Leadership

Women control a significant share of the shopping power and decision-making within the household, so any retail organization that markets to them is marketing to the majority. While women leadership in retail is still a small percentage compared to men, it's growing in prominence and potential. By evaluating the ways that women bring diverse perspectives…

In episode 494 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kaitlyn Hebert, global chief marketing officer for the Ninja brand of SharkNinja, a leading global product design and technology company. The interview was recorded at Shoptalk Fall in Chicago. Hebert explains how Ninja’s organizational structure and innovation hub speed up product development (2:00). She…

For C-suite executives and founders in CPG and retail, the ground is shifting. The era when shelf placement and mass advertising determined winners has given way to one in which the fastest-growing brands are built with cultural credibility at their core. Consider Oh Norman!, Kaley Cuoco’s pet brand venture that recently secured $2 million in…

This video features a panel discussion between Karen Etzkorn, chief information officer, QVC Group; Angela Clark, vice president of digital, Patagonia; Sneha Narahalli, vice president, head of product and UX, Sephora; and Jeff Haddox, chief technology officer of Omni Retail Enterprises, from Total Retail Tech in Atlanta last month. The panel was moderated by Janet Sherlock, founder…

This video features a session with Quendrida Whitmore, executive coach and leadership consultant, titled "The Accountability Advantage: Proven Steps to Build a Culture of Trust, Ownership, and Results" from Total Retail Tech in Atlanta earlier this month. Coach Quen reframes accountability from something leaders fear into something teams embrace. She offers a blueprint for how…

This video features a discussion with Tory Bartlett, CEO of PopUp Bagels, titled "Grip, Rip, and Scale: How PopUp Bagels is Redefining Franchising and the Future of Food" from Total Retail Tech in Atlanta last week. Bartlett was interviewed by Lauri Kien Kotcher, former CEO of Hello Products, The Shade Store, and quip. What started…

For retail technology leaders, the pressure of the holiday season doesn’t begin in November. It starts in Q1, builds in Q2, and peaks by August when most retailers stop shipping major new features to avoid instability during the highest revenue quarter of the year. That long lead-up exists for good reason. Even a minor bug…

lululemon on Tuesday announced that it has appointed Ranju Das as chief AI as technology officer, effective Sept. 2. In this newly created role, Das will be responsible for leading the company’s technology organization and driving the development and execution of the next phase of lululemon’s technology and AI strategy. He will report to CEO…

Target CEO Brian Cornell, who helped reenergize the company but has struggled to turn around weak sales in a more competitive retail landscape since the COVID pandemic, plans to step down Feb. 1. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran, will succeed Cornell, who will transition to…

The concept of operational excellence isn't new. Retailers have been striving to achieve efficiencies in their operating models since their inception. And while improvements can always be made, achieving a level of high performance seems mostly out of reach. But why? Retail is hard. Achieving a fully integrated, cross-functional operating model is even harder. Traditional…