The Retail Exchange podcast

Host Karl McKeever reports from NRF 2023, Retail’s Big Show, in New York City. At the start of a franticly busy three days in the Big Apple, we bring your highlights from the Javits Convention Center, where retail leaders and some of the industry’s most pioneering vendors, discuss, debate, and present the key topics that provide a glimpse into what the future of retail might look like. In this episode, we picked our way through some of the highlights from Day One at the Show.

The Interview: Warner’s Gin: In this episode of The Interview Series, host Mark Faithfull is joined by Tom Warner, co-founder & CEO of Warner’s Gin.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2022, Warner’s Gin has had much to do the gin-naissance boom over the last decade.

In this episode, Warner walks us through the story of how he and his then business partner decided to launch the brand; the influence of Warner’s Gin in revolutionising the category boom through its rhubarb flavoured gin (at the time, a ‘first’); the importance of balancing the need to do good with doing business; and his own personal tales of the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurial life.

Recorded at Retail Week Live 2022

Presented by Attentive®. Driving retail sales with text message marketing.

The Special: In this episode of The Special, host Karl McKeever is joined in our Manhattan studio by Laura Lewi, associate and senior designer at global architecture and design practice CRTKL, calls into our studio for a discussion about the importance of reimagining physical retail for our new reality. We speak to Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director of GlobalData Retail in Arizona about the current state of US retail, consumer confidence, and outlook for Q4. Plus: we’re joined by Aimee Grandfield, head of insights at retail display specialist arken P-O-P International to talk beauty retail, following her own recent visit in New York.

Seeing images from afar of an empty Times Square, a dark Madison Square Garden, or shuttered Fifth Avenue storefronts during the pandemic was as eerie as it is disheartening. People have filled the streets (and stores) once more, but this doesn’t mean that retail is out of the woods just yet. 

So, what must retail do to give people reasons to shop in stores, and how will new thinking in store design pave the way for how we consider customer experience in the future?

Presented by Attentive®. Driving retail sales with text message marketing.

The Interview: In this episode of The Interview Series, host Karl McKeever is joined by John Gregory, Head of Industry – Retail Vertical at Spotify.

From bombs to beer to Bloomingdale’s. Gregory has enjoyed a varied and storied career that has seen him involved in everything from the F-15 fighter program to the role of VP Marketing at the US luxury department store chain.

Responsible for developing solutions for retail clients, Gregory collaborates closely with Spotify’s internal teams to drive the development of leading-edge solutions for retail clients, while also advising on how best to address the needs of all sub-categories within the industry.

We explore the secrets to delivering a successful digital customer experience; how technology and data can be used to truly understand the individual and can appeal to consumer senses and emotions; and what retailers can do to inspire consumers through the joy of discovery.

Recorded at Retail Week Live 2022

Presented by Attentive®. Driving retail sales with text message marketing.

The Interview: C&A Europe In this episode, host Karl McKeever sits down with Aleix Gonzalez Director Global Sustainability at C&A Europe Director - one of the leading fashion retail businesses in Europe with 1,575 stores in 21 countries, as well as a presence in Brazil, Mexico, and China. In his role, Gonzalez is responsible for overseeing the implementation of C&A’s global sustainability strategy.

He explains what sustainability means to him; his experience of building momentum behind sustainability initiatives within multiple global retail businesses; his thoughts on the burning issues affecting fashion retailers’ ability to drive change; and the secrets to success for other retailers who are embarking on the journey to cut waste, improve circularity, and achieve Net Zero goals.

Recorded at World Retail Congress 2022.

Presented by Attentive®. Driving retail sales with text message marketing.

The Interview: Majid Al Futtaim – Retail: In this episode, host Karl McKeever is joined in conversation by Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, the exclusive partner of choice for international hypermarket and supermarket brand, Carrefour.

The last few years have brought profound, powerful change to retail. The critical factor holding everything together is Leadership. Hani’s own career began at Majid Al Futtaim - Retail in 2001, as a Section Manager at Carrefour in City Centre Deira, the firm’s first hypermarket in the region. Today, as its CEO, Hani leads a business of 37,000 colleagues, operating over 450 Carrefour stores across 16 countries in the region, and serving more than 750,000 customers a day.

We sat down with him to explore the story behind the Majid Al Futtaim Retail business; the challenges of operating a successful grocery retail franchise business in the Middle East, and to hear his thoughts on what great leadership looks like today and, more importantly, for the future.

The Interview: UGG: In this episode, host Karl McKeever is joined in conversation by the Vice President of Global Marketing for global lifestyle brand UGG, Carole Diarra.

UGG boots are back. But in truth, they never really went away. The brand has enjoyed several ‘fashion moments’ since it first rose to popularity back in the 1970s, and once again became one of the hottest (and the warmest) footwear trends of 2022.

Today, UGG is a two-billion-dollar company with numerous sales outlets worldwide. Building a modern brand means constantly evolving. For UGG that’s meant both a constant and progressive focus on cultivating a community, inclusivity, and brand delivery with authenticity – central tenets of UGG’s continuing success story.

Diarra reflects on how a brand can stay relevant in today’s uncertain times, and the enduring principles that make great brands stand out. She also shares the story of her own personal career journey that saw her spend 15 years in New York honing her skills at L’Oreal, before eventually settling in her current role (and into a new life) in Paris.

The Interview: Frugi: In this episode, host Mark Faithfull is joined by Sarah Clark, CEO of UK organic clothing brand, Frugi. We to explore how sustainable fashion has changed; the brand’s plan for growth; what a sustained approach to business growth looks like; how to better influence and empower customers to live more sustainably; and how can it replace the pursuit of profit, and to reflect on her first year in post.

Recorded at Retail Week Live 2022.

In this special episode, we look at one of the biggest supply chain challenges to affect both retail and global food supplies, in decades.

Russia’s effective blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has forced it to seek alternative methods of exporting nearly 25 million tonnes of grains. With supply chain delays continuing to see global food prices soar, the pressure is on to find a solution.

As a result, the European Commission recently launched the action plan ‘EU Ukraine Solidarity Lanes’, which is aimed at facilitating the Ukraine’s agricultural export and bilateral trade with the EU. A key part of this plan is to scale up rail freight and any other convenient transportation to unlock bottlenecks. But that is not without its challenges.

It’s led to concerted calls on for those within the logistics community to take part, contribute transportation equipment, and help open up freight corridors.

To discuss how the ‘EU Ukraine Solidarity Lanes’ plan aims to get Ukrainian agricultural produce back in motion, and the challenges that lie ahead, we’re joined by guests Serge Schamschula, senior partner manager and Georgia Leybourne, CMO, at Transporeon – a key supporter of the EU Solidarity Lanes initiatives.

In this episode, host Karl McKeever is joined by LIFVS co-founder and COO Daniel Lundh to explore the story behind Europe’s largest unstaffed grocery chain; why it classes itself as a technology start-up first and retailer second; and how its business model could teach others a thing or two about how to enjoy retail success in low traffic areas and rural communities. Recorded at Shoptalk Europe 2022.