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
235 episodes
EP 235: How Flow Fashion Could Save Our Planet and Your Wallet
Guests: Ann Cantrell, small business owner and FIT associate professorLiz Alessi, retail supply chain expertWe’re celebrating Earth Day Week early! The fashion industry has an environmental crisis on its hands. ...
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26:34
EP 234: Retail Media Redefines Customized Marketing
Special Guest: Dominick Miserandino, CEO of Retail Tech Media NexusConsumer attention is the ultimate currency in today’s disruptive marketplace. Retailers are becoming publishers as a strategy to forge deeper connections with cus...
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26:24
EP 233: Store Closures and Lease Structures Are Reshaping Commercial Retail
Guest: Stephanie Cegielski, VP of Research at ICSC The retail marketplace is in the throes of transformation. Despite the popular narrative of a retail apocalypse, commercial spaces are undergoing a renaissance. If developers and re...
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28:54
EP 232: Urban Outfitters Masters Strategic Innovation
Guest: Sandy Stein, founder of Retail Speak, and TRR contributorWhat makes a retail brand resilient? It starts with visionary leadership that sees the business holistically balancing merchandising expertise and creativity with fin...
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30:49
EP 231: Hudson’s Bay's Downfall: Why Richard Baker Failed
Guest: Mark A. Cohen Former Director of Retail Studies at the Columbia Business School, and Former CEO Sears Canada.Hudson’s Bay, once Canada's proud retail institution, has descended into Chapter 11 restructuring. And the bl...
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32:31
EP 230: Rethinking Retail Marketing Leadership: AI and the Fractional Revolution
Guest: Lindsey Scheftic, CMO, Owner and Founder, The CMO Sidekick Fractional CMOs with blue-chip experience are sources of enterprise-level talent accessible even to mid-market companies. Couple that resource with AI tools t...
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27:40
EP 229: Consumer Boycotts: A Major C-Suite Headache
Special Guest: Warren Shoulberg, Retail Journalist and TRR WriterConsumer spending is increasingly reflecting personal values. In a disruptive, unpredictable marketplace, the rise of grassroots activism presents unprecedented strategic c...
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26:48
EP 228: When Necessities Become Luxuries: The Bird Flu Economy
Special Guest: Phil Lempert, consumer behavior analystThe bird flu outbreak has transcended egg producers in the farming industry to become a critical economic disruptor and potential public health threat. With consumers spending ...
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18:33
EP 227: The What-Ifs of Potential Tariffs
Special Guest: Jonathan Gold, Vice President of Supply Chain and Customs Policy, National Retail FederationIn a year of unprecedented economic uncertainty, the possible implementation of widespread tariffs has far-reaching implica...
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23:19
EP 226: Beyond the Saks-Neiman Merger: The True Cost of Market Consolidation
Special Guests: Mickey Alam Khan, CEO of Luxury RoundtablePam Danziger, TRR contributor and founder Unity MarketingThe shift in luxury retail's competitive landscape through the Saks-Neiman Marcus merger could h...
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34:34
EP 225: How Weather Forecasting Is a Trillion-Dollar Retail Opportunity
Special Guests: Evan Gold, EVP of Global Partnerships & Alliances at PlanalyticsMatt Flentge, Director of Category Marketing at Ace Hardware Inc. Let’s move beyond Punxsutawney Phil's shadow and his Spr...
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21:38
EP 224: The Robin Report Roundtable: Key Forces Reshaping Retail's Future
The Robin Report Experts · Mark A. Cohen, Former Director of Retail Studies at Columbia Business School and Former CEO Sears Canada.· Phil Lempert, SupermarketGuru® expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends...
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33:41
EP 223: Trade Talks: NRF’s Big Show (Part 2 of 2)
Guests:Dominick Miserandino, CEO RetailwireBeverley Kobe, Chief Executive Officer at Goodwill Industries Ontario Great LakesSulabh Jain, Chief Analytics Officer Impact AnalyticsThe future of retail is undergoing a tra...
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31:54
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
