Retail Unhinged

Josh Orr + Dane Cohen
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Entrepreneurship

Retail Unhinged is what happens when two retail veterans finally stop filtering themselves. Josh Orr (Retail Josh) and Dane Cohen have been in this industry a combined 40+ years. They've spoken on stages, run webinars, sat across from retailers on consulting calls. For most of that time, they've had to keep their professional faces on. Measured. Careful. Polished. This podcast is none of those things. Retail Unhinged started as a running joke between Josh and Dane: the real conversations they kept having at the end of trade show days, over dinner in Vegas, at the bar after conferences, where they could finally say what they actually thought. No marketing spin. No sugarcoating. Just the stuff that doesn't make it into the keynote. Every episode, they dig into real questions from real retailers (Retail Receipts), debate whether actual business decisions were smart or not (Actually That's Smart?), and get into the conversations that independent store owners need to have. The ones nobody's having out loud. If you own a retail business, a brick-and-mortar store, or you're grinding to grow your sales online, you're going to feel seen here. And occasionally, you're going to hear exactly what you needed someone to just say. Welcome to Retail Unhinged. It only gets more unhinged from here.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Stop Planning Your Social Around What UPS Drops Off (with Brooke Leno of Out of Town Clothing)

    Josh has a name for the strategy most boutiques are using. He calls it UPS marketing: you plan your social content around whatever UPS drops off that week. There's a better way. This week, Josh and Dane are joined by Brooke from Out of Town Clothing for Retail Receipts and Actually That's Smart. Topics include: the camera fear post everyone's seen in every Facebook group (Dane threw up before his first big presentation, and his actual advice is better than that sounds), and Dane's hot take on wanting to close your store and go fully online: the premise of that question is rude. Also: why Brooke cut her men's department six years ago and never looked back, the moment she stood in the middle of the mall and walked into whichever store a customer walked into because she couldn't staff both, and whether tightening your weekly launches from 50 products to 25 is actually smart. Josh says your launch is not the curated part. Your marketing is.

  2. Jul 13

    If You Can't Compete with Amazon, Your Problem Isn't Amazon

    If Amazon is your biggest threat, the real problem is that you have no competitive advantage. That's not a dig. It's a diagnosis. And it's fixable. This week, Josh and Dane get into the Shein conversation nobody in the boutique industry is having honestly: how to handle it when an employee promotes it on your page, how much energy is actually worth spending on it, and why the retailers winning right now have mostly stopped talking about it and started leaning into what nobody else can copy. Also: a boutique doing $10 million a year in live selling, a vacation, a margarita, some quick math, and a panic attack. The case for building a business that works when you're not in the room. A TikTok retailer doing $3 million a year whose core customer is women 60 and over (Dane is still not over this). And why the Facebook group consensus on how bad business is right now is probably not the consensus.

  3. Jul 6

    If They Don't Pick It Up, Don't Hire Them

    Your best employee is never going to care as much as you do. Dane learned that from his father. Family retail wisdom passed down over three generations: 70% is the ceiling, and if you get 70%, you're lucky. But that doesn't mean you accept sloppy folds and phones out. This week, Dane shares the interview trick he used on every single store-level hire: throw some paper on the floor, toss a hanger, drop a tank top. Walk the candidate through it during the tour. If they don't bend down and pick something up, walk them out. That one test tells you everything you need to know. Also: why "I just don't like being pushy" might actually be failing your customers, the GLP-1 gold mine most boutiques are sleeping on, and a real breakdown of whether AI should be writing your purchase orders and shooting your product photos. Spoiler: one is fine. One is not.

  4. Jul 1

    Raise Your Prices, Fire the Local Guy, and Let the Kids Eat Chocolate

    Sales are down this month. Everyone's posting about it. Nobody has money. Nobody's shopping. Josh and Dane don't buy it. This week: why posting that question in a Facebook group is already the wrong move, the counterintuitive case for raising your prices when the economy gets weird, and why the local marketing agency that does everything for everyone is a bad idea no matter how nice they seem. Also: what actually happens when a kid with chocolate hands touches your inventory (and why your reaction in that moment could cost you a $700 sale), whether you should go to a retail event alone, and the one trait Dane says almost every successful retailer shares. Spoiler: it's not what you think.

  5. Jun 29

    The Silent Killer, Mahjong Night, and Why You Shouldn't Ask Your Customers Anything

    Your store next door just started carrying your same lines. A retailer asked her Facebook followers why they haven't been in lately. And somewhere across the country, a boutique owner cleared out her stockroom to set up Mahjong tables. Josh and Dane get into all of it. This week: what to actually do when a competitor starts carrying your brands, why asking your customers what they want is usually a terrible idea, and the Mahjong story that had Dane completely skeptical and then completely convinced. Plus: Dane names the silent killer of most retail stores. Not the economy. Not the competition. A math problem hiding in your P&L that most owners never see until it's too late. And: should you let AI run your marketing? Dane says probably not. Josh has a Claude tip that might change your mind.

  6. Jun 25

    Retail, just a little unhinged

    Episode one. No guests, no filters, and no warm-up. Josh and Dane get right into it: a trade show employee who couldn't handle the heat, the exact week you should flip your store from summer to fall (waiting for fall weather means you're already late), and the question successful boutique owners keep asking: should I add a men's section? Spoiler: no. Hard no. They also tackle the side hustle question, and Dane answers the one thing he's never been asked on a sales call: what would you actually say if you could say anything? His answer might sting a little.

  • 6 Episodes

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Retail Unhinged is what happens when two retail veterans finally stop filtering themselves. Josh Orr (Retail Josh) and Dane Cohen have been in this industry a combined 40+ years. They've spoken on stages, run webinars, sat across from retailers on consulting calls. For most of that time, they've had to keep their professional faces on. Measured. Careful. Polished. This podcast is none of those things. Retail Unhinged started as a running joke between Josh and Dane: the real conversations they kept having at the end of trade show days, over dinner in Vegas, at the bar after conferences, where they could finally say what they actually thought. No marketing spin. No sugarcoating. Just the stuff that doesn't make it into the keynote. Every episode, they dig into real questions from real retailers (Retail Receipts), debate whether actual business decisions were smart or not (Actually That's Smart?), and get into the conversations that independent store owners need to have. The ones nobody's having out loud. If you own a retail business, a brick-and-mortar store, or you're grinding to grow your sales online, you're going to feel seen here. And occasionally, you're going to hear exactly what you needed someone to just say. Welcome to Retail Unhinged. It only gets more unhinged from here.

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Orr + Dane Cohen
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Josh Orr + Dane Cohen