wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don’t forget to give us a 5-star review.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.