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In today’s episode we talk to Nick Stone. 

Nick is the founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane. Bluestone are a US based chain of Australian-inspired cafés who’s aim is to provide a genuine daily escape for all their locals. They offer premium coffee in addition to healthy and delicious eats, including their famous “smashed avo”, at more than 45 locations across the US.

In our conversation today we talk to Nick about:
- His journey moving to the US and introducing the Australian coffee culture to American’s;
- His experience in hospitality and how this differed so hugely from his background in finance;
- How life changed so drastically last March and what changes he made to his business to cope with COVID;
- We also discuss his future plans for Bluestone;
- What he believes are the key strategies to having a successful business and 
- What the future of retail looks like to him.

 A huge thank you to Nick for joining us. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from to receive notifications when our next episode airs.

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If you would like to learn more about Nick and Bluestone Lane:

• Bluestone Lane (website)
• Bluestone Lane (Instagram)
• Nick Stone (LinkedIn)

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In today’s episode we talk to Shane Fallscheer, the Founder and Managing Director of well-known jewellery retailer, Lovisa.

The very first Lovisa store opened in Chermside, Queensland, back in April 2010, and now the company boasts over 450 stores in more than 20 countries worldwide - with more store openings in the pipeline.

In our conversation today we talk about...

• Lovisa’s original international expansion, as well as their future plans to continue growing the business, 
• The company's decision to close all stores across Spain permanently and store closures in Europe
• The effects of COVID, both here in Australia and overseas
• The changes that COVID forced upon the business
• Shane's advice and learnings for other retailers and start-ups
• And, finally, what he believes the future of retail looks like.

A big thank you to Shane for joining us we hope you enjoy this conversation

Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from to receive notifications when our next episode airs.

Listen to this Retail Podcast on iTunes or Spotify

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

If you would like to learn more about Lovisa:

• Lovisa

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In today’s episode we talk to Afterpay’s very own Rachel Kelly, the EVP of ANZ Sales & Global Instore, and Mark Teperson, Chief Strategy Officer. 

In our conversation we talk about what played out in the retail scene during 2020, predictions & trends for 2021 and beyond, how the demographic of the Afterpay customer has changed, our thoughts on the end of job keeper and how this will affect businesses and finally their advice for retailers and start-ups.

 A big thank you to Mark and Rachel for joining us. We hope you enjoy this conversation!


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SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

If you would like to learn more about Afterpay or our guests:

• Afterpay
• Rachel - LinkedIn
• Mark - LinkedIn

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In our final episode of 2020 we talk to Shane Lenton. Shane is the Chief Information + Digital Officer at Cue Clothing (which runs the namesake brand, as well as Dion Lee and Veronica Maine). On top of this he is the founder of Unified Commerce and on the Advisory Board of Shippit, ShopYou, NORA, Australia post, Brauz, ScopeSuite, and WellBetter. Shane was recently awarded the 2020 Industry Recognition award at the Australia Post Online Retail Industry Awards and CUE was awarded, for the 2nd year in a row, the Best Multichannel Retailer award. 

In this episode we talk about the effect of COVID on the business as well as its acceleration of digital. Shane shares with us his key learnings for the year as well as advice for retailers on how to continue in 2021. I think both Pippa and I, were really impressed by the technology and customer centricity that’s at play through the digital arm of the CUE brand which you will hear all about during the episode.

We hope you enjoy!

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In today’s episode we talk to Catherine Ross, the COO at i=Change. 

i=Change works in partnership with some 170 odd, big name retailers to give back with every online purchase - with complete transparency. They have taken the traditional way of donating and flipped it, where the brand makes the donation once the customer chooses which of their 3 charities they would like to donation to go towards. i=Change have proudly raised over $2.7 million.

