Joining us in the Bambuser remote podcast studio at Shoptalk Fall in Chicago is Rebecca Fitts,  SVP, Alvarez & Marsal's Property Solutions.

Hot on the heels of Rebecca's joining us on the inaugural list of top NRF Retail Voices, we do a deep dive into what's new and next for the ever dynamic world of retail real estate. Among the topics we cover is how digital disruption has shaped the physical store landscape, repurposing of malls, lingering impacts from the pandemic, the over-saturation of certain markets, and a whole lot more.

But before our fascinating interview we share our hot-takes on the week in retail news, starting with some initial thoughts on the impact of the US election. Then it's a fast-paced tour through recent earnings reports, starting with Amazon's blockbuster quarter, another solid quarter from mall owner Simon Properties and more meh from Wayfair. We also congratulate a strong move away from wobbly unicorn status for Warby Parker, before wrapping up with the race to the turkey, as Target and Walmart launch more holiday deals.

Link to Neil Blumental episode

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 authro 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 the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.