Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report
Welcome to Retail Unwrapped, a podcast from The Robin Report.
Join Shelley E. Kohan as she shares insights and unpacks issues at the core of retail and consumer products. The conversations are lively and the opinions are honest.
New episodes every Friday.
Episodes
222 episodes
EP 222: Trade Talks: NRF’s Big Show (Part 1 of 2)
Guests: Suni Shamapande, PwC's Consumer Markets LeadKimberly Lee Minor, CEO, WOC Retail AllianceLiza Amlani, Founder and Principal of Retail Strategy GroupNikki Baird, VP of Aptos Strategy and ProductsNRF’s 2025 sh...
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43:56
EP 221: American Giant and Walmart Reshore at Scale
Guest: Bayard Winthrop, CEO and founder of American Giant Bayard Winthrop, CEO of American Giant, is dedicated to American made and has a transformative partnership with Walmart that could redefine the power of American manufacturin...
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24:04
EP 220: Navigating Retail's Next Storm: Technology, Trade, Transformation
As we enter 2025, what’s the imperative for retail going forward? We’ve identified three key shifts that are shaping the future of retail. Join Shelley in a review of Retail Unwrapped podcast highlights that preview retail things to come. ...
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31:36
EP 219: Build-A-Bear Workshop Is a Retail Renaissance
Guest: Sharon Price John, CEO Build-A-Bear WorkshopBuild-A-Bear Workshop is the evolution of a metamorphosis of a beloved brand. What began as a mall-centric experiential retailer transformed into a global powerhouse by understand...
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28:02
EP 218: The Next Frontier: Agentic AI Smart Shopping
Guests: Bridget Johns, co-founder and CEO at To&From, John Andrews co-founder and CEO of Cimulate.The future of retail is being fundamentally transformed by artificial intelligence, moving far beyond basic search functionality to cr...
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33:53
EP 217: Denise Incandela, Walmart Fashion EVP: A 2024 Crave Retail Radical
In a bold reimagining of mass-market fashion, Walmart is spearheading a transformation that challenges traditional retail paradigms. A 2024 Crave Retail Radical, Denise Incandela, EVP of Walmart Fashion U.S. declares, "Disruption enables breakt...
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22:03
EP 216: John Venhuizen, President and CEO of Ace Hardware: A 2024 Crave Retail Radical
John Venhuizen’s leadership and radical innovation over the past decade have fueled Ace Hardware’s growth. His strategy is a masterclass in scaling up while maintaining brand integrity and strong community ties. His success in attracting experi...
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22:50
EP 215: The AI-Powered Merchant: Creativity Meets Retail Technology
Guest: Ken Pilot of Ken Pilot Ventures, a retail advisory and technology investment firm. The convergence of traditional retail expertise with technological innovation is at a critical juncture for industry leaders. The retai...
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31:12
EP 214: The Future of Retail Returns: Automation Meets Human Intelligence
Special Guest: Tim Fehr, COO of Happy ReturnsThe complexities of modern returns management include processing hundreds of thousands of SKUs and demand both technological precision and human insight. As retail continues to evolve, ...
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21:27
EP 213: Why Circular Store Design Will Redefine Resilient Retail
Special Guest: Rebekah L. Matheny, NCIDQ, IIDA, Associate Professor | Interior Design | Department of Design, The Ohio State University; Founder & Director | REBEL Sustainable Futures LabThe retail industry stands at a pivotal...
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32:00
EP 212: Post-Election Recap for Retail
Special Guest: Arick Wierson, Emmy award-winning television producer, political analyst and Robin Report ContributorThere is much speculation about how the recent election will impact the economy, shape the future of America and d...
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29:28
EP 211: De-Risking the Intelligence Gap in Retail Analytics
Special Guest: Jay Hakami, CEO and Founder, Skypad, CEO, SkyIT Group What’s a retailer’s worst nightmare? Not having the right retail insights and analytics to manage inventory. In an era where retail success hinges on...
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17:47
EP 210: Retail Store Transformation and Holiday 2024
Special Guest Tom McGee, President and CEO of ICSC, the International Council of Shopping Centers Physical stores still function as strategic assets in today’s era of retail store transformation. New research from...
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24:11
EP 209: How Two Giants Are Disrupting Circularity with Sustainable Fashion Initiatives
Guests: Kim Kitchings - Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Cotton IncorporatedAnna Copilevitz – Lead Program Manager, Zappos for GoodIn a global consumer marketplace where sustainability is no longer optional, two ...
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28:07
EP 208: What's the Port Strike Impact on Retail?
Guests:Jonathan Gold, Vice President, Supply Chain and Customs Policy, National Retail Federation.Sonja Chapman, Associate Professor International Trade and Marketing at Fashion Institute of Technology.What’s the aborted p...
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24:46
EP 207: Home Furnishings Trends: Why 2025 Will Re-energize the Industry
Guests: Warren Shoulberg, TRR contributor, award-winning journalist, consultant for the retailing and home furnishings industries.Brian Delp, President of Sales and Licensing, Himatsingka America.The pandemic reshaped the h...
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42:28
EP 206: Mastering the Circular Economy in Retail
Guest: Rebekah L. Matheny, NCIDQ, IIDAAssociate Professor | Interior Design | Department of Design and Founder & Director | REBEL Sustainable Futures LabSavvy retailers and brands already have a strategy to respond to the...
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26:06
EP 205: Rewriting the DEI Rules in Retail
Guest: Kimberly Minor, CEO of Women of Color Retail AllianceThe growing significance of the multicultural population, which will become the majority in the U.S. by 2050, will drive brands to integrate DEI authentically into their practic...
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33:20
EP 204: Behind the CEO Curtain: What Modern Leadership Really Looks Like
The C-suite is undergoing a transformation with modern leadership becoming digitally savvy and keyed into the importance of customer behavior and mindsets. Join special guest Brenda Malloy, CEO of Herbert Mines Associates, and Shelley as they s...
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26:20
EP 203: The Importance of Retail in Urban Development
Special Guests: Jennifer Peterson Community Engagement Chief at Edwards Companies and Brian Bernstein, Principal of REALM Collaborative Mixed-use spaces have been reshaping urban development, and retail plays an essential role in t...
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31:39
EP 202: Our Guest, CEO of Ace Hardware, John Venhuizen
Ace Hardware is on a roll. It just debuted its new store concept Elevate Ace, designed on input from its suppliers, store owners, and shareholders. Reflecting shifts in consumer shopping behavior, the new store focuses on e...
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23:50
EP 201: From CX to EX: The Retail Revolution Starts with Your Employees
Are you ready to revolutionize your approach to employee engagement and customer loyalty? A new wave is growing of the critical importance of focusing on employee experience (EX) as the foundation for creating exceptional customer experiences (...
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29:53
Ep 200: Saks-Neiman Marcus Merger: No Merchant Leadership, No Success
Guest: Mark A. Cohen, former Director of Retail Studies at Columbia Business School and former CEO of Sears Canada. What’s the back story on the Saks-Neiman Marcus merger? Will it survive? Could it be retail’s next colossal failure?...
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24:37
Ep 199: The 2024 Election Will Impact Retail. Here’s How.
The results of the national election will impact retail in a multitude of ways: immigration policies, economic stability, labor markets, new regulations, and trade and economic policies. Join TRR reporter Arick Wierson and Shelley ...
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35:31
Ep 198: How Spatial Intelligence Accelerates Retail Decision-Making
Special Guest: George Shaw, CEO and Founder, Pathr.aiSpatial intelligence is supercharging merchandise and marketing teams. How? By transforming data into dollars. In-store teams are still at a disadvantage when it comes to k...
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26:52
