“The success of our brand will increasingly be determined by our ability to meet our customers' needs anytime, anywhere, anyway.”

• Arthur Martinez, Sears CEO, February 1999

You might be wondering who was the first person to lead omni-channel efforts at a major retailer. Was it Phil Phygital, Sean Seamless, Uri Unified, or someone else entirely? This week, in this encore episode, we reveal our answer.

But before we get into the heart of the episode, we pause briefly to share the exciting news that both of us we're recognized as top retail thought leaders on the inaugural list of "NRF Retail Voices." Learn more and see the other honorees here.

Then it's on to our discussion, starting with why it's taken so long for retailers to embrace the blur that is modern retail today and why so many still act as if the idea of "omni-channel," "unified commerce"--or, as I like to call it, "harmonized retail"--is a new phenomenon. 

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast.  He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.