In episode 315 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Joe Malmuth, vice president of franchise development and relations at Batteries Plus, a leading omnichannel retailer of batteries, specialty light bulbs and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels. Malmuth discusses the 33-year evolution of the Batteries Plus business, his career journey…

In episode 314 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jonas Stillman, director of store systems at Office Depot, a leading provider of business services, products and digital workplace technology solutions. Stillman discusses his role at the company, how his responsibilities shifted over the last year-plus of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the changes he's…

In episode 313 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Omer Iqbal, global head of digital strategy and enterprise architecture at Shiseido, the third-largest beauty and skincare company in the world. Iqbal discusses the breadth of Shiseido's business, the different sales channels that it uses, and how the retailer is working with Reltio to…

In episode 312 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Marcelo Podesta, president of National Business Furniture (NBF), a Milwaukee-based commercial furniture retailer. Podesta discusses the various verticals and customers NBF serves, his career journey that brought him to the company, and how the business has adapted to changes in the furniture market due to…

In episode 311 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kelly Cook, chief marketing and IT officer of David's Bridal, the largest American bridal store chain. Cook discusses the genesis of David's Bridal's Diamond Loyalty Program, how the program incentivizes brides and their wedding parties and guests to purchase from the retailer, and the member…

In this bonus episode of Total Retail Talks, Kristina Stidham and Joe Keenan discuss Total Retail's recently released report, The Changing Consumer: Adopting Digital Marketing Strategies to Acquire and Retain Today and Tomorrow’s Customer, produced in conjunction with customer feedback management leader Service Management Group (SMG). As retailers seek to both acquire new customers as well retain existing…

In episode 310 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jeff Swearingen, global senior vice president of demand accelerator, venturing and global business services at PepsiCo, an American-based multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation. Swearingen discusses the business and consumer changes PepsiCo has experienced in the last year-and-a-half during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how his…

In episode 309 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Michele Driscoll, vice president of customer engagement, loyalty and personalization at CVS. Driscoll discusses recent updates to the CVS ExtraCare rewards program, how extensive customer research and feedback factored into changes made to the loyalty program, and how the retailer collected this data. She…

In episode 308 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Megan Brophy, senior director of brand marketing at Abercrombie & Fitch and Abercrombie Kids. Brophy discusses Abercrombie's partnership with Facebook for its Live Shopping Fridays initiative, how livestream shopping brings the in-store and digital experience together, and what customers experience when engaging with the live…

In episode 307 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Joice Wirkus, senior vice president of marketing at Big Lots, a national neighborhood discount retailer. Wirkus discusses Big Lot's new "Be A BIGionaire" marketing campaign, the consumer research that factored into this campaign, and the shifts in customer behavior the retailer experienced during the…