This episode of The Rebekah Panepinto Project features a conversation with Fred Argir, Chief Digital Officer, who has worked for an accomplished list of retail companies leading their technology projects. Being in retail for decades, Fred was in the thick of it when the industry started shifting to digital. He shares the mindset shift that comes with it and how retail is adapting today.

In the current market, the pace of innovation is being set by the consumer. Retailers are now tasked with responding by meeting the consumer where they are. This can mean a variety of things as audience behaviors vary considerably across industries, cultures, and countries, but at the end of the day, it is about remaining relevant to the consumer.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Leadership beliefs and pioneering digital marketing in 1992
• Feedback loops to learn about different retail audiences
• Transforming the old retail experience into something new
• Music and creativity in business lead to innovation

QUOTES

Fred: "We're on this faster pace of innovation and it's really driven by the consumer. Right now, it used to be we would create a good idea and hope the consumer would follow. Now the consumer's pulling us. It's no more a push, it's a pull."

Fred: "The price of education is sometimes painful. We have to learn. We're always learning, whether it's personal learning, whether it's team learning, whether it's company learning, or learning more about our consumer."

Fred: "If you're not begging for forgiveness 3 times a quarter, you're not meeting my expectations. Wouldn't that be wonderful to hear? Oh, you mean I get to fail and it's going to be okay? Please. Because it leads us to somewhere where we can be more relevant to our consumer."

Fred: "I live my life with integrity. I do my business with integrity. And, as long as you can anchor that, you're never wrong. As long as you're comfortable with yourself and what you do and successes that your team does, be proud of it."

Find out more about Fred in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-argir-308912/
• Website: https://fredargir.com/