“I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations. If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

— David Bowie, David Bowie: The Last Five Years

On the 1st anniversary of the release of the revised and expanded 2nd edition of Steve's best-selling book Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption--which confusingly is also the 2nd anniversary of the 1st edition's release--we celebrate its success and impact with our very special guest Forrester Research VP & Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali. Sucharita is not only one of retail's top thought leaders, but she was our very first guest on the podcast back in September of 2022 and she graciously wrote the Foreword to Remarkable Retail's 2nd edition.

We unpack some of the key lessons from the book and take stock of Steve and Sucharita's predictive prowess. We also wonder aloud about whether there is complacency setting in among too many retailers, if a "collapse of the unremarkable middle" is inevitable and whether certain oft talked about "innovations" are victims of the hype cycle.

But first examine the retail news of the week that caught our attention, including trying to be glass is half full on JC Penney's new strategy to "love the customers that love us." We then move on to marvel at Shein's stratospheric $100 billion valuation, before weighing in on whether the Neiman Marcus Group's new partnership is rather Farfetched (see what we did there?). We close with our take on what to make of Walmart's bold moves to deal with trucking shortages.

Note: The John Oliver "This Week Tonight" segment referenced in the episode can be found here.

And don't forget to check out our bonus episode recapping this year's Shoptalk conference, recorded live from high above the Vegas Strip.

About Sucharita

Sucharita serves digital business strategy professionals. She is an expert on eCommerce, omnichannel retail, consumer behavior, and trends in the online shopping space. She is also an authority on technology developments that affect the online commerce industry and vendors that facilitate online marketing and merchandising.

In her research, Sucharita covers such consumer-oriented topics as eCommerce forecasting and trends, merchandising best practices, conversion optimization, and social computing in the retail world. She has also authored "The State Of Retailing Online," a joint study conducted annually with NRF.

Prior to Forrester, Sucharita was the director of marketing at Saks Fifth Avenue, where she managed the customer acquisition, retention, and market research efforts for the $2 billion luxury retailer's online channel. Prior to Saks, she held management positions at Toys R Us, where she was a merchant in the Babies R Us division and a store manager in one of the company's largest toy stores. She also worked for the Walt Disney Company, where she developed and managed marketing plans for new business initiatives, including the Disney Stores, the Disney Cruise Line, and Club Disney.
Additionally, she was involved in the expansion of Cap Cities/ABC properties, specifically ESPN Zone, ESPN Magazine, and the Go.com network. She has written two nonfiction books and has contributed to BusinessWeek Online.

Sucharita holds a B.A. in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

About Us

Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.

Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Talks , The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext! You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.

Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue, his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

Stephen A's Take: Stephen A's thoughts on the benching of Saquon Barkley.