OFFBounds Retail

Paula Macaggi
  • 3.3 (4)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

OFFBounds is a podcast where commerce executives share their perspectives, successes, and lessons learned in their careers to inspire other global leaders in their journey and decision-making. Every week, the host Paula Macaggi meets industry leaders to discuss business strategies, careers, and leadership in one-on-one conversations challenging the limits of borders and boundaries. Paula unveils the person behind the leader and brings to her audience of commerce executives experiences to relate, motivate, and reflect on decisions that are shaping commerce. OFFBounds is the first podcast recorded in person with audio and video featuring executives in commerce from around the world.

  1. MAY 13

    117. We Turned OFFBounds Into an AI-Powered Newsroom

    Check our new website: OFFBounds.tv What does a media company built for the AI era actually look like? In this special solo episode of OFFBounds, Paula Macaggi shares how OFFBounds evolved from a retail podcast into an AI-powered media company built with humans and agents working together. After 117 episodes and conversations with executives from more than 30 countries, OFFBounds launched OFFBounds Intelligence, a retail intelligence platform designed to help operators surface the signals, trends, and strategic insights that actually matter. Paula breaks down the thinking behind the platform, the rise of agentic AI, and why the future of business will belong to professionals who learn how to work alongside AI agents instead of competing against them. The episode also explores real-world examples of AI already transforming retail operations and commerce in 2026. From autonomous stores and AI-run workflows to practical use cases inside companies like The Vitamin Shoppe and Tecovas, Paula explains how operators are using AI to improve customer experience, inventory management, speed of execution, and decision-making. She also takes listeners inside the OFFBounds Intelligence editorial pipeline, revealing how a network of AI agents helps monitor retail news, identify market patterns, and generate operator-focused stories every single day. Mentioned in this episode:  ShiSh's report about his AI storeThe Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman Business Insider on AI Retail StoreAI Café in Stockholm

    17 min

  2. MAY 5

    116. American Golf's CEO, Nigel Oddy: “Be clear on the vision. Keep it simple.”

    In this episode of OFFBounds, Paula Macaggi sits down with Nigel Oddy, CEO of American Golf, to unpack what it really takes to turn around a retail business. With more than four decades in the industry and multiple CEO roles behind him, Nigel shares how he approached a company that had lost direction post-COVID, facing overstock, cash pressure, and declining performance. Instead of overcomplicating the strategy, he focused on people, clarity, and a simple vision that the entire organization could align behind. The conversation goes beyond the numbers and into the realities of execution. Nigel explains how to diagnose a business from the inside out, why most transformations fail in the early stages, and how customer experience becomes a true differentiator when done right. From retraining store teams to reduce customer intimidation to building a one-stop shop model supported by services and technology, this episode offers practical insights for retail leaders navigating growth, change, or turnaround situations.

    29 min

  3. APR 21

    115. TCL's VP of Brand and Digital Marketing, Cole Moir: "You can't change what you don't measure."

    How do you take a brand most people see as the budget option and turn it into a serious competitor against Samsung, LG, and Sony? You start by knowing your consumer better than they do. Cole Moir is the VP of Brand and Digital Marketing at TCL North America, and in this episode he pulls back the curtain on how he's used partnerships with the NFL, Call of Duty, and the Olympics to put TCL at the center of culture, not just on the shelf. He talks about what most challenger brands get wrong, why he puts measurement before creative, and the one piece of career advice he wishes someone had given him years ago.

    24 min

  4. APR 14

    114. Carl Boutet's New Book: The Flip: “The danger isn’t AI. It’s when we stop questioning what it tells us.”

    Paula Macaggi sits down with Carl Boutet in Montreal to unpack his new book, The Flip. What starts as a conversation about AI quickly turns into something deeper. A discussion about how value is shifting across retail and business, and why it’s becoming harder to define where that value is actually created. From automation and optimization to contextualization and immersion, Carl breaks down the four forces reshaping commerce and what they mean for leaders trying to navigate this moment of uncertainty. But this episode isn’t about having the answers. It’s about asking better questions. They explore the idea of “executive cognitive drift,” the risks of over-relying on algorithms, and why “artificially perfect” experiences are starting to feel less human. As AI becomes more embedded in how we work, create, and decide, the real opportunity may lie in knowing when to lean in and when to step back. A thoughtful conversation for anyone trying to make sense of where retail, technology, and human connection are heading next.

