Omni Talk Retail

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern talk: – Albertsons rolling out more microfulfillment centers – Fabletics' store expansion plans and its unique position in the athleisure market – Dollar General's new Popshelf concept and some mind blowing statistics from Nielsen that might make you think the concept is going to be quite successful – Amazon's new NFL deal, its push to sell products on Amazon Music, and how social commerce now seems like a small scale and pedestrian idea – And, what's cooler about 7-Eleven's new concept store -- that it has a drive-thru or that it also serves frozen margaritas? Will leave the last one for you to decide. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

For the latest episode of Omni Talk’s new Ask An Expert Interview Series for 2021, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Kristin Kohler Burrows and David Ritter of the A&M Consumer and Retail Group. David and Kristin love retail, have great backgrounds as both operators and consultants (Kristin in shoes and David in the Army), and both share our Omni Talk passion for great debate as a path to the right answers. Every week they put us on the spot with tough questions about the future of retail in our weekly Omni Talk Fast Five podcast. In this episode, Chris and Anne turn the tables on them and put them to test and ask them to share their thoughts as experts on the future of retail and what matters most, right now. Together the four of them discuss: – The issues facing various categories of retail – Inventory management and assortment planning, especially in grocery – Digital marketplace partnerships and the impact on in-store experiences – The move to microfulfillment and overall grocery profitability -- CPG's going direct-to-consumer (and the lessons they can take from the footwear industry) -- Anne's favorite topic du jour, revenge spending, and jumping feet first into the latest seasonal trends -- And, the two trends to which retailers should be paying more attention but are not (sustainability and China) Listen to this podcast, and one thing will stand out — Kristin and David have pretty sound thoughts around how to work smarter and not harder as retailers. And, for those keeping score at home, their combined Millennial score was about a 33 to 35. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail *Sponsored Content*This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

