Sourcing Journal Radio

In 2021, Pakistan-based manufacturer Interloop had a vision: to expand beyond the hosiery category and become a “full-family” producer. As the company grew its verticals, it established separate teams for each product type, and cross-category customers had multiple points of contact.

Over the last six months, Interloop has undergone a transformation to restructure its teams by job function instead of business units. This has improved collaboration in areas like product development and boosted customer service, giving buyers a single account lead at Interloop.

Feroze Ahmed, chief strategy and transformation officer at Interloop, spoke with Sourcing Journal editor-in-chief Peter Sadera about this strategy and the next action items on Interloop’s agenda.

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In real estate, the mantra is often location, location, location. But when it comes to truly effective real estate asset management, there is so much more to it, like knowing when to play the long game, when to make a quick decision and why "time kills deals"

In this Sku View fireside chat for Retail Rx, Laren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, interviews two seasoned real estate experts, Alan Shaw and Larry Finger. Both are executive vice presidents of Hilco Real Estate, a division of Hilco Global, and co-CEOs of Hilco Real Estate’s Asset Management division. Both have spent the majority of their careers managing some of the largest and most complex retail real estate properties in the world. They have also "lived through three real estate cycles" and emerged with decades of wisdom to pass along to those still struggling to understand brick-and-mortar's positioning in an omnichannel world.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

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Coach remains one of the world's most recognizable brands, which is no small feat after 80 plus years. It's not easy for legacy brands to stay relevant, yet reinvention with the younger consumer can be even harder. Coach has done both by realizing that product-centric isn’t enough; handbags and other fashion items can also be a stand in for self-expression and purpose.

In this fireside chat, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, interviews Sandeep Seth, chief marketing officer and president of Coach North America, on how the global brand has courted Gen Z with the approach that product can boost self expression and purpose, and how the brand's creative advertising is driving this home. 

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·     What Sandeep Seth’s 24 years at P&G and international career brings to Coach 

·     Why Coach has emerged as Tapestry’s strongest brand, bringing in $1.5 billion in revenue, a 6% increase, and besting sister brands like Kate Spade & Stuart Weitzman 

·     How Coach uses its handbags and other products to forge an emotional connection with consumers 

·     How Coach is courting Gen Z with a more purpose-driven approach including themes of courage, empowerment, identity and self-expression

·     Which celebrities resonate as authentic and courageous Coach brand ambassadors

·     How Coach’s sustainable (re)loved trade-in program segued into Coachtopia, and what’s next for Coach leather scraps

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Despite some bright spots, retail has had a bumpy road lately, with shifts from malls to online, store closings, bankruptcies, restructurings, liquidations and the like. Yet as Tolstoy might have put it, “Successful retailers are all alike; each distressed retailer is distressed in its own way.”

In this fireside chat, Rob Gorin, managing director at Getzler Henrich & Associates, interviews Max Frumes, the global head of distress and restructuring news at 9Fin, in search of lessons learned for the industry at large and what we might expect going forward. A highly regarded senior journalist, Frumes has been reporting on distress, credit, M & A, leveraged financing, turnarounds and special situations for more than 12 years.

"My prediction is that you're going to see larger retail restructurings happen with very different stakeholders that don't just include credit funds," said Frumes. "They're going to be these multifaceted companies with lots of different arms that could could wind up having a meaningful influence on these large retail restructurings or refinancings going forward."

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

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It seems as if tech is one of the biggest recurring stories that touches many facets—economies, societies and businesses. In this episode we will discuss why retailers should care about AI and what makes a successful tech-rich organizational environment.

In this fireside chat, Michael Appel, managing director and head of retail practice, Getzler Henrich & Associates, sits down with José P. Chan, assistant professor, technology & innovation at Parsons School of Design to discuss AI’s implications.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·      When we say AI, what do we really mean? Is AI a magic bullet for retail problem solving?

·      How retailers should approach AI to improve efficiency and financial results, and what applications should be top of mind

·      How crucial adoption and the human elements are when thinking about AI  

·      The ethical or legal implications of AI when considering the incorporation of AI into a business  

·      Some good use cases of retail companies that have successfully incorporated AI solutions into their business models 

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Well-trained, committed frontline workers are key to a retailer’s success, but that’s proving more and more elusive. With a worker attrition rate of about 60 percent, retailers are essentially replacing more than half their staff every year. That’s a lot of churn.

In this fireside chat, Christine Tutssel, co-founder of Axonify, Michael Appel, managing director and head of retail practice, Getzler Henrich and Associates, and Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio discuss why investment in staff onboarding, training, development, communications and retention must come from the top, and how AI and technology can really make an impact.

Watch the fireside to learn:

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How are smart retailers bringing their own customers into the mix as co-collaborators and co-creators? PacSun is a leader in this regard, making sure its brand resonates with Gen Z, and not just in product, but in overall vibe and messaging. Whether this means using its own consumers as models in advertising campaigns or soliciting Gen Z customer and staff input on creative projects, PacSun knows the benefits of inclusivity and community.

In this fireside chat for retail business hub Retail Rx, Arthur Zaczkiewicz, WWD’s executive editor of strategic content chats with Richard Cox, PacSun’s VP of men’s merchandising and design, and head of global partnerships, about why PacSun strategies like The Collective work so well.

Watch the chat to learn:

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Are retailers really listening to their customers?

In this fireside chat for business hub Retail Rx, Michael Appel, managing director and head of retail practice for Getzler Henrich & Associates, and Greg Petro, CEO of consumer insight platform First Insight discuss the importance of digital tools to gather voice of customer insights data and apply the analytics to drive sales—wherever the customer is. 

Watch the chat to learn:

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In response to a challenged and constantly shifting retail market, WWD and Sourcing Journal have joined forces and teamed up with Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC, a Hilco Global Company, to launch “Retail Rx.” This digital content microsite presents news and insights to help executive leaders make better-informed business decisions. Fresh content is posted weekly.

In this fireside chat, Lauren Parker, director, FMG Studios, sits down with Michael Appel, managing director and head of retail practice and Getzler Henrich, to discuss the need for the site and its goal of offering business leaders a competitive edge in an ever-evolving, complex retail marketplace.

Retail Rx includes the podcast “Chat Box,” where industry experts and retail executives explore the state of retail today and tomorrow. “Retail POV” articles present exclusive finance and technology news and business insights from the Getzler Henrich and Hilco Global experts, and “The SKU View” fireside chats feature retail and industry thought leaders and experts. “Mike Drop,” is Michael Appel’s “no-holds-barred” opinion column to industry.

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“Green.” “Eco-friendly.” “Low impact.” As companies compete for consumers’ dollars, they are touting sustainability benefits alongside other product attributes. But rather than talking about vague sustainability claims, brands must track and show their work toward targets to effect change and meet consumers’ ethical expectations.

Part of this accountability is companies admitting where they fell short of targets. Transparency could also mean disclosing non-compliance with a roadmap for eradicating social or environmental risks.

“It's time that we start celebrating people who have the bravery to be transparent, and also the bravery to say why something didn't work and what they're going to do differently,” said Suzanne Ellingham, event director for trade shows Source Fashion and Source Home & Gift. “It’s a matter of moving away from terminology and really moving towards setting goals and being accountable.”

Listen to Ellingham in conversation with Jasmin Malik Chua, sourcing and labor editor at Sourcing Journal, to hear why brands often shy away from full transparency before reaching goals and how frontrunner brands are proactively reporting on their pitfalls and progress.

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