Remarkable Retail Michael LeBlanc, Steve Dennis

Our guest this week is Christine Day, former CEO of lululemon athletica and Starbucks senior executive, who is now leading the growth of Russell Wilson and Ciara's remarkable retail company, The House of L,R & C. We learn about the inspiration for creating sustainable fashion brands, including the decision to organize as a B Corp.

This week we dig into Amazon's physical store strategy as it ups the ante with the expansion of its mainstream grocery store concept (Amazon Fresh), convenience stores (Amazon Go), and an initial foray into brick-and-mortar apparel (Amazon Style). We ponder why Whole Foods has gotten worse under their leadership and whether the company's tendency to see most everything as an engineering problem keeps them from delivering the emotional content and artistic side of retail they will need to succeed in the future. We get Steve's full report on his store visits and reprise how important it is to understand "buying" vs. "shopping."

Our guest this week is Lauren Wiener, Managing Director and Partner in the New York office of the Boston Consulting Group.

With Laura lending her considerable experience and expertise, this episode provides a deep-dive into the world of retail media networks.  We dig into definitions, the size of the opportunity and what is driving this booming area of retail. We learn who some of the leaders are and what strategies they employ. We also unpack some of the major opportunities, key risks and how to best balance sometimes conflicting agendas. It's a concise Masterclass on what you need to know about this rapidly growing and highly profitable retail segment.

Understanding the critical difference between "buying", which is more about addressing a need quickly and efficiently, and "shopping" which is inherently more solutions based and involves more of an emotional connection, can go a long way to informing both our underlying business design and go-to-market strategy, as well as how we evolve the customer experience and targeted marketing programs.

Seth Godin joins us for the kick-off episode of Season 5 to discuss his new book and project: "The Carbon Almanac: It's Not Too Late." As individuals, citizens and members of the retail community we all have an opportunity and, one could say, an obligation, to address the climate crisis. In a wide ranging conversation we learn what the Carbon Almanac movement is all about, how it came to be and what Seth hopes its impact will be.

If you think the last few years of the COVID era was a wild ride, buckle up buttercup, things are only going to get tougher as retailers face escalating competition and increasing macroeconomic headwinds.

In an era where even very good is no longer good enough, to rise above the rest our only choice is to choose to be remarkable. And making this remarkable mind shift requires that we aim higher, act more boldly and move much faster.