During this podcast we discuss:
- The creation and motivation behind i=Change;
- Their B Corporation Certification and the importance of more brands joining the B Corp community;
- Their partnerships with big name retailers such as P.E Nation, Bed Threads, Tammy Fit and many more;
- The partnership between giving back and retail;
- How they saw a significant spike in donations during Cyber Week;
- And what the future holds for i=Change

Listen to this Retail Podcast on iTunes or Spotify

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

If you would like to learn more about i=Change:

• i=Change
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

To learn more about B Corp + how you can become certified:

• B Corporation

And one last link to Aussie Activewear brand, All Fenix:

• All Fenix

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In today’s episode we talk to Paul Greenberg - a man with many titles! Most notably, he is the founder of the NORA Network, Vice Chair of FIRA (Federation of International Retail Associations), NED at the NRA (National Retail Association) in Australia, and last, but certainly not least, he is the Chairperson at MyDeal.com.au. But most importantly, he is a lover of all things retail.

In this episode, we talk about:
- MyDeal.com.au recent successful IPO journey
- Paul's predictions for the future of retail in Australia
- His recent investment in retail tech start-up, AirRobe
- The recent Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale events
- The importance of sustainability and the "re-commerce" trend
- And lastly, his advice for retailers and start-ups

Thank you to Paul for joining us. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

Listen to this Retail Podcast on iTunes or Spotify

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

If you could like to learn more about Paul Greenberg/NORA/NRA:

• NORA
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• NRA
• MyDeal.com.au

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In today’s episode we talk to Wayne Baskin, the Deputy CEO and Chief Technology Officer at Australia’s largest online bookstore, Booktopia

During this podcast you’ll hear Wayne discuss the importance of putting the customer first, finding your niche (and owing it) and well as a really interesting look into the book categories that took off during COVID.

Wayne also talks about the recent news of Booktopia’s successful IPO journey, plus his predictions for the upcoming holiday period, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday events.

 A big thank you to Wayne for joining us. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

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In today’s episode we talk to Dean Jones, the Co-Founder and CEO of GlamCorner.

Founded by Dean and his wife, Audrey, in 2012, GlamCorner is the leading online destination for women in Australia to rent designer fashion. The company is on a Mission to revolutionise the way fashion is consumed by providing a smarter and more sustainable alternative that is better for our community and our environment. 

2020 has been a huge year for GlamCorner as their business continues to grow, but on top of that they have launched a partnership with David Jones, which you will hear about in this episode, and raised $12m in their series B funding round. 

This is our first B Corp on the podcast and for those who don’t know, we are also a B Corp – and proud of it! 

In this conversation we talk about:
- The inception of GlamCorner, its continued growth and what the future holds
- GlamCorner's partnership with David Jones
- Being a B Corp and the importance of having your values aligned
- Their recent Series B funding round where they raised $12m
- The positives and negative impacts of COVID on their business
- How their subscription service is performing
- and finally, Dean's advice for start-ups

We hope you enjoyed this conversation.

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In today’s episode we talk to Tennealle O'Shannessy, the CEO of Adore Beauty,  Australia’s largest online beauty retailer. Whilst their latest success might look like it happened overnight, it actually began in 1999 when Founder, Kate Morris, asked her parents for a loan of $12k to set up her business, which she ran out of her garage. Fast forward 20 years and  Adore Beauty just went public! It’s been labelled Australia’s biggest female led IPO with a founder, CEO and a majority board being female. 

During the course of our conversation with Tennealle we talk about:
- The importance of their strong customer focus and how they stay relevant 
- Customer acquisition and retention (cue, Tim Tams!)
- The motivation behind their IPO
- How COVID changed consumers behaviour and accelerated online shopping
- Her predictions for Black Friday and Christmas sales
- And finally, her advice for retailers and female entrepreneurs 

We hope you enjoy the episode!

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In today’s episode we talk to Gabby Leibovich. Gabby and his brother, Hezi, are the Co-Founders of Australia’s #1 e-commerce marketplace, Catch of the Day. He is also a shareholder in Luxury Escapes, and the Co-Founder of both Scoopon and Eatnow, who merged with Menulog.

During the course of our conversation with Gabby we talk about:

• How catch.com.au was built, grown and eventually sold;
• What he sees happening with COVID and its impact on online retail;
• What it was like when Amazon entered the Australian market;
• And where he sees opportunity in the future. 

A huge thank you to Gabby for speaking with us and we wish him all the best with his next business venture, and of course with his book "Catch of the Decade" – which he is donating all of the proceeds from to charity. Click here to purchase your copy.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Listen to this Retail Podcast on iTunes or Spotify