Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report

The state of AI in retail today can be as confusing as it is exciting. But it is a board mandate for retail, without question. The opportunity to drive higher productivity and profitability is massive, yet it’s still a technology that needs to be driven by a purpose. The first and most critical question:  What are you trying to solve for? Join Purva Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Lily, with Robin and Shelley as they deconstruct the common pitfalls of “tech vendor math” and reveal a new path forward for retailers and brands that focuses on the outcomes they want to achieve and how to measure progress and success. The bottom line? The pressure on executives and CFOs to be able to quantify and believe in the impact of AI enablement tools is greater than ever. They know they need to substantiate the results of those investments with legitimate, tangible sales and performance gains. In a world of technology proliferation and vendor claims that too often overpromises and underdelivers, executives now expect partners who can actually show the proof and deliver on those promises. Listen and learn.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Recent failures of Matches, FarFetch, and Net-a-Porter has left Mythersea as the last luxe multi-brand standing. High spenders prefer to buy directly from brand companies like LVMH, Christian Dior, Gucci, and Hermès. And these luxe majors would rather sell directly to consumers than wholesale to a multi-branded ecommerce website. Join Robin and Shelley as they roll back the curtain on what’s going on with luxury ecomm.  What’s more, live streaming will be another nail in the coffin for these multi-brand ecomm sites along with the growing luxury resale market. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Consumers are speaking out. A class action lawsuit has been filed by two Hermès shoppers in Northern California who are fed up with sales tactics used by this luxury powerhouse. They allege that the French luxury brand violates federal and California antitrust laws when selling its iconic status-symbol Birkin and Kelly handbags. They claim Hermès has illegally forced customers to spend thousands of dollars on other products to gain access to buying a Birkin bag. Join Robin and Shelley with guests Michelle Mandelstein, an attorney and an adjunct instructor at Fashion Institute of Technology and Jeff Fisher, VP of retail for Blenders eyewear, as they hash out if the lawsuit has any merit and what impact this may have on the future of the luxury sector. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Don’t dismiss the power play of the growing community of content creators, recognized as the cultural leaders of the 21st century.  Proof? The creator economy market is expected to double to $480 billion by 2027. Join Julian Greene, Head of Creator Partnerships at Flagship along with Robin and Shelley in a candid conversation about how social media has unlocked a flood of content creators and the monetization of creator commerce. They also dispel common myths surrounding the burgeoning creator community as an industry. Any brand that has not dived head-first into this new content commerce opportunity will be at a severe disadvantage. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Here is a tale of four female CEOs with contrasting and compelling leadership styles. Take Mary Dillon, who led 288% revenue growth at Ulta but is now grappling with the past two years of slower growth at Footlocker. Contrast that with Fran Horowitz, CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch, who has overseen 16% growth in 2023 and a remarkable 10% CAGR since 2019 since 2017.  Join Robin and Shelley as they delve into two leadership styles and strategic approaches to reveal how these two leaders envision success. Looking forward, Michelle Gass, CEO at Levi’s, and Artemis Patrick, CEO of Sephora North America, are poised for accelerated growth. Listen to the stories about these four remarkable women and how they are reinvigorating retail.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Fashion ecomm has evolved from customers finding and visiting websites to seek out what they want, to search-enabled discovery, to today’s modern model of bringing fashion directly to you and replicating the excitement of impulse purchasing …online.  The art and science of the shopping experience have also been perfected with the help of influencers who are real and authentic.  Join special guest Tarek Müller, star entrepreneurial founder of ABOUTYOU along with Robin and Shelley in a lively conversation about how to propel the online fashion experience into a business building success story. They will discuss how ABOUT YOU reached €5 billion in GTV* through influencer marketing and international expansion – and how the technology and expertise developed along the way now powers over 140 shops with the SCAYLE Commerce Engine.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Tony Spring is creating a bold new chapter at Macy’s and he will inevitably face off with activist vultures. His strength as a strategic marketer should pave the way to a reimagined Macy’s. Join Robin and Shelley as they dive into Spring’s strategic shift to close underperforming stores and open local, smaller format stores. They deconstruct how Macy’s will grow with a strategic emphasis on technology, data transparency, and AI-driven marketing to support a consumer-focused transformation.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

There’s a store across the street and thousands more just a key tap away. Consumers are addicted to the explosion of websites, marketplaces, and direct-to-consumer brands flooding cyberspace. The upside for consumers is lower prices and anything they want; the downside for brands is the impact on the environment and a race to the bottom. Join Robin and Shelley as they pull the curtain back on the U.S. retail marketplace. Quick preview: U.S. marketplace retail sales grew by an estimated 10.2% YoY in 2023 to nearly $385 billion and represent one-third of all ecommerce sales. Globally, ecomm sales are 19.5% of total retail sales and will grow to 23% by 2027. Amazon, Walmart and Temu lead the pack!For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

