The Retail Razor Show Ricardo Belmar

S4:E3 Revolutionizing Retail Hiring: A Conversation with Ron Thurston

In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden welcome back Ron Thurston, founder of OSSY, and author of 'Retail Pride’, to discuss the company's innovative approach to transforming the retail hiring process. Focusing on the integration of AI and the human touch, Ron shares insights into how OSSY is addressing common retail recruitment challenges, such as speed to hire, candidate experience, and the importance of clear career paths. The discussion highlights the broader implications for the retail industry and the immense value of creating supportive and accountable hiring practices. This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in retail and retail hiring.

00:00 Show Intro
02:35 Revolutionizing Retail Recruitment with Ron Thurston and OSSY
04:07 Ron Thurston's Journey and OSSY's Mission
08:58 Challenges and Innovations in Retail Hiring
22:01 Best Practices for Retail Hiring and Career Development
27:23 The Influence of People on Your Success
28:02 Accidental Careers in Retail
28:58 The Importance of Mentorship and Leadership
30:41 Preparing for the Holiday Season
37:02 The Role of AI in Retail Hiring
42:21 Building a Retail Community
46:38 How to Get Started with OSSY
47:51 Show Close

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
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Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey Golden
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey

S4:E2 The Evolution from Omnichannel to Unified Commerce with Giri Agarwal

In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden discuss the shift from omnichannel to unified commerce in the retail industry. Special guest Giri Agarwal, Chief Strategy Officer at Incisiv, joins to share insights on how unified commerce is transforming customer experiences and driving revenue growth. They explore the concept of unified commerce, the integration of AI, and the challenges retailers face in adopting this approach. Key highlights include the importance of customer identification, empowering frontline staff, and rethinking store experiences. Giri also addresses the financial implications, generational differences in consumer behaviors, and the need for a cultural shift towards unified commerce. Tune in for an in-depth discussion on why now is the critical moment for retailers to embrace this change.

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta
Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads
Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey Golden,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey

S4:E1 – Top 10 Predictions for Retail in 2024 with Ben Miller, ShopTalk

In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden kick off season 4 by discussing their top 10 predictions for the retail industry in 2024. Amid personal anecdotes and a tribute to Ricardo's late father, the episode dives deep into the future of retail alongside guest Ben Miller, VP of Original Content and Strategy at Shoptalk & Groceryshop. Key predictions include the Temu-fication of retail, the evolution of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) and their impact on digitizing physical stores, the integration with streaming and social commerce platforms, and the re-emergence of heritage brands leveraging digital commerce. The conversation also touches on the increasing consumer expectations around sustainability versus the temptation of low-cost options like Temu, the potential of AI in enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency, and the death of the term 'Omnichannel' in favor of 'Unified Commerce' to better represent seamless retail experiences. The episode concludes with a look forward to the Shoptalk event and the importance of staying ahead in a rapidly evolving retail landscape.

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta
Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads
Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey Golden,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey

In Season Four of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore the theme of Unlocking Retail with the Integration of AI, Humans, and Media. This involves discussing how artificial intelligence, human interaction, and innovative retail media are transforming the industry. Topics will include optimizing inventory, pricing, merchandising for online and offline channels with AI, enhancing customer service, connecting brands with consumers through engaging content, creating strong communities and increasing loyalty. The show will also discuss human centered design and the crafting of memorable retail experiences. Moreover, two of its mini-series from last season, Blade to Greatness and Data Blades, will be transformed into their own podcasts. Ricardo and Casey remind everyone that this season has more surprises in store for listeners!

And we can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments. Your support allow sus to hit the top of the charts for Indie Management and Indie Marketing podcasts!

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta
Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads
Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey Golden,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey

In the season three finale of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden provide a detailed recap of their journey throughout the season, discussing their top ten predictions for 2023 and evaluating their accuracy – did they nail it or miss the mark? The hosts touch upon diverse topics including private label domination, the evolution of retail media networks, investment in returns management, and the growth of store automation, among others. They also highlight a few memorable moments and important insights from their guests throughout the season. The episode concludes with a lively discussion on their expectations for retail and technology in 2024, teasing the audience with a glimpse of what's to come in season four.

WOW! As we march into a new year on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform on multiple episodes!

We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments!

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta
Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads
Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey Golden,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey

As we approach the end of Season 3 of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden engage in a rich dialogue with The Vitamin Shoppe’s Chief Customer Officer, Nadina Guglielmetti. They explore how customer behavior insights guide business decisions, the interplay between acquiring new customers and nurturing existing ones, and the evolution of customer experience amidst changing health trends. Nadina also details the role of The Vitamin Shoppe’s in-store health enthusiasts in enhancing customer engagement and trust, and their careful approach towards leveraging AI and 'headless commerce' platforms to enhance efficiency and personalization. In this final Retail Transformer episode of the season, you’ll learn why Nadina is truly more than meets the eye!

We also bring you the final episode in Season 1 of our "Blade to Greatness" mini-series. This episode features an insightful conversation with retail expert, Ron Thurston, co-founder of Ossy, author of Retail Pride, the Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, host of the Retail in America nationwide tour and podcast, speaker, advisor, board member, and former retail operations leader at numerous famous retail brands. Ron shares his three pillars of success in retail and life- empathy, curiosity, and focus. He illuminates strategies to bridge the communication gap between corporate offices and stores, emphasizing the importance of empathy in grasping the pressures faced by in-store teams, the power of curiosity to understand their needs and experiences, and the role of focus in dealing with the information obtained. Ron also emphasizes the importance of maintaining transparency and dialogue with retail employees from the recruitment stage, thus enhancing their sense of belonging and commitment.


NEWS! We are thrilled to report that our fans support propelled us as a finalist in The Retail Voice Award for the Vendors In Partnership award gala at NRF 2024! You’re votes made a difference and we’re honored to be one of 3 finalists for this prestigious award!

WOW! As we march into our 3rd year on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform!

#1 in the Top 100 Indie Management Weekly chart
#3 in the Top 100 Indie Management Monthly chart
#3 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Weekly chart
#5 in the Top 100 Marketing Weekly chart
#6 in the Top 100 Marketing Monthly chart

We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments!

Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:

Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.

Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!

Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Retail Razor Show
Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods
Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta
Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads
Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor
Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow
Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod

Host → Ricardo Belmar,
Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar
Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar

Co-host → Casey