    37 min

  5. APR 7

    113. Rohlik Group's Head of Strategy, Petr Lizner: "Online grocery can be profitable and is profitable. It's just a question of scale."

    Rohlik Group delivers 70,000 grocery orders a day across five European markets in as little as 60 minutes, profitably. And most people outside Europe have never heard of them. In this episode, I sit down with Petr Lizner, Head of Strategy at Rohlik Group, to break down how they built one of Europe's most impressive online grocery operations. From baking bread to order and sourcing from the best local butchers, to building their entire tech stack in-house over 11 years, Petr shares how Rohlik turned a Czech startup into a pan-European grocery powerhouse. We dig into the Brinkmeister acquisition in Germany, where they nearly doubled a stagnant business in one year. We talk about why automation isn't always the answer, how they price-match offline competitors while delivering in 60 minutes, and what's next as they license their technology to traditional retailers through Veloq. If you care about the future of grocery, this one is packed.

    29 min

  6. MAR 31

    112. Loblaw's VP and GM of Loyalty, Noah Goldberg: “The best loyalty programs don’t reward spend. They reward behavior.”

    Everyone has a loyalty program, but very few brands actually create loyalty. In this episode of OFFBounds, Paula Macaggi sits down with Noah Goldberg from Loblaw Companies Limited to unpack what it really takes to build one of the most widely used programs in the world. As the leader behind PC Optimum, with nearly 16 million members, Noah shares how loyalty operates at scale and why it goes far beyond points and discounts. The conversation explores the shift from rewarding transactions to rewarding engagement, and how digital behavior has become the foundation of modern loyalty programs. It also dives into the complexity behind creating a simple customer experience, the role of first-party data and retail media, and how AI will change the way customers interact with loyalty in the future.

    27 min

  7. MAR 24

    111. Liza Amlani's Book, The Material Life: “If we’re not innovating the process, everything breaks on the shop floor.”

    Most retailers don’t have a technology problem, they have a process problem. In this episode, Paula sits down with Liza Amlani to unpack how the disconnect between corporate strategy and store execution actually shows up on the shop floor. From products stuck in stockrooms to stockouts on core items, they explore why so many retail issues are not caused by a lack of tools, but by the way teams operate in silos across merchandising, design, sourcing, and stores. The conversation goes deeper into what needs to change. Liza shares why process innovation, especially in the concept to market journey, is far more critical than adding new technology. They discuss how leading brands are rethinking collaboration, shortening time to market, and getting closer to the customer. If you care about improving execution, reducing inefficiencies, and building a retail organization that actually delivers on its strategy, this episode is for you. Click here for Liza's Book: Material Life

    32 min

  8. MAR 17

    110. UNTUCKit's VP of IT and Systems, Jason Lerman: “Great retail technology should be invisible.”

    UNTUCKit built its brand around a simple idea: shirts designed to be worn untucked. But behind that simple product is a complex technology operation supporting 80+ stores, multiple e-commerce sites, and a growing global business. In this conversation, Paula Macaggi sits down with Jason Lerman, VP of IT & Systems at UNTUCKit, to unpack what really happens behind the scenes of retail technology. They discuss the evolution from “best-in-breed” platforms to what many retailers now recognize as a “Frankenstein tech stack,” the hidden complexity of system integrations, and why the best technology in retail is often the kind customers never notice. Jason also shares his perspective on vendor relationships, implementation mistakes, legacy technology debt, and how retail leaders should think about building a modern tech stack today. The conversation explores the role of centralized data, the challenges of managing dozens of technology partners, and how emerging technologies like AI and agentic systems could reshape the future of retail operations. Learn more about UNTUCKit: https://www.untuckit.com Follow Jason Lerman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-lerman/

    37 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.3
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

OFFBounds is a podcast where commerce executives share their perspectives, successes, and lessons learned in their careers to inspire other global leaders in their journey and decision-making. Every week, the host Paula Macaggi meets industry leaders to discuss business strategies, careers, and leadership in one-on-one conversations challenging the limits of borders and boundaries. Paula unveils the person behind the leader and brings to her audience of commerce executives experiences to relate, motivate, and reflect on decisions that are shaping commerce. OFFBounds is the first podcast recorded in person with audio and video featuring executives in commerce from around the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Paula Macaggi
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    123
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Paula Macaggi
  • Show Website
    OFFBounds Retail

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