The Modern Retail Podcast

Digiday
The Modern Retail Podcast

The Modern Retail Podcast is a podcast about the retail space, from legacy companies to the buzzy world of DTC startups. Every Thursday, Cale Weissman, editor of Modern Retail, interviews executives about their growth and marketing strategies. And every Saturday Gabi Barkho, senior reporter, sits down with the Modern Retail staff to chat about the latest headlines in the retail world.

  1. How Puma approaches emerging technology like generative AI

    3 天前

    How Puma approaches emerging technology like generative AI

    Puma may be a legacy brand, but it's not scared to test out new technologies. Indeed, if there's a buzzy update, it's likely the company has launched some sort of beta with it. Puma launched a Roblox experience in 2022, it's tested out NFTs and other Web3 programs and has dabbled in augmented reality. Most recently, the sports apparel brand launched a generative AI tool that allows anyone to design a kit for Manchester City. According to the person leading the charge of these emerging technologies, the hope is to make sure the brand stays on the cutting edge. "A big part of this is just making sure that we are innovating," said Ivan Dashkov, Puma's head of emerging marketing tech. "And, as these technologies become a larger part of everybody's day-to-day life, that we're not straggling behind." Dashkov joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and dove into the company's approach to new types of technology, as well as the way it analyzes the success of nascent campaigns. Dashkov knows a thing or two about testing out new programs. His background was in social media before it was ubiquitous. "I was there for the early days of social at the NBA, and I kind of feel like it's a very similar place now with these new emerging technologies," he said. Now, social media is a dominant force -- and Dashkov believes that's going to happen with some of these programs. The challenge for him is figuring out where to invest time and resources, as well as sussing out what the next big thing is. Some of that involves keeping an ear to the ground. "A crazy thing that was happening with a lot of the executives at the company [was]: they were asking their kids what they wanted for Christmas, and instead of saying like a toy or video game, they were actually asking for Robux to spend in Roblox," he said. This is what led Puma to test out the Roblox platform. Similarly, with generative AI, the company has seen people wanting to design their own kits for their beloved teams, but Puma has been unable to make a program at scale. "With AI, you can really scale that," he said. "Like, anybody can kind of go in and use this tool."

    32 分鐘
  2. How Chomps is marketing itself to convenience store shoppers

    12月12日

    How Chomps is marketing itself to convenience store shoppers

    Better-for-you snack brand Chomps has big plans to take the convenience store space by storm. But it's being choosy about which stores it expands into. Chomps, which is best known for its high-protein meat sticks, has been around since 2012 and has been slowly expanding. Its first major retail deal was with Trader Joe's in 2016. The company was small and, at the time, most sold online. But it knew that a major wholesale partnership could take it to the next level. "That was a game changer for us," co-founder and co-CEO Pete Maldonado said on the Modern Retail Podcast. "I mean, literally overnight, you've got millions of new customers and people trying the product for the first time -- and it really just snowballed from there." Maldonado spoke about Chomps' growth over the years as well as its new approach to convenience stores. It recently launched in both Wawa and Sheetz and is figuring out how best to showcase its products to those shoppers. Currently, its products are available in over 20,000 retail doors. "We just want to make sure that when customers see it -- especially in a new channel -- they can see it and, within two seconds, they understand what it is," he said. A lot of that requires smart packaging as well as in-store displays that explain Chomps' products. While C-stores are now a big focus, Maldonado said that product isn't perfect for every type of store. "We're a premium product," he said. "It's got to be an area where people actually understand the value proposition and are willing to pay for it."

    33 分鐘
  3. How Upway is introducing e-bikes to the U.S. market

    12月5日

    How Upway is introducing e-bikes to the U.S. market

    E-bikes are becoming more popular in the U.S. and Upway is trying to capitalize on this demand. The secondhand e-bike platform launched at the end of 2021 and has expanded beyond its Europe home into the United States in early 2023. The France-based company's model controls the entire supply chain -- buying used bikes directly from the source, inspecting them in its warehouses and then shipping to customers. In Europe, Upway is available in France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands, but the U.S. is a major focus, said Toussaint Wattinne, the company's co-founder and CEO. "Clearly, the e-bike market is not at the same maturity level in the U.S. versus Europe," he said on the Modern Retail Podcast. "As a European company, it was super important for us to actually make sure we were looking at the U.S. as a standalone and from a blank sheet of paper approach, rather than try to copy/paste what has worked in Europe." This approach meant that Upway had to understand the needs of the U.S. e-bike shopper -- which differed from state to state. Some geographies buy e-bikes for more leisurely rides, others use them for urban commutes. And while delivery people on e-bikes may be widespread in major cities like New York, "in the U.S. today, couriers actually represent probably sub-15% if not sub-10% of that total volume," Wattinne said. As a result, Upway has been focused on figuring out a unique marketing strategy that speaks to the U.S. market. The first task was gaining bottom-of-funnel awareness via channels like Google. Now, the company is looking at other ways to grow its U.S. presence. This includes a new warehouse in Los Angeles. It also means the company can begin thinking about other types of brand marketing. "As we grew and as we grew confident about understanding our audience," Wattinne said, "we were able to start going a little closer to the middle of the funnel."

    33 分鐘
4.6
(滿分 5 顆星)
70 則評分

簡介

The Modern Retail Podcast is a podcast about the retail space, from legacy companies to the buzzy world of DTC startups. Every Thursday, Cale Weissman, editor of Modern Retail, interviews executives about their growth and marketing strategies. And every Saturday Gabi Barkho, senior reporter, sits down with the Modern Retail staff to chat about the latest headlines in the retail world.

「Digiday」的更多內容

你可能也會喜歡

若要收聽兒少不宜的單集,請登入帳號。

隨時掌握此節目最新消息

登入或註冊後,即可追蹤節目、儲存單集和掌握最新資訊。

選取國家或地區

非洲、中東和印度

亞太地區

歐洲

拉丁美洲與加勒比海地區

美國與加拿大