“Be Mission Driven.” That's the theme of this podcast. Chris Rupp’s mission is to use technology to make life more convenient for people, and you’ll hear all about how she achieves that goal in this latest episode of the Women's Retail Collective podcast with Anne Mezzenga. You may know Chris from her time leading the development of Amazon Prime or her current role as the Chief Digital and Customer Officer of Albertsons Companies, but did you know that she is also responsible for tractors having cupholders? True story. Give this podcast a listen, and you will get the full rundown of Chris’s career. From her early days as an associate buyer, manually writing orders for coordinated pantsuits at L.S. Ayers Department Store, to running all of hardlines for Amazon on Day 2 of her job there, to her latest success launching a pilot of cutting edge pickup kiosks for Albertsons. Special thanks to Parcel Pending by Quadient for their support of this episode of the Women's Retail Collective Podcast Series. To learn more about Parcel Pending by Quadient, visit www.ParcelPending.com.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern discuss: – Amazon's plan to rollout Amazon Fresh to 28 more stores, while also testing "Just Walk Out" tech at full scale – Walmart's curbside sampling program and all the amazing ways to think about the value it creates – The decision by Adidas to cut back wholesale distribution, open bigger stores, and push its business to 50% DTC – Whether Walmart hiring Brandon Maxwell as its new creative director for its upscale fashion lines matters one iota – And, why Amazon's nationwide rollout of Amazon Care could signal tough times ahead for Walmart's physical healthcare strategy Plus, Anne introduces Chris to the wonderful world of OB-GYN product placement, while Chris tries to set new marks for Omni Talk alliteration. This week's episode is as sharp, sidesplitting, and speedy as ever! To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern talk: – Walmart's brilliant one-stop strategy move to roll out ghost kitchens in Canada – Costco's appallingly slow rollout of curbside pickup – Bed Bath & Beyond's risky private label strategy – The long-term implications of Drest, the new fashion styling game – And, why Disney's decision to close down stores is a shrewd omnichannel move To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest Groceryshop edition of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, sponsored by 1010data, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Wes Schroll, Founder and CEO Fetch Rewards. "Adulting," as Wes puts it, and living on his own during college, Wes couldn't understand why retailers and brands asked consumers to jump through so many hoops to earn loyalty rewards. So, he set out to do something about it. For his final business school assignment in his Sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin, Wes created what has now become Fetch Rewards. Soon after, he began pitching his business plan in startup competitions throughout the country and ultimately earned $185K in seed money. Today, Fetch is now rumored to be worth almost $1.5 billion. Free to consumers, Fetch Rewards app users take a photo of their receipts and then earn Fetch Rewards points from over 450 brands and retailers participating in the platform. On average, Fetch Rewards' 7 million active users scan over 20 receipts per month! Users get rewarded for shopping, and brands generate more loyalty for their products. It's a win-win or 1 + 1 = 3 situation all around, and it also gives brands and retailers a tremendous longitudinal view into the shopping habits of their customers both online and in store. Wes and Fetch Rewards are even able to see how digital incentives impact store purchasing behavior. No panel data required. The whole concept is about intuitive as it gets, and all the more reason to stop what you are doing, give the podcast a listen, and see what you may have been missing. Chris even downloaded the app right in the middle of the interview.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest Groceryshop edition of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, sponsored by 1010data, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Caper CEO Lindon Gao hot off his company's new smart cart pilot implementation with Kroger (see video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=burdDUj6f6w). Much has been said over the great smart cart debate of 2021, with Chris at one time even calling it the dashboard GPS of the retail industry, but is he now warming up to the idea? Maybe. Just maybe . . . at least in the right use cases. Together with Lindon, Chris and Anne pressure test what they know and don't know about the concept, like: - How the shopping cart is one of the few controlled environments within a grocery store - How carts, small trolleys, or even countertop devices may be much more palatable for small mom and pop operations to digest than cameras in ceilings or sensors in shelves - And, also how a myriad of operational use cases could still spring from the whole idea, like monitoring shelf inventory, regardless of whether consumers end up using smart carts to shop or not. Chris still may not be ready to put the cart before the horse (i.e. full computer vision AI), but one thing will be abundantly clear after listening to this interview -- the smart cart is going to be a central figure in the checkout-free revolution debate for years to come. After all, Kroger is kind of a big deal.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest Groceryshop edition of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, sponsored by 1010data, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Eric Tribe, Chief Marketplace Officer Flashfood. Did you know 30-40% of all food ends up in a landfill? That is the origin story behind Flashfood, the fast growing startup whose technology helps to solve the problems of food waste and of getting affordable food to people who need it the most. Eric discusses with Chris and Anne how the Flashfood app works as a marketplace for discounted grocery store items that may soon go out of date and would otherwise be thrown away. When users open the Flashfood app, they can see the soon-to-be-discarded food available at their local grocery stores, buy the food through the app, and then go to the store to pick it up. And the app works with local grocers without requiring any integrations to their POS and OMS systems as well! Yes, Chris really had a hard time believing that one too, but it is true. It's also why Meijer rolled out the concept to 250 stores in just 4 weeks. Give this podcast a listen and you will be wishing, as Anne does, that this app was available in your local market, not just for you but because it feels like the right thing for all grocers to do.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest Groceryshop edition of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, sponsored by 1010data, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Tim Rowland, CEO of Badger Technologies, and Peter Veloz, CEO UltraViolet Devices Inc. (or UVDI for short). Coming off the success of its robotics implementations with Stop & Shop, the Giant Company, and Woodman's last year, Tim and Badger Technologies have now set their sights on developing robots that can also disinfect store shelves and products in response to COVID-19. Together with UVDI, Badger's robots will soon be able to disinfect grocery stores with UVC light wave technology, a practice that has long been used in our nation's hospitals. So, now, instead of grocery store employees having to clean aisle after aisle and risk their own health and safety, robots may soon be able to take on this task for them. Overall, it is yet another case of a win-win application for robotics in retail or, as Peter likes to say, one that exemplifies the four D's of where robotics will have their earliest successes -- i.e. eliminating the dirty, dull, dangerous, and difficult jobs that no one ever wants to do. *Sponsored Content*This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern talk: – Target's murky yet still enviable competitive position heading into 2021 – One of the all-time biggest exec gaffes in history at Nike – Amazon Go coming to London – Albertsons actually going away from owned online deliveries in favor of third-parties – And, a fun story about a robot named Smiley that sells candy while you shop. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy