WDCast

WD Partners
WDCast

Disruption is the name of the game these days and it appears that no business or industry is safe. From consumers shifting demands, new competitors popping up on the daily and those tiny computers in our pocket giving us 24/7 access to all our hearts’ desires…times they are a-changing. Join Lee Peterson, retail veteran and consumer expert, as he discusses super relevant business topics with equally relevant and interesting guests. This biweekly podcast is brought to you by WD Partners, innovation at scale.

  1. 02/14/2023

    Zack Oates, Founder and CEO at Ovation: A Frictionless Feedback Survey

    Let’s give a standing ovation for… Ovation! 😉 All puns aside, Zack Oates and his start-up company have made great strides in the realm of restaurants and the guest experience through their development of a simple and frictionless 2 question survey. Ovation allows restaurants to easily resolve guest concerns in real-time, get more 5-star reviews, and discover insights to improve & drive revenue, making it the #1 guest feedback company in the United States. Zack’s passion for restaurants and love for meeting people have helped craft his success story. Zack being a podcast host himself lends itself to an entertaining and banter-filled episode alongside Lee. Together, they cover the origin story of Ovation, consumer research on guest feedback, a book Zack wrote on dating, and much more. You can explore more on Ovation by visiting: https://ovationup.com/ 1:24 – Meet Zack 3:42 – The 2 Question Survey 6:38 – Simple & Frictionless 10:54 – A Humble Brag 13:57 – The Importance of Feeling Important 17:38 – Dating Never Works Until It Does 20:11 – Restaurants & Delivery 24:50 – Restored Faith in Humanity 27:40 – Lee’s Lightning Round

    31 min

  2. 01/24/2023

    Seana Strawn, Head of Home Furnishing Identity & Retail Design at IKEA: Big Store, Bigger Ideas

    DIY assembly furniture, Swedish meatballs, enviable showrooms, & ball pits in Småland… sound familiar? Yes, we are talking about the iconic Home Furnishing store, IKEA. And to make you adore them even more we spoke with Seana Strawn, Head of Home Furnishing Identity & Retail Design, on IKEA‘s quest towards a sustainable planet. Seana comes with 23 years of experience in the home furnishing industry, and she shares her passion for how the brand is embracing climate change as an opportunity and big responsibility. One of the ways IKEA is taking action is through their Circularity Hubs designed for refurbished items only. Listen to the episode to learn more about IKEA’s sustainability efforts, customer-centric practices, and their 5 principles of home furnishing identity. 1:20 – Meet Seana 2:47 – A Back Story on IKEA 5:04 – Test & Learn Approach 7:50 – It’s About the People 10:19 – IKEA’s Target Customer 11:14 – Let’s Talk Sustainability 16:19 – A New Circularity Hub 22:57 – What’s Next? 24:41 – Big vs. Small IKEA Stores 27:08 – Home Furnishing Identity 28:20 – The Personal Side of Seana

    33 min

  3. 01/11/2023

    Jamie Schisler, Chief Comfort Officer at UpWest: From Comfort Online to Comfort IRL

    Specialty Retail is at a crossroads and a new brand is paving the way for innovation. Jamie Schisler, Chief Comfort Officer of comfort clothing brand – UpWest, is welcomed on to WDCast to discuss the brand’s business model, growth plan, and a new approach to resale retail. The brand’s business model was set up for success from the beginning, with what Jamie refers to as having “all legs of the table.” Unknowingly, this prepared the brand for the soon approaching pandemic and the DTC online store began opening physical stores as COVID restrictions loosened, meeting the consumers where they were according to online sales. Alternatively, the brand’s promise of comfort anticipated consumers’ needs in a time it was craved the most. Learn more about how UpWest is manifesting comfort for consumers and its other creative ventures. 1:34 – Meet the Specialty Retail Veteran 3:44 – Starting a New Brand 6:49 – From FOMO to JOMO 9:32 – A Brand Focused on Wellness 11:00 – From Online to In-store 13:36 – The Growth Plan 16:59 – SoHo + Scrap NYC 19:11 – Solving the Circularity Problem 23:15 – What About Malls? 28:03 – Lee’s Lightning Round

    32 min

  4. 11/17/2022

    Julie DiNatale, Commercial and Strategic Partnerships Leader for Truterra (sustainability division of Land O’Lakes): Farmer-Driven, Sustaina

    Do you ever really think about where the products you consume come from? For example, what does it actually take to source, make, and package the tub of butter you pulled from your fridge this morning? Have you thought about the farm, the farmers, the soil, or the agricultural practices that went into that single tub of butter? Probably not. Enter WDCast guest, Julie DiNatale. Julie is the Commercial and Strategic Partnerships Leader for Truterra, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives. Truterra collaborates with forward-thinking farmers, value chain companies, conservation organizations, and ag retailers to help better deliver the future of on-farm sustainability. In this episode, Julie and Lee Peterson, EVP Thought Leadership at WD Partners, dive into obstacles farmers are facing, what Truterra is doing to support on-farm sustainability, and what it’s like to work with the USDA. 2:33 – Land O’ Lakes is More Than Just Butter 3:53 – 3 Obstacles for Farmers 6:50 – Process, People, Education 10:42 – What Are Cover Crops? 13:00 – Revolutionizing Practices 16:20 – Being Part of a Cooperative 19:59 – The Sustainability Movement 23:26 – Producing Crops Becomes Natural 25:22 – Working With the USDA 31:11– Julie’s Hobbies

    38 min

  5. 09/07/2022

    Anna Carlsson: Is Resale the New Retail? Ask Gen Z

    Gen Z'ers have picked up on a shopping "trend" that is paving a new way of shopping for generations to come: shopping used/vintage/resale goods. Why shop resale? We looked to an expert for some answers. Anna is a Gen Z'er in New York City that has shopped used products for most her life – including furniture, clothing, household items, etc. Anna shares her story on how she entered the world of resale and why introducing used sections in stores may be beneficial for retailers in industries across the board. There is plenty of opportunity for retailers both online and in-store to expand their markets by tuning into the latest trends. 2:03 – Meet the Gen Z Shopper 3:22 – Resale Store vs. Buying New 5:26 – Trending Now: Vintage 7:57 – Why Shop Used? 10:35 – Tiktok's Influence 11:50 – C2C Resale 15:17 – In-Store or Online? 18:06 – It's Just the Beginning

    22 min

  6. 08/16/2022

    Brian Standage, CEO of Banner Health Urgent Care Services, Setting Sights on the Triple Aim

    Brian has a unique career background, building his foundation in the retail sector before diving deep into the world of healthcare at Banner Health. His foundation offers a fresh perspective on the retail consumer side of the industry. Brian and Dan enthusiastically discuss new and unexpected retailers that are entering the healthcare market and how this can change the game for the patient experience including what services can be offered, how the services are consumed, how they can integrate with their current products/services, and how retailers can benefit by expanding into new markets. Brian is confident that this is the most exciting time to be in the healthcare retail space as the near future promises great innovation. 0:57 – Brian's Role at Banner Health 1:45 – An Untraditional Path to Healthcare 3:36 – Retail as an Advantage 5:46 – The Triple AIM 7:47 – Transitioning Away From "Patient" 10:11 – Big News for Amazon! 12:43 – Are Big Retailers a Threat? 14:47 – A New Type of Urgent Care 18:23 – Dollar General as a Healthcare Provider 24:40 – "Rightsizing" Business 27:16 – Looking Into the Crystal Ball

    32 min

  7. 07/12/2022

    Brian Bucher, Kari Engen & Mike Magee, WD Partners Sustainability Experts - Driving Real Change Through Sustainable Design

    With sustainability so top of mind these days, we wanted to turn to some real experts on the topic. We’re not talking about ‘plastic pants made from water bottles’ kind of sustainability, but real meaningful change that corporations (and their design/AEC firm partners😉) are making to drive down energy use, drive up customer and associate satisfaction, and ultimately make our world a better place to live in. Join Lee Peterson as he chats with three of WD’s very own, boots on the ground, innovators that scale, sustainability evangelists – Brian Bucher (Sr. Director), Kari Engen (Sr. Manager, Mechanical Engineering), Mike Magee (Sr. Director, Architecture & Engineering). The team shares why sustainability is so important in what they do and some of their favorite projects and brands that are making a real difference on the topic. 2:33 – Kari’s Passion for Sustainability 4:22 – Mike’s Passion for Sustainability 5:54 – Brian’s Passion for Sustainability 7:05 – Defining Sustainable Design (Brian) 10:43 – Squeezing Juice Out of the Energy Efficient Orange (Kari) 13:51 – Save Money, Live Better (Mike) 16:37 – Who is Nailing Sustainability (all) 22:03 – Fun Facts About Our Panel (all)

    28 min

  8. 06/28/2022

    Kenny Endermuhle, Manager of Shopper Innovation and Experience (SI&E) at Nestlé Purina

    The Fur-ocious Future of the Shopper QR codes and NFC tags, DTC products in CPG, VR and AR…there are plentiful acronyms to navigate when it comes to talk of modern technology in the consumer experience. Lucky for us Shopper Innovation and Experience expert, Kenny Endermuhle, helps us break these terms down and gets us excited about what the future of the pet shopper’s experience holds. Lee and Kenny’s enthusiasm around the amount of innovation that is happening now between the consumer and retailers is contagious. By leveraging VR, retailers can develop a unique and stimulating in-store experience for any shopper through personalization, immersion, and streamlining the customer journey. Nestlé Purina is one of many companies that are exemplifying this right on their store shelves! 2:05 – From Sports to CPG 5:27 – A Day in the Life of Kenny 7:59 – Testing & Learning With VR 10:09 – A Note to the VR Doubters 12:02 – Building a Virtual Environment 14:09 – QR Codes vs. NFC Tags 17:13 – Direct to Consumer Goods 22:57 – Relationship With Physical Stores 27:33 – The Consumer Drives Innovation 28:33 – What Brand Is Doing It Right? 32:00 – Immersive Experience at the Shelf 33:33 – Lee’s Lightning Round

    37 min
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    Ratings & Reviews

    5
    out of 5
    8 Ratings

    About

    Disruption is the name of the game these days and it appears that no business or industry is safe. From consumers shifting demands, new competitors popping up on the daily and those tiny computers in our pocket giving us 24/7 access to all our hearts’ desires…times they are a-changing. Join Lee Peterson, retail veteran and consumer expert, as he discusses super relevant business topics with equally relevant and interesting guests. This biweekly podcast is brought to you by WD Partners, innovation at scale.

    Information

    • Creator
      WD Partners
    • Years Active
      2019 - 2023
    • Episodes
      55
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © Copyright WD Partners
    • Show Website
      WDCast

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