According to the National Retail Federation’s ranking of the fastest-growing retailers in the U.S., Miniso took the No. 1 spot after growing its U.S. business by 52%.

Even more striking, five of the ten fastest-growing retailers on the list are foreign companies, with Asian retailers playing an unusually strong role.

In this episode of Retail Talks, we look behind Miniso’s growth and examine why its physical-store strategy is working so well. From licensed IP and collectibles to experience-driven stores, impulse-friendly pricing and locations that double as marketing channels, Miniso has built retail around discovery and emotion rather than efficiency alone.

For years, the retail industry has focused on frictionless shopping, self-checkout, apps, loyalty and now AI. Miniso suggests that another factor may matter just as much: making physical retail entertaining again.

This episode explores what Miniso’s rise tells us about the changing U.S. retail market — and what Western retailers can learn from the new generation of Asian retail concepts.

Shopify surprised us — and it wasn’t because of e-commerce.

In this episode of Retail Talks, we look behind Shopify’s latest numbers and focus on a part of the business that deserves much more attention: physical retail.

Shopify’s offline GMV is growing at around 32%, putting the company into an increasingly serious position in the POS and store technology market. But Shopify is only part of a much bigger story.

We compare the signals coming from major retail technology players including Toast, Manhattan Associates, Diebold Nixdorf, Toshiba, NCR and Partner Tech — and uncover a market that looks very different from what many might expect.

The key question: Are we entering a new investment cycle in physical retail technology?

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Shopify is becoming a serious physical retail player

• Why some of the fastest-growing competitors are coming from outside traditional POS

• Why hardware is performing much better than expected

• How the boundaries between software, hardware, payments and services are disappearing

• Why traditional POS vendors may soon face their strongest competition from companies coming “from the side”

• What this new investment cycle could mean for retailers and retail technology providers

The POS is becoming much more than a POS — and the race to own the technology stack inside the physical store is getting interesting.

Retail Talks is our micro-podcast about the technologies, companies and trends reshaping physical retail.

Europe’s convenience-store market is fragmented, fiercely competitive and still far less consolidated than those of Asia and North America. That may now be about to change.

In the ninth episode of Retail Talks, Kristina and Darko examine Circle K parent Couche-Tard’s move for Żabka, the Polish convenience retailer with more than 13,000 neighbourhood stores.

The real value of the transaction may not simply be the size of Żabka’s network, but its franchise model, logistics, digital ecosystem and ability to make small proximity stores profitable.

The discussion explores three very different convenience models: Circle K’s mobility and forecourt concept, the Asian neighbourhood platform represented by 7-Eleven, and Europe’s fragmented hybrid market.

Could Żabka provide the missing blueprint for Circle K’s expansion across the continent, and could this deal trigger a wider battle involving petrol-station operators, supermarkets, delivery platforms and global convenience giants?

A conversation about much more than one acquisition.

It is about who will define the future of convenience retail in Europe.

SHEIN’s IPO numbers tell a much bigger story than revenue, customer growth or profitability.

In this episode of Retail Talks, Darko Pavić examines how SHEIN compares with Inditex, why its highly flexible model enabled such extraordinary global growth, and how regulatory pressure, tariffs, rising fulfilment costs and changing import rules are now forcing the company to adapt.

The numbers suggest three important strategic shifts: SHEIN is reducing its dependence on the United States and Europe, expanding from retailer to marketplace, and moving from direct shipments out of China toward more local and regional inventory hubs.

The IPO may therefore be less about financing further growth and more about financing the reinvention of SHEIN’s business model.

Can the company successfully change its engines while still flying at full speed, or are we watching one of retail’s most remarkable growth stories lose momentum?

The line between science fiction and everyday retail is disappearing faster than expected.

Humanoid robots can now move products, scan shelves, replenish stock, interact with customers and perform tasks that closely resemble the work of a cashier.

Retailers including Amazon, SPAR, Tesco, Sam’s Club and FamilyMart are already testing or deploying robots across warehouses and stores, while customers appear far more accepting of the technology than many expected.

In this episode of Retail Talks, Kristina and Darko examine the remarkable progress robotics has made in only one year, from robot combat in China to autonomous convenience stores and machines capable of operating without constant human support.

They explore which retail jobs robots are likely to perform first, why cost savings are accelerating investment, what still makes human interaction valuable and why humanoid store employees may arrive in months rather than years.

The next employee you meet in a store may not be human.

Will Your Next Store Employee Be a Humanoid Robot?

