Leadership

In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Women in Retail Leadership Summit in Miami, Paula Bennett, the recently retired (as of this week) CEO of J.Jill, discussed her career journey and the principles that shaped it along the way. (Synchrony, a consumer financial services company delivering customized financing programs across retail and other industries, is…

This week’s Q&A is with WIRLC member Annie Selke, founder and CEO of The Annie Selke Companies. For more than 20 years, Annie and her team have applied a spirited, design-driven approach to creating bedding, rugs, home furnishings and accessories for everyone to love. Her brand features stylish pieces that stand out and offer lasting value. Annie distills her ideas into a variety of fabulous and functional products for the home, available through the eponymous Annie Selke brand featuring her acclaimed companies Pine Cone Hill, Dash & Albert, and Annie Selke Outlet. The Annie Selke Companies aim to inspire people to create and enjoy happy homes.

Lowe's announced Monday that CEO Robert Niblock will retire from the home improvement retailer as soon as the company finds a successor. "After a 25-year career at Lowe's, including 13 years as chairman and CEO, I am confident that it's the right time to transition the company to its next generation of leadership," the 54-year-old…

One of our Girls’ Lounge @ Shoptalk partners, the Network of Executive Women (NEW), released an interesting study this week that found the turnover rate among women, especially women executives, in the retail and consumer goods industries is much higher than among men.

In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy's, detailed the department store chain's transformation strategy as it looks to rebound from a couple of rough years. At the center of Macy's transformation: giving consumers choice. Gennette opened his presentation by rattling off some impressive stats regarding…

Last year at eTail West, it was 85 degrees. Retailers and technology vendors that attended this year’s event were greeted with clouds and temperatures in the 50s, but we made the best of it by enjoying the outdoor parties huddled around fire pits with warm cocktails. As usual, eTail offered great content, fun events and…

The digital transformation has been building up for decades, yet some businesses are slow to embrace change. Many leaders may not see the threat of this paradigm shift because they still see profit, but they need to look to technology as a catalyst in future plans. This technological era is so critical, demanding and fast-moving that if these leaders fail to understand how they can leverage IoT for their company’s benefit, they're in danger of becoming the next Kodak or Nokia.

We will be featuring Women in Retail Leadership Circle members, advisory board members and ladies who lead in Inner Circle Q&As over the next several months. The interviews will highlight what makes our community so special, from their leadership styles to their favorite vacation spots and everything in between. This week’s Q&A is with Jasmine Bellamy, global product strategist, Gap Factory.

In a keynote presentation at eTail West in Palm Springs, Calif., earlier this week, Noam Paransky, senior vice president, digital, Gap Inc., detailed how the retailer has transformed its organization to better position itself to serve today’s omnichannel consumers. Gap was one of the first mall-based retailers to have an e-commerce site, launching in 1997.…

Walmart said yesterday that it's raising its age restriction to 21 for firearm and ammunition purchases. In  a statement published on its website yesterday, the retailer said it made the decision in light of recent events and will try to implement this change "as quickly as possible." Walmart also pointed out that in 2015 it ended sales of certain sporting rifles…