Retail Adventures

Joining KIZER & BENDER & BAUM is the whip smart and hilarious Rachael Kay Albers, founder and creative director of RKA ink, a branding, web design, and digital marketing studio based outside Chicago. The conversation centers on how to create an unforgettable brand and stand out online without selling you soul or playing the manipulation game, plus binge worthy content vs. “going viral” and why making people laugh is so important.

Check out Rachael’s website at https://www.rkaink.com/ (https://www.rkaink.com/) and her Awkward Marketing, a business comedy show that blends fun-sized business advice with storytelling and sketch comedy here: https://www.youtube.com/c/Rkaink/

We travel the world (virtually!) to understand what's going on as physical stores continue to reopen. Jeremey Sea 谢泳锦 reports from Singapore, Ian Scott brings us up-to-speed from the U.K. and KIZER & BENDER & BAUM share what's happening at retail in the U.S. This is lively retail-centric conversation that we plan to continue monthly on the Retail Adventures Podcast.

We met talking retail in similar presentation for RetailTransformation.Live, a virtual international conference you should check out!

In this episode we welcome guest Adam Lovick, host of the wildly popular Traveler Podcast where he shares travel stories that are centered around a community of people who want to create their own story.

Adam gives us the what’s what in travel, plus his secret tips to make travel easier. This guy isn’t just knowledgeable, he’s fun! And here’s where it gets crazy. You know our hosts have travel stories of their own that may or may not include Pedialyte and barf bags.

Joining the Retail Adventures team is Brian Gibbs, president of Refund Retriever, a company that provides businesses with complete logistics visibility and savings through FedEx and UPS invoice auditing and analytics. If you ship goods you won’t want to miss this episode.

Our special guest on this episode is Frank Bussemeier, a food industry veteran with over four decades of experience. Frank has held leadership positions with the country's leading grocer, food wholesaler and specialty distribution companies. He currently holds the position of Senior Vice President for a major food distribution company. Our conversation covers everything from how companies have diversified in a changing market amidst COVID-19, how retailers are adapting to change, how unemployment and underemployment are affecting retailers, "share of stomach", and more. Whether you are a grocer or a consumer this is one podcast you won't want to miss!

As stay at home mandates began to loosen, people went shopping with a vengeance; U.S. retail sales rose a record 17.7% in May. K&B&B tackle what that means, what it’s like to be victim to a COVID-19 job loss, plus a hint at the future of trade shows.

More and more stores reopen each day and customers seem eager to shop, but will this trend continue? The discussion centers on what has changed in-store, plus what it takes to engage Millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Joining the Retail Adventures team is Jasmine Glasheen, principal writer at Jasmine Glasheen & Associates. Jasmine is a retail thought leader, content strategist and frequent contributor to important publications such as The Robin Report, IBM, RetailWire, Sourcing Journal, KIZER & BENDER’s Retail Adventures Blog, and more.

Currently, less than 20 percent of shoppers are confident that retailers are providing a safe shopping environment. As more and more states allow non-essential stores to open the big question is will shoppers return? Retailers and restaurateurs think so and they are finding new and creative ways to engage customers.

You may have already reopened your store for business, or your doors might still be closed, either way we bet saving money is always on your mind. In this Retail Adventures podcast Kizer & Bender & Baum share easy to do ideas to help you cut unnecessary costs and increase your bottom line.

In the "Now Normal" it’s far from business as usual as stores planning to re-open must follow stringent health and safety guidelines. What’s happening at retail right now includes frequent sanitation, "no-touch" is the rule, fitting rooms are closed, returns are questionable, and in spite of it all, retailers are creating new product opportunities customers love.