The Modern Retail Podcast

Digiday
  • 4.6 (75)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
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. M&A slowdown, Walmart's beauty play and how a U.S. manufacturing boom could create a more circular economy

    2D AGO

    M&A slowdown, Walmart's beauty play and how a U.S. manufacturing boom could create a more circular economy

    This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporters Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels kick things off with a discussion about how mergers and acquisitions in the retail space are going on pause amid widespread uncertainty. Industry watchers are closely monitoring the situation, and some consumer brand investors tell Modern Retail they're “taking a beat” before pulling the trigger on new deals. The pair also analyzes Walmart's announcement that it's testing out beauty bars in some stores as part of its spring beauty sales event. While a bid to compete with the likes Target and Ulta, it's also a continuation of a strategy to up its a beauty game. It's added more than 40 premium brands in the past year, expanded assortment in our core business, and launched a beauty accelerator program. Then (17:03), in honor of Earth Month, sees Daniels sits down with Rachel Kibbe, the founder and CEO of Circular Services Group (CSG) and American Circular Textiles (ACT) for this week's featured segment. Tariff policy changes are throwing sourcing and supply chain into the spotlight, souring conversations about American manufacturing and near shoring. Advocates for circular manufacturing, or systems that can help material be reused, recycled or remade, see the potential shift to more U.S. factories as an opportunity to stand up this infrastructure. Daniels and Kibbe discuss the promise and pitfalls of circular manufacturing and what it would take to get more infrastructure and industry in place here in the U.S. And Kibbe discusses the advocacy efforts ACT is undertaking in Washington, D.C. They also lay of land of domestic manufacturing, and the challenges that businesses face if they're looking to nearshore their supply chain in an effort to avoid tariffs.

    41 min
  2. Luxury earnings, behind-the-scenes at Chinese factories, and the unexpected industries that tariffs are hitting hard

    APR 19

    Luxury earnings, behind-the-scenes at Chinese factories, and the unexpected industries that tariffs are hitting hard

    On this week's Modern Retail podcast, senior reporters Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels dive into the ins and outs of LVMH's earnings that showed first-quarter sales in the U.S. dropped by 3%. And they discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the rash of videos from alleged Chinese manufacturing hubs that have taken over TikTok feeds. Then, the pair are joined by executive editor Anna Hensel for a roundtable discussion about how tariffs are affecting some unexpected and disparate categories (18:50). They chat about what they're been hearing from business leaders about how their costs, sourcing and operations are changing -- and so far, it seems no one is spared.

    56 min
  3. Modern Retail Podcast: Marketers sound off on tariffs and retail strategies, plus how Hanna Andersson built its loyalty program

    APR 12

    Modern Retail Podcast: Marketers sound off on tariffs and retail strategies, plus how Hanna Andersson built its loyalty program

    On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, the staff is going deep into modern marketing strategies. First up, executive editor Anna Hensel and senior reporter Gabriela Barkho talk about what was top of mind for executives at the Modern Retail Marketing Summit. Tariffs -- and how to respond to them -- were a hot topic of discussion. Marketers batted around ideas like adding a tariff surcharge to orders, pressing pause on some collaborations to save resources and taking a surgical approach to cutting SKUs. In some cases, they are still pushing forward on marketing spend while competitors pull back. Speakers from brands like Oura, Chobani and Bark also talked about their approach to growing their retail businesses, as they use insights from their DTC business to inform their pitch to retailers, and use their wholesale businesses to introduce themselves to new types of customers. Then, in this week's featured segment (19:42), Hanna Andersson's chief customer officer, Lisa Perlmutter, talks about how the premium children's apparel brand built its first-ever loyalty program.

    40 min
  4. Rundown: 'Liberation Day' brings a week of tariffs chaos, a TikTok check-in, and LesserEvil sells to Hershey

    APR 5

    Rundown: 'Liberation Day' brings a week of tariffs chaos, a TikTok check-in, and LesserEvil sells to Hershey

    On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Rundown, the staff gives an overview of what tariffs were announced on April 2, which President Donald Trump called "Liberation Day," and how the retail industry reacted accordingly. Then, a look which companies are trying to throw their hats into the ring to acquire TikTok. And lastly, an M&A streak in the better-for-you space continues as Hershey announced it will acquire popcorn brand LesserEvil in a $750 million deal.

