Retail in America

Today we are live from the Airstream in Denver, Colorado, with April Bibich from Eddie Bauer.

This podcast is part of The RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, my year-long journey to discover incredible retail heroes all across the country, celebrating our retail culture, community, and careers. Go to retailpride.com or IG @retail pride to see it all, including past podcast episodes, playlists, and future cities on tour.

April Bibich is a Colorado native, a perfect person, and the perfect brand to represent my time in Colorado. 

Eddie Bauer celebrates 100 years of product innovation for outdoor adventurers this year. They continue their adventure-driven innovation with even more sustainability and inclusivity as they look forward, using materials and methods that minimize impact and building an outdoor culture open to everyone.

And they are just getting started! They believe the outdoors is for everyone, and for the next 100 years, their mission is to enable all people to get outside and enjoy nature.

April is currently the Store Manager of Eddie Bauer in Park Meadows and had a long tenure in leadership roles at Victorias secret and Children's Place.

Her accidental career started as a summer job working with her Mom as she worked through school and graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Denver in Elementary Education.

However, as you will hear, the birth of her son, Dom, redirected and solidified her career in retail. She's now "Mom" to Dom and his sister Bella, who endlessly keep her entertained with their teenage shenanigans.

She also loves playing with her golden doodle Baxter, camping, hiking, paddle boarding, and riding motorcycles- the true outdoor life that Colorado offers.

Before we begin, we thank the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

This podcast is part of the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, my year-long journey to discover incredible retail heroes all across the country, celebrating our retail culture, community, and careers. Click the link and follow me on Instagram @retail pride to see everything, including past episodes of this podcast, videos, press for the tour, and future cities.

And just added, there are now RETAIL IN AMERICA playlists exclusively on Spotify that I have developed to celebrate the cities we have visited...one you might even play in your store!

For this episode, we are in the Prima Vera room in the corporate campus of James Avery in Kerrville, Texas, with Lindsey Tognietti, the granddaughter of Mr. Avery, and John McCullough, the CEO,

James Avery is a 68-year-old vertically integrated, family-owned company located in the heart of Texas Hill Country. All the jewelry is designed and crafted by skilled artisans using the finest materials worldwide.

The company is a multi-channel retailer with over 110 James Avery stores in four states and is available at JamesAvery.com and over 220 Dillard's locations. 

This episode wraps up several weeks in Texas, which seems very fitting because this brand is a household name in this state. You are the epitome of retail in America! 

A huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

With that, enjoy the show!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

This podcast is part of the RETAIL IN AMERICA Tour in an Airstream trailer, my year-long journey to discover incredible retail heroes all across the country, celebrating our retail culture, community, and careers.

Go to retailpride.com or on Instagram @retail pride to see everything, including past episodes of this podcast, videos, press for the tour, and future cities. Make sure you sign up for emails to get this podcast directly to your inbox. 

And just added, there are now Retail in America playlists exclusively on Spotify that I have developed to celebrate the cities we have visited...one you might even play in your store! 

We are live today in the Austin offices of Reflex with its co-founder and CEO, Mike Meyers. 

For the first time since this podcast began, I am having a conversation with the founder of a retail technology startup that I believe has the power to change this industry as we know it. It's also the story of an entrepreneur who has discovered how extraordinary the front-line teams are. 

You may not need or have the ability to utilize this platform today, but I encourage you to listen with curiosity and an open mind about how the hero in our stores is not always human. 

But before we get started, I want to thank the three important title sponsors for the retail in America tour and this podcast: 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to episode 11, Season 1 of the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast! This episode was recorded live in our Airstream trailer in Dallas, Texas, and I am honored and excited to introduce you to Patrick Carrion.

Patrick is the perfect guest to share what retail in America means to Texas, as he is originally from Robstown, a small town close to Corpus Christi.

He attended Baylor University in Waco for a bachelor's in marketing and a minor in Fashion Merchandising. Subsequently, he received his Master's in Business Administration from Texas A&M Kingsville and is now a certified life coach.

Patrick has been in retail for over 20 years, including 13 years at Gap Inc with Old Navy, Banana Republic, and GAP, where he went from retail to corporate. (9 years in the field and four years in SF at Corp)

From there, he spent four years at Louis Vuitton as a Training Manager for the Central Region of the US. After four years with MCM Worldwide, where he started as a Training Manager for the Americas, he is now the brand's Global Director of Learning and Development. 

Patrick is also the first guest to share his insight on the metaverse and Web 3.0 - you don't want to miss it!

But first, a huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast, and we made it to 10 episodes! This is a special one because I have 2 of the Brand Presidents and Franchise Owners of Buff City Soap, Charli Gorman and Tim Chaffin. It was recorded in a store location outside of Memphis, Tennessee, in front of a live audience of team members and leaders from various Buff City Soap brand locations.

For anyone unfamiliar with the brand, here are a few details;

• They are currently open in 29 states and have 218 locations.
• Their purpose: "Make Life Smell Wonderful, One handmade Soap at a Time."
• 100% of their products are handmade daily by local Makers in their Soap Makery, and customers can experience their beauty and laundry products handmade in front of their eyes
• This also means that each store creates its own inventory and only produces what is necessary and favored by that local customer. 
• No complicated ingredients and confusing language. Just plant-based goodness, that's the Buff City Soap way.