Listen to the full discussion and discover how physical AI could transform the future of retail.

Starbucks may be showing us where enterprise software is heading next.

The global retailer has announced plans to replace major external software solutions with internally developed systems.

Combined with AI-assisted development, this raises a difficult question for the entire technology industry: What happens when large companies can increasingly build, adapt and maintain their own enterprise software?

In this episode of Retail Talks, Kristina and Darko discuss why this development could challenge not only SaaS companies, but traditional enterprise software vendors as well.

They explore how AI is reducing the cost and complexity of software development, why specialised and complex solutions may not be as protected as their vendors believe, and why the value of software itself could decline when more companies are able to create it.

Darko also explains how Fiscal Solutions is preparing for this possible future through four steps: identifying the company’s lasting strengths, imagining the market seven to ten years from now, redefining its future role and developing the products needed for that new environment.

The discussion also highlights an important limitation: AI can create impressive software quickly, but its output may be incomplete or misleading. Experienced engineers and domain experts are still needed to verify whether a solution genuinely works or merely looks finished.

Will AI replace software vendors—or force them to become something entirely different?

Listen to the episode and join the discussion.

Retailers used to rely on celebrities, influencers, and agencies to tell their brand stories. But now, some of the most powerful voices may already be inside the company.

In this episode of Retail Talks, Cristina and Darko Pavic discuss the rise of employee creators — from Starbucks’ TikTok Creator Network to employee ambassador strategies at Dell, Ulta Beauty, and beyond.

Can baristas, store associates, consultants, and support teams become the new authentic brand storytellers? Or does this risk turning employees into unpaid marketing channels?

We talk about authenticity, control, compensation, company culture, and why employee creator programs can be powerful — but also dangerous if handled poorly.

Because when employees become influencers, the big question is:

Who really owns the story?

In this episode of Retail Talks, Kristina and Darko Pavić discuss one of the most important questions emerging around artificial intelligence: when governments begin to control access to AI, what does that mean for retail?

AI is no longer only a tool for developers and technology enthusiasts. It is becoming strategic infrastructure, influencing productivity, cybersecurity, software development, customer service, pricing, forecasting, fraud detection, supply chains, compliance, and store operations.

The discussion explores why AI has become a political and economic topic, how governments are starting to influence regulation and access to advanced AI models, and why this matters for retailers and retail technology providers.

For retailers, the risk is not only whether AI works today. The bigger question is whether critical AI capabilities will still be available tomorrow, in every country, through every software partner, and under every political condition.

Darko explains why retailers should start mapping their AI dependencies, ask vendors which models they use, understand where AI is hosted, check whether fallback options exist, and define clear responsibility for AI-related risks.

The message is simple: retailers should not panic, but they should become more aware. AI will continue to create huge opportunities, but the companies that benefit most will be the ones that understand both the power and the dependencies behind it.

Discount retail was once simple: low prices, efficient stores, no unnecessary emotion.

But Aldi is changing that story.

In this episode of Retail Talks, we explore how Aldi is turning discount retail into something much bigger than price.

From the famous blue Aldi bag to ALDImania, Aldiletten, ALDImaniacs and now Blind Boxes in the U.S., Aldi is showing that even a discounter can create rituals, symbols, fan behavior and cultural energy.

Why would people wait for a free Aldi Blind Box? Why do simple discount products become objects of desire? And how can a brand built on simplicity and low prices create the kind of emotional connection many premium brands dream about?

This episode is not only about Aldi. It is about the new power of retail culture.

In this episode of Retail Talks, we discuss a German court ruling against Google that could become a signal for the entire AI industry.

The court treated AI-generated search answers not simply as neutral search results, but as content for which the platform may carry responsibility.

That changes the game.

AI is no longer only a tool for finding links. It is becoming a publisher, a recommendation engine, a shopping assistant and, very soon, a decision layer between retailers and customers.

For retailers, this raises uncomfortable questions. What happens when AI gives the wrong product recommendation? What happens when it misrepresents a brand, a price, a policy or a compliance status? Are disclaimers enough? And who owns the truth when AI speaks about your business?

We also look at the future of AI shopping agents, the need for verified data, the growing importance of reliable sources, and why POS, commerce, PIM and retail data systems may become critical sources of truth for AI-driven retail.

This is not only a legal story.

It is a retail story.

And it may be the beginning of a new phase in which visibility in AI will not depend only on being online, but on being trusted.

Listen to the episode and join the discussion: when AI lies, who pays?