One of the hottest tickets this year is the much-anticipated annual edition of Shoptalk in Las Vegas. This year’s key topics will not disappoint, with a focus on how AI can transform your business, create unified retail experiences, harness brand power, and build loyalty via seamless customer journeys. Join Robin, Shelley, and special guest Krystina Gustafson, SVP of Content for Shoptalk, as they share a sneak peek into one of the most talked about events of the year.  For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Here’s a provocative thought: The sum of retail is greater than its parts. Historically, retailers benchmark individual store profit for physical retail as a mainstay of performance measurement. But in a digital marketplace, brick-and-mortar profitability goes beyond the scope of the four walls.Join Robin, Shelley, and special guest Steve Morris, founder of ASG and a well-known real estate strategist, as they redefine profitability in an omnichannel world. Listen to this insightful conversation on how to measure real success..For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Returns have become a huge headache for retailers and a hassle for customers --  and the growth of online sales has exacerbated the problem. The cost of returns continues to skyrocket, impacting the bottom line, and at the same time, the negative environmental impact of returned goods is growing. Join Robin, Shelley, and special guest David Sobie, Co-founder and CEO of Happy Returns, a software and reverse logistics company that enables frictionless, no-box, no-label returns for merchants and consumers. Discover why new rules and restrictions around returns may alienate customers and whether technology can help reduce returns in the first place. We learn how UPS’s acquisition of Happy Returns is making returns a lot easier for customers and retailers –- not to mention making tremendous strides in positively impacting sustainability efforts. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The retail environment is moving at lightning speed, making C-suite succession planning more difficult. Case in point? Gap has had a revolving door of CEOs ever since trying to replace Mickey Drexler. Leading the retail industry in a digital marketplace and finding the right talent has become an exercise in art and science. Join Robin, Shelley, and Kevin Finnegan from Global Recruiters of Lowcountry as they discuss why understanding frontline workers and moving fast on the tech side are highly sought-after skills for today's leadership. Leading brands Under Armour, Footlocker, and Uniqlo top the list of delivering the right balance of high touch and high tech. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

With the sheer number of retail startups at NRF, you’d think you were at the Big AI Show at the Javits Center in New York last week. Clearly, retail tech offers the partnerships, innovations, and solutions required to operate in a digital marketplace. And AI, in its many forms, dominated the conversations at the expo, in the hallways, and on stage. Join Robin and Shelley as they debrief on the big ideas and themes that will re-engineer retail. Startups, including JumpMind, Nexite, Amperity, FluentCommerce, and Parcellab are providing AI solutions for retailers, while major companies such as IBM are leaning into massive data analytics and generative AI to help retailers move forward. All told, the big get bigger, and the small keep getting more agile.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Gen Z and the Alphas right behind them are deeply influencing brands andworkplace cultures. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are table stakes for the next gens who have a new set of values and are hyper-socially aware. Retailers and brands that don’t see the importance of today’s cultural movement will be left whistling in the wind. Join Robin and Shelley as they face the issues head-on. A&F and Lululemon have recovered from former leadership tone-deaf statements about customers and employees, but Victoria’s Secret may be headed down the wrong path. Listen and learn about why next gens canmake or break a business with its values-based consumer power.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The Robin Report Retail Radicals celebrate the icons and iconoclasts that are reinventing legacy retail. Each of these remarkable brands has a deep brand ethos, appeals to a multigenerational customer, and stays true to their brand strategy. They survive and thrive in disruptive marketplaces with enlightened leadership. Join Robin and Shelley as they share the back stories of what makes the 2023 Radicals so great with details on impressive innovations and unique customer experiences while outpacing their competitive peers in delivering high-performance financial results.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Preemptive distribution is pushing retailers to go local with assortments, services,and indigenous products. Advances in retail technologies will enable localization withprecise customer preferences and more relevant product assortments, while marketplaces and strategic partnerships will continue to grow.Marketing becomes hyper-personalized through robust AI analytics, and retail media network and ad spending will soar. As a top priority, retailers will need to up their efforts in becoming the employer of choice. Join Robin and Shelley as they dive into these game-changing structural changes that will require outlook and foresight from retail executives. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Retail accounting provides a snapshot of real-time profit margins, but it may lead to an overstatement of profits since the practice is based on retail pricing. With fluctuations in selling prices, is cost-based accounting really a better measure of performance for the retail industry? Join Robin, Shelley and Paula Rosenblum, co-founder and managing partner of RSR Research, as they discuss why many companies are looking toward moving to cost-based accounting away from a practice that is centuries old. They debate how retail-based accounting, the industry standard, can be a dangerous practice and why should retailers be thinking differently.  For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What’s the story behind organized retail crime? It has commanded national headlines and resulted in many stores being transformed into locked vaults. Join Robin and Shelley as they deconstruct the situation, discussing that the narrative about organized retail crime has been exaggerated. The backstory is the advocacy to build greater support for national law enforcement and more coordinated efforts across agencies alongside more stringent legislation. Companies may be using ORC as a cover for poor performance and store closings. Tune in to learn more about the growth of retail theft and why the numbers are murky.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What it means to be a brand today goes beyond the single dimension of yesterday’s mono-brand definition. Now, savvy brands use past successes and morph them into an evolved, multifaceted branding experience. Join trends expert Leslie J. Ghize, EVP of DONEGER TOBE, with Robin and Shelley in a riveting conversation about the new branding imperative and what is top of mind for consumers heading into 2024. Stay tuned as Leslie shares her insights about the lingering emotional and psychological impacts of COVID-19 on kids and young adults. To be clear, the kids are not allright.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

How is Holiday 2023 going to end up? Even when customers are facing turbulent, unpredictable market trends and world events, they continue to spend. It could be just “Doom Spending” to cope with stress about the economy and external global factors. The bigger question is: Will consumer spending keep growing into 2024?  Join special guest Nick Mangiapane, Chief Marketing Officer at Commerce Signals, Robin, and Shelley as they discuss retail consumer spending patterns and predictions for this holiday.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.