In this episode we learn more about what it means to be a franchise owner of a fast-growing retail business, an essential part of our industry. You don't want to miss it!

There is also a quick video here with all of the highlights of our time together.

But first, a huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to episode 9 of the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast! I would like to introduce you to a phenomenal leader I met in Nashville, Priscilla Willis.

Priscilla is the General Manager of Burberry in The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tennessee. Her incredible retail career has taken her all over the country, from NYC to Miami and back to Tennessee, with brands including Banana Republic, Cole Hahn, Gibson Guitars, Tory Burch, and more.

Priscilla says that although retail has been an accidental career and being a leader is most fulfilling, the engagement with clients has always kept her going year after year! Her personal development has been purposeful and driven based on her curiosity about different roles and the enjoyment of various aspects of leadership.

Our conversation focused on networking and relationship building as a critical part of a successful retail career; you won't want to miss it.

But first, a huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to Episode 8 of the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast! I would love to introduce you to two awe-inspiring retail heroes from the Ashley HomeStore in Asheville, North Carolina.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Broad River Retail is a privately held company and one of the largest and fastest growing independently owned Ashley HomeStore licensees.

Leanna Mares started her retail career in 2009 at the age of 39 and had never sold a thing! She was recently promoted to the General Manager of the Asheville, NC location, having spent time in other roles with the company, including Sales Manager and Retail Performance Manager.

Cory Plott had always drawn and painted as a child to pass the time. After graduating from Haywood Community College with an associate in Professional Crafts focusing on production pottery, Cory produced 8 tons worth of wares annually and sold them at art shows and State Fairs from Philadelphia to Miami.

In 2019 he decided to pursue his passion for furniture and interiors by working at Ashely HomeStore and quickly became a Million Dollar Memory Maker!

This is a great episode full of passion and pride for what they both do and filled with authentic local North Carolina southern charm.

Enjoy!

A huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

As one of the title sponsors of my RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, KWI, the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers, has allowed me to engage with their fantastic customers. And one of them is SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, her namesake footwear, handbags, and accessories brand. 

This conversation is entirely due to KWI's strong relationship with its customers, and I am very grateful for our partnership and this opportunity.

I would say that Sarah Jessica Parker needs no introduction, but let me share just a few highlights…

She is most known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City, for which she won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The character was widely popular during the airing of the series and was later recognized as one of the most notable female characters in American television.

She later reprised the role in the films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), and the most recent television show And Just Like That….(2022)

Sarah Jessica and her husband, Matthew Broderick, are currently starring on Broadway in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite revival.

In February 2014, she started SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, a footwear line initially launched exclusively at Nordstrom that has grown into a global business sold in every major department store and a small fleet of her own brick-and-mortar locations around the world. 

This conversation was recorded in front of a small live audience at the end of April 2022, at her 54th street location in NYC, one that is very special to her as you will hear.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Ron

A huge thank you to the three essential title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour AND this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more. 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Hugh Linn is a Florida native, and as many people do, he started in retail just to get through college. He was initially studying to be a math teacher and went on to get an MBA in HR from Nova Southeastern University.  

Today, he says, " I still get to be a teacher and choose my students for the most part. I have also always been fascinated by leadership and what goes into being a great leader. I have failed more times than I have succeeded, but the learnings from that failure have fueled my success."

He is currently with Office Depot as a General Manager in Orlando and initially spent 13 years growing his career at Lane Bryant. 

He says that his secret superpower is empathy, and he has found that leaders can solve most problems with compassion and patience. You will hear that loud in clear when you hear him describe his career journey.

Enjoy the episode with Hugh!

But before we get started, I want to thank you to the three essential title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour AND this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US. It has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform.

Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers. 

Please subscribe, review, and then share this podcast with everyone you know in retail - and there are many of us! 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, upcoming events, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or just say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road! 

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to episode 6, and I have another exceptional retail hero here with me in Boston today! Ladiane Cardoso is a Multi-Store General Manager for Zadig et Voltaire today and is very passionate about Talent Development and Client Relationship Management.

She is originally from Cape Verd, a small country on the West Coast of Africa. Ladiane moved to the US 8 years ago for college and started her American journey without knowing the language in a small town in Rhode Island. 

She was initially studying Social Service, but after only one year of working in retail, she changed my major to Business Management and Fashion Merchandising at Fisher College.  

This life-changing introduction to the retail industry was just 6 years ago as a Part-Time Sales Associate at Banana Republic, right here on Newbury St. in Boston.

She says that although her retail career was accidental, it unfolded perfectly, and she can't imagine doing anything else!

But before we get started, I want to thank you to the three essential title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour AND this podcast. 

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US. It has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform.

Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats. 

Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more. 

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers. 

Please subscribe, review, and then share this podcast with everyone you know in retail - and there are many of us! 

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, upcoming events, media links, and more. 

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or just say hello.  

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road! 

Audio engineer Dean Albak 

Cover image shot by Duke Winn