    26 min
  5. The Honey Pot's Bea Dixon on why 'better-for-you is the new conventional'

    APR 3

    The Honey Pot's Bea Dixon on why 'better-for-you is the new conventional'

    Bea Dixon, founder and CEO of plant-derived feminine care brand The Honey Pot, got the idea for her startup in 2012 when she was suffering from bacterial vaginosis. Inspired by a visionary dream that centered around her grandmother sharing a list of ingredients, Dixon went on to start the Honey Pot, which now consists of washes, wipes, tampons pads and more, all containing straightforward, plant-derived ingredients. “I actually think the [vaginal wellness] space is changing for the better….better-for-you is the new conventional,” Dixon said, sharing how she thinks things like clean cotton have become table stakes for companies that sell tampons and pads. In turn, it’s been an exciting time for companies like The Honey Pot. Last year, the Honey Pot sold a majority stake to Compass Diversified for $380 million. And Dixon joined the Modern Retail Podcast to talk about what’s been going on at The Honey Pot since then. Dixon admitted that initially, talking about the sale was hard because “we have never been one to talk about how much money we raise, or how much money we make.” But now, she says “I feel great, I feel ucky to have a partner. I feel lucky that we were able to make whole the investors that had been with us since the very beginning.” And, being part of a bigger company like Compass Diversified has allowed The Honey Pot to spend more time and resources on bigger projects, like new packaging, which is rolling out in April. “We put several, it felt like hundreds of iterations in front of people so that we could really dial down to what would be the best version of said new packaging,” Dixon said. In the process, the Honey Pot learned how to more specifically call attention to certain attributes like the types of herbs that go into each product and what the benefit is of each. It points to a bigger evolution that Dixon is seeing in the space; namely that more brands are “leading with function.”

    35 min
  6. Rundown: Dollar Tree sells Family Dollar, GameStop bets on Bitcoin & H&M's profit plummets

    MAR 29

    Rundown: Dollar Tree sells Family Dollar, GameStop bets on Bitcoin & H&M's profit plummets

    On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff discusses Dollar Tree's decision to offload its struggling Family Dollar segment for $1 billion. Meanwhile, GameStop plans to close a "significant number" of stores as it ponders investments in cryptocurrency. Finally, H&M reported weaker-than-expected earnings this week, pointing to high markdowns and inflation woes.

    18 min
  7. Why Perelel is getting into protein after 5 years of supplement growth

    MAR 27

    Why Perelel is getting into protein after 5 years of supplement growth

    When Perelel launched its first prenatal vitamin products in September 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had upended the startup's fundraising plan. Co-founder Victoria Thain Gioia said that rather than launch with splashy campaigns or a big retail entry, Perelel decided to use organic social media posts to help spread the word. For the first year, Gioia answered every customer service ticket personally. "The roadmap that we originally had for the first year to 18 months was very different than what we encountered, in terms of the world and how we had to pivot," she said. But the company gained momentum in the direct-to-consumer subscription world and has grown an average of 600% year over year since its inception. Sales have more than doubled in the last three years, with Perelel currently selling around 182,000 vitamins a day.  Behind the scenes, Perelel has invested in its growth by getting into new product categories. It has 21 SKUs, including a men’s supplement and products catered toward other wellness needs like hydration or sleep support.  Gioia joined the Modern Retail podcast this week to discuss the company's growth journey and its latest product launch, a protein powder with creatine and fiber. Though creatine may read as a masculine product, Perelel's research has tapped into a growing recognition of its benefits for women, too. It can be to help with brain fog, fatigue and muscle retention, for instance, during postpartum, menopause and perimenopause. The product has been in development for about two years as the team looked to perfect the formula, Gioia said.

    35 min
  8. Modern Retail Rundown: Klarna preps for IPO, Edible Brands launches edibles marketplace & an update on Nike's turnaround plan

    MAR 22

    Modern Retail Rundown: Klarna preps for IPO, Edible Brands launches edibles marketplace & an update on Nike's turnaround plan

    On this week's Modern Retail Rundown, the staff starts off discussing various news from buy-now, pay-later startup Klarna, including the deals with DoorDash and Walmart it struck as it prepares to go public. Meanwhile, Edible Arrangements’ parent company, Edible Brands, launched a marketplace for THC-infused products called Edibles.com. Finally, Nike gave an update on its turnaround plan in its earnings this week, with the company expecting weaker sales in the short term as it adjusts operations.

    25 min
See All (488)

Trailer

4.6
out of 5
75 Ratings

About

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.

Information

More From Digiday

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada