In the opening episode of season 8, I’m joined by a guest who has spent over 20 years in the exhibition and events industry. Matt Bradley is the Event Director of The Retail Technology Show.  He is a well known face within the retail tech industry and has an enviable book of contacts and understands how to truly connect suppliers with buyers! His philosophy is simple, make experiences not exhibitions and he continues to find ways to revolutionize the conventional expo model.

 The Retail Tea Break podcast is a media partner for The Retail Technology Show, which takes place on 2nd-3rd April 2025 at ExCeL London. With over 15,000+ senior retail professionals, 400+ innovative tech suppliers, 125+ industry-leading speakers and  2 days of unparalleled networking it’s going to be epic!

We discuss:

• The new venue- ExCeL London
• The unbelievable speakers, including Archie Norman the Chairman of Marks and Spencer plc and Theo Paphitis the Owner & Chairman of Theo Paphitis Retail Group
• The supportive nature of the event that allows retailers and their partners to connect
• “Did we mention it’s free”

For more information and to register: Retail Technology Show - The wonder of Retail is here

So grab that cup of tea, sit back and listen to the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast.

Catch up on previous episodes on your favourite podcast platform and while you’re there please hit that follow button so that you get to listen to it first every week. Follow for weekly updates and watch us on YouTube by subscribing to The Retail Advisor. Sharing is caring—share episodes with your network and tag me, Melissa Moore, and The Retail Break podcast on social media.

If you’d like to get involved in the next season of the podcast, as a guest or a sponsor please email melissa@theretailadvisor.ie

To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Retail Tea Break Podcast, I’m delighted to be re-joined by 4 retail experts for part two of our round table.

• From season 2, Ian Scott works at a strategic level with brands and retailers. He provides insights, assisting with store development and offering a consumer centric perspective. He introduced the concept of Symbiotic Retail, highlighting how all channels need to work together as one ecosystem for the benefit of the shopper.
• Long time friend of the podcast and author of Breaking Down Barriers, Chris Igwe provides services to luxury and premium brands, as well as shopping centre owners and high street landlords. His advice is both strategic and implementational, given his vast knowledge of, and experience within, global retail.
• Back for season 7, Linda Johansen-James,the Founder and CEO of International Retail Group. The “Billion Dollar Brand Maker”, specialises in brand launches, in-store design, sales training, franchising, and has a track record of generating $1.7 billion in revenue and attracting top brands. 
• And introducing Torben Valsted! An Imagineer and growth architect who believes that growing teams and growing consumer bonds is the foundation of growing business. Passionate about unleashing the synergies between commercial strategy, commercial leadership and intelligence integration in the pursuit of building consumer bonds. 

Listen back to the first episode of season 7 to hear our initial conversation. In the meantime, Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• Proper retail training= increased sales
• Is product knowledge really neccessary?
• Driving footfall when standards are poor
• Retail pay and benefits
• Back to basics
• What’s coming up next?

For more information visit: 

Ian Scott: https://www.ianscott.net/

Chris Igwe: https://www.igweinternational.com/

Linda Johansen-James: https://irg-retail.com/

Torben Valsted: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/tvalsted

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a retail newbie! Rebecca Hoban is Co-Founder of Outwest Clothing and retail store. From Dingle in County Kerry, Rebecca and Co-Founder Shane Finn built an outdoor apparel brand made for the Irish outdoors.

Rebecca describes the retail store’s opening day during a bank holiday weekend and learning on the job. She talks passionately about growing the business, empowering the team and engaging customers. This episode celebrates the incredible journey that the brand has been on over the last two years and looks forward to what comes next! So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen…

Topics:

• Starting out in retail
• Running a people focused business
• The importance of storytelling
• The challenges of running a rapidly growing business
• Becoming B-Corp certified
• Exciting plans for the future

For more information visit: www.outwestclothing.ie

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to an incredibly experienced retailer. Conrad Digan is the CEO of Shaws Department Stores. Having worked in various DT2 store roles for Marks and Spencer in London and then Dublin, he went on to become the Head of Selling for M&S on the Island of Ireland. Then after almost 25 years, he left M&S to take on the Director of Retail Ops and Customer Service at Primark. 

In late 2021 he became the first non-family CEO at Shaws, a business that is reaching its 160-year milestone this year. Conrad describes how the omni channel business has a passionate service ethos and a ‘surprising’ range of international brands.  

This is such a special episode, as the CEO describes his excitement about the new store opening in Athlone. Packed with insights and stories, it’s one not to miss! So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• The new store, Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone.
• The importance of the physical store
• Late adopters to online
• Personal customer service
• Driving the sustainability agenda
• Revisiting brand values
• The Golden Quarter!

For more information visit: https://shaws.ie/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who plays a huge part in a modern heritage Irish brand that sells globally. Sarah Murphy is the Managing Director of Jack Murphy Clothing. Establishing themselves as a leader in fashionable, functional, and sustainable clothing was and still is, a family passion. 

Now over 70 years in business and in its third generation, the legacy brand uses meticulous craftmanship. From the original focus on corsetry, to their pivot to outwear, the brand continues to strive for innovation while respecting their heritage. And so their core focus remains the same, timeless elegance crafted with an eye for detail. This episode shares how the brand bounced back from one of the most challenging periods in their existence. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen…

Topics:

• Marketing a legacy brand
• Supportive retailer relationships
• “we don’t just talk sustainability- we live it”
• Challenging times through Brexit and Covid
• The bounce-back
• Exciting times ahead

For more information visit: www.jackmurphy.ie

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Retail Tea Break Podcast and the launch of season 7, I’m delighted to be joined by 4 retail experts.

• From season 2, Ian Scott works at a strategic level with brands and retailers. He provides insights, assisting with store development and offering a consumer centric perspective. He introduced the concept of Symbiotic Retail, highlighting how all channels need to work together as one ecosystem for the benefit of the shopper.
• Long time friend of the podcast and author of Breaking Down Barriers, Chris Igwe provides services to luxury and premium brands, as well as shopping centre owners and high street landlords. His advice is both strategic and implementational, given his vast knowledge of, and experience within, global retail.
• Back for season 7, Linda Johansen-James,the Founder and CEO of International Retail Group. The “Billion Dollar Brand Maker”, specialises in brand launches, in-store design, sales training, franchising, and has a track record of generating $1.7 billion in revenue and attracting top brands. 
• And introducing Torben Valsted! An Imagineer and growth architect who believes that growing teams and growing consumer bonds is the foundation of growing business. Passionate about unleashing the synergies between commercial strategy, commercial leadership and intelligence integration in the pursuit of building consumer bonds. 

Topics:

• Retail relationships with landlords and centre managers
• Delivering exceptional shopping experiences
• Retail trends and retail theatre
• Has retail become too complicated?
• Retail and technology

For more information visit: 

Ian Scott: https://www.ianscott.net/

Chris Igwe: https://www.igweinternational.com/

Linda Johansen-James: https://irg-retail.com/

Torben Valsted: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/tvalsted

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast I’m joined by a guest who has spent over 30 years in the retail industry. Bob Neille has worked all over the world with leading sports and footwear brands including Addias, New Balance and Under Armour. From redefining operational processes to increase profits, to building high performance and highly engaged teams, Bob really understands the customer experience.

The strategic global retail leader has made a name for himself driving growth and innovation, whilst transforming the retail landscape. This is a fantastic episode that will future proof your retail business, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Is there a better word for “retail”
• Processes and People
• Customer Centricity
• The importance of sharing your brand story
• The future of retail

Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/boneville

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. I’m joined by a seasoned technology marketing executive with proven commercial success at executive and board level within tech, marketplaces and ecommerce, rapidly scaling international businesses working in both B2C and B2B environments. Gavin Murphy is the Chief Marketing Officer at Scurri. He is highly skilled in go-to-market strategies, building marketing teams, brand and product positioning, field marketing, product marketing and demand generation at an international level (EMEA & APAC). 

Gavin describes how many retailers and brands are missing huge opportunities to enhance the customer experience and to drive loyalty. This is a fantastic episode that will future proof your retail business, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• What Scurri does and how it all works for retailers and brands
• Supporting retailers to grow
• Black Friday and the Golden Quarter at Scurri
• Hyper-personalisation and driving loyalty
• the post purchase experience… 
• Data driving competitor advantage
• Future plans and expansion

For more information on Scurri: https://www.scurri.com/

The Retail Tea Break podcast episodes sponsored by Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/conf/the-retail-tea-break-sponsored-by-salesforce

For more information visit: https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by two guests who really understand shoppers. Vanessa Henry is Research Director (Shopper) ​​​​and Zoe Smith is a Research Executive, at Walnut Unlimited. They both have vast experience with the retail industry, using a variety of methodologies across projects to uncover true actionable insight that can help to unlock growth in the retail space. Their role- to Understand shopper behaviour, getting under the skin of how consumers behave and feel.

This is a fascinating conversation full of great insights and case studies. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• What Walnut Unlimited does
• How Shoppers Shop
• Scientific tools including behavioural science
• Real examples
• Key takeaways key takeaways that retailers and brands should be aware of?

For more information visit: https://walnutunlimited.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. I’m joined by an internationally recognised expert in the retail industry, Rob Garf. The Vice President and General Manager of Retail at Salesforce has over 25 years of global retail experience as a practitioner. He was an industry analyst with AMR Research, a strategy consultant at IBM and a software leader. As this episode shows, Rob is no stranger to the retail industry and the challenges retailers face.

He currently leads industry research, drives solution strategy, and advises senior executives globally on digital transformation. He is also a frequent industry speaker, a member of NRF’s Digital Council, and Chair of the Retail Customer Advisory Board. In this episode, he takes me through Salesforces’ shopping index for Q1 of 2024 and of course we discuss retail’s hottest topic, AI.

This is a fantastic episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Salesforce’s Shopping Index data for Q1 of 2024
• Shopper Loyalty
• Mobile shopping
• Adapting to AI
• Delivering exceptional AI driven customer experiences
• Salesforce’s holiday predictions!

The Retail Tea Break podcast episodes sponsored by Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/conf/the-retail-tea-break-sponsored-by-salesforce

Shopper Index report: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/shopping-index-retail-data/

Retail AI Council X Salesforce AI report: https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/retail-insights-generative-ai/

For more information visit: https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

The latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is a little different. Recorded live at the Olympia in London, I’m joined by a whole host of guests from The Retail Technology Show.  

The magic of retail could be seen and heard on every stage and at every booth! With key themes of creating meaningful experiences for the retailer, the customer and the employee, this was retail at its best.

 So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen…

This episode features:        

• Matt Bradley, Event Director and Founder of Retail Technology Show: https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com/
• Darren Cremins, Senior Sales Director Retail Media at Scala: https://scala.com/en/
• Oliver Banks, Retail Expert and Author of ‘Driving Retail Transformation’: purchase the book on Amazon
• Rebecca Carrington, Head of Product at Sparkbox.ai: https://www.sparkbox.ai/
• Chris Smith, UK Sales Director at Hypervsn: https://hypervsn.com/
• Craig Ash, Managing Director of Swarovski UK & Ireland: Swarovski
• Sarah Friswell, CEO Red Ant: https://www.redant.com/
• Ian Rowan, CEO X-Hoppers: https://www.x-hoppers.com/
• Guatier Feld, Co-Founder CircularX: https://circularx.com/
• Holly Tucker MBE, Founder and CEO of Holly & Co. Founder of Notonthehighstreet: https://holly.co/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

Season 7 Finale

Each week on season 7 of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’ve been joined by industry experts, retailers and brands to decode the myths, share knowledge and give you a better insight into the retail industry. 

In this final episode of season 7, I give you a quick recap of key moments from 2024. There have been 24 episodes of The Retail Tea Break podcast covering an incredible range of topics. So grab your cup of tea, sit back, relax and listen in! And If you have enjoyed the podcast this year, please subscribe and leave me a comment, let me know which episode has been your favourite.

Remember you can listen back to all the previous Retail Tea Break episodes from the last 3 years on your favourite podcast platform or on YouTube. 

If you’d like to get involved in the next season of the podcast, as a guest or a sponsor please drop me a message on LinkedIn or email melissa@theretailadvisor.ie

See you in 2025 for season 8, as we head towards our 100th episode!

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who has always had an eye on what’s coming next and exciting ambitions for growth. 

Anthony Gallagher, Founder and Managing Director of Petstop. Having started out as a trainee with Penneys, Anthony has since gone to set up one the first pet superstores in Ireland. 

This experienced retailer took note of what pet stores across the pond were doing to develop his own successful business model. This is an honest, heartwarming conversation full of great retail stories and examples! So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• New store openings
• Why physical stores so important for Petstop
• Award winning online presence
• How the online  strategy changed over the last few years
• The People success story
•  Customer loyalty
• Growing the business

For more information visit: https://www.petstop.ie/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who believes in creating more value & less waste from every purchase through innovation & technology. Kiran Gange is the CEO and Founder of RapidPricer. The author and entrepreneur has over 18 years of experience launching innovative technologies around the world. Kiran has the ability to connect with multicultural teams and has trained on entrepreneurship, internationalisation and pricing at several prestigious institutions and organisations such as the Berkeley in California, Dutch Basecamp in Amsterdam and the Professional Pricing Society in Atlanta.

This is a fascinating episode that brings pricing, margins and sustainability together.  So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• Retailing, rice, spice and mangos!
• Using AI to support better pricing
• Sustainability and pricing with RapidPricer 
• The Expert Guide to Retail Pricing book
• Pricing principles and strategies for retailers

For more information visit: Kiran Gange | Retail Pricing Expert 

To purchase The Expert Guide to Retail Pricing: The Expert Guide to Retail Pricing: Gange, Kiran: 9781032465326: Amazon.com: Books

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by three special guests to explore how working together has brought a well loved brand to life, in its forever home. I’m joined by Aoibhín Garrihy and Sharon Connellan, the founders of BEO. The nationally renowned lifestyle brand blends live events promoting self-care with their product line which offers thoughtfully curated collections from sustainable and ethical sources in the West of Ireland. I’m also joined by Ciara Petty from Ciara Petty Design Studio which is a full-service interior design agency specialising in strategic, brand-focused retail, food service and hospitality design.

This episode explores the journey that BEO undertook to design and develop their new home in the heart of Ennis. The beautiful retail space is combined with a coffee shop and community studio space under Ciara’s guidance. From strong brand values to stalking a landlord (!), this episode is one not to be missed!  So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• Putting down roots and integrating retail space, coffee shop and studio space

• Beo’s brand values and developing a design brief

• Real life experiential retail

• Concept design and space planning for a new retail store

• The challenges of setting up a new retail store for an established brand

• The importance of a retail design led customer experience

For more information visit: https://beowellness.ie/ and https://www.ciarapetty.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a retail trailblazer! Linda Johansen-James is the Founder and CEO of International Retail Group. The “Billion Dollar Brand Maker”, specialises in brand launches, in-store design, sales training, franchising, and has a track record of generating $1.7 billion in revenue and attracting top brands.

Linda’s years of experience shines through in this episode, as she discusses everything from shaking up shopping malls to training thousands of staff. She encourages the c-suite to work the shop floor, she expects staff to stick to the 4 second rule and she expects you to know the LTV of your customer. This episode is FULL of golden nuggets! So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen…

Topics:

·         Starting out with a shopping cart

·         Nurturing retail staff and writing a script

·         Going back to basics

·         Pivoting during Covid

·         Supporting the next generation of retailers

For more information visit: https://irg-retail.com/

To read the IRG magazine: https://irg-retail.com/international-retail-magazine/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who really understands frontline retail. Brian Librach is  author of The Retail Leader’s Roadmap. He followed in the footsteps of his Father and Grandfather having been brought up around retailers and merchants. With a career that saw him climb the corporate ladder (and fall down it a few times), Brian worked for Urban Outfitters, Pacific Sunwear and Old Navy.

Brain’s approach to leading a retail team is practical and timely. He appreciates the need to juggle business tasks while nurturing people to enable business growth. He continues to channel his passion for coaching, mentoring, and leading the next generation of retail stars with his new book. So  grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Writing the new book?
• The three pillars, build your character, build your connection and build your plan. 
• The many mistakes
• Paying it forward as a leader
• Task or people first? 

For more information visit: www.retailleadersroadmap.com

To buy a couple of The Retail Leader’s Roadmap: https://a.co/d/8a8N1JU

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who is a creative entrepreneur, having spent most of her career as a leading Irish fashion designer. Aideen Bodkin is founder of StylAi . Throughout her successful career Aideen has been an advisor, trainer and mentor to many SME’s and creative individuals. Her expertise includes Fashion Design, Design Thinking, Sustainability for Creative Businesses, Digital Entrepreneurship and Product Development.

In this episode, Aideen describes how she wanted to use her knowledge and expertise to influence change in the fashion industry. She started to look at the problem of returns, from a shopper and a retailer's perspective. From all of her research, Aideen was able to pinpoint three key issues with shopping online for clothing. This episode gives you a great insight into the fashion retail industry, so  grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Does fashion really work online? 
• The issues with buying fashion online; sizing, suitability, representation
• Returns, fast fashion and sustainability
• Combining retail and digital
• StylAI

For more information and for details of Aideen’s  appearance in Kilkenny Design in Nassau Street on 30th March, check out Aideen’s social media pages including: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/aideen-bodkin-35185822

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who really knows ecommerce. Vinny O’Brien from Vinny & Co works with some of the world's biggest brands in strategy and training roles and has delivered training to over 1000 companies over the last few years.

Vinny also has in-depth knowledge of DTC channels thanks to DTC brand, Crua Outdoors, selling in the US market. Last year he joined an analyst firm in New York, RMW Commerce as their content producer and analyst. Earlier this year Vinny was added to the RETHINK retail list of retail experts for 2024!

This is such a refreshingly insightful conversation that is full of great examples. If you are curious about ecommerce,  grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Ecommerce in 2024
• Great ecommerce examples
• Consumers and ecommerce
• The decision to replatform
• Ecommerce recruitment and retention

For more information visit: https://www.vinnyandco.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

Each week on season 5 of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’ve be joined by industry experts, retailers and brands to decode the myths, share knowledge and give you a better insight into the retail industry. In this final episode of season 5, I give you a quick recap of key moments from 2023. So grab your cup of tea, sit back, relax and listen in!

If you have enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and share it. 

Remember you can also listen back to previous Retail Tea Break episodes on your favourite podcast platform or on YouTube. You’ll find full transcriptions of each episode on www.theretailadvisor.ie.

See you in 2024 for season 6!

On this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast I’m joined by a guest who has a retail framework that boils down to implementing the basics, focusing on cashflow and profit. Alvin Narsey is a business coach and consultant with over 25 years of experience in the retail pharmacy industry. He has bought, grown and sold large pharmacy businesses in Australia and is now passionate about helping retailers achieve their business goals. 

Grab a notebook, Alvin shares lots of golden nuggets in this episode. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• The true importance of understanding cash flow
•  Which is more important: profitability or revenue
• Discounts eating profitability
•  Shopper price sensitivity
• Recommended KPI’s
• Coming up in 2024

For more information visit: https://www.alvinnarseycoaching.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who is passionate about taking a consumer centric approach. Ciara O'Keeffe is Chief Operations Officer at Peachylean. Over the last few years she has ensured brands make the right decision to drive consumer awareness and reduce friction in the shopper journey. 

Ciara has worked with a broad number of B2B retailers across EMEA; focusing on being where the consumer shops, and bringing the best of the brand to life across those touchpoints, to complement their D2C offering. She’s currently working for a fantastic Irish female focused startup bringing an inclusive athleisure proposition to women, not currently provided by mainstream brands. Ciara’s shares lots of insights in this fascinating episode. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Customer centricity, in the post Covid era 
• Exploring B2B at Nike
• Utilising the D2C route with Peachylean
• Smaller brands with big brand loyalty
• Top tips for brands who are starting to scale their business
• What’s coming up over the next 6 months.

For more information: https://peachylean.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

On this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast I’m joined by a product experience specialist. Andy Tyra is the Chief Product Officer at Akeneo. He strives to deliver product information management solutions for brands and retailers contributing to a seamless and positive customer journey.

Andy was previously a founding team member on AmazonFresh and AWS Marketplace, building these businesses to materiality from the very beginning. He has a phenomenal amount of experience- so this is an episode not to miss… Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• The product experience company, what does that mean?
• What comes first; the data or the customer? 
• Barriers retailers are facing, but they don’t have to do it alone
• Reducing returns and support the customer journey 
• Regulations: preparing for the digital product passport
• Fantastic case study from Swedish clothing brand Asket
• What’s coming up next for the business

For more information visit: https://www.akeneo.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. I’m joined by two amazing guests to discuss how employee experience together with customer experience supports the growth of incredible brands. Sarah Esler is the Digital Product Lead at Brown Thomas Arnotts and Natasha Beegan is a Principal Solution Engineer at Salesforce. 

Looking through the lens of digital transformation, Natasha explains the research that supports the need for retailers to have an ‘EX+CX=Growth’ agenda. Sarah describes how Brown Thomas Arnotts are utilising an opti-channel experience to meet the needs of all of their customers. 

This is a must listen to episode, which is packed full of inspirational insights and thought provoking data. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Why the Employee Experience (EX)  together with Customer Experience (CX) is so important.
• Switching the mindset to include EX alongside CX.
• ‘Opti-channel’ experiences
• Collaboration leads to centricity.
• The NEW Brown Thomas & Arnotts apps.
• Retail digital transformation can’t stand still. 
• What’s next for Brown Thomas Arnotts?

For more information visit: 

https://www.brownthomas.com/

https://www.brownthomas.com/services/brown-thomas-app.html

https://www.arnotts.ie/

https://www.arnotts.ie/arnotts-app-info.html

https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast is sponsored by TruRating, unlocking the voice of every customer.

I’m joined by a former lawyer, who became fascinated with how to measure, understand, and predict human behaviour. Georgina Nelson is the CEO and Co-Founder of TruRating, the award winning, rapidly growing, global tech start-up. Retailers and brands using TruRating average an 80% response rate on questions asked. This is accomplished by asking a single, rotating question directly on the POS pin pad, making it a seamless part of the shopper's checkout experience. 

This is a fantastic conversation full of incredible insights from half a billion responses that TruRating has collected. Georgina takes us through the key themes from the data that has been gathered across various retail verticals including grocery, clothing and pharmacy brands. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Half a billion customer responses
• Your people are your power
• The emotional connection
• Tasking, store operations and a lack of customer focus
• Retail media, strong communication and in-store signage
• What’s next for TruRating

For more information check out: https://trurating.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a true retail people expert. Maeve McCleane is Chief People Officer & Board Executive for Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland. She is a passionate, commercially focused and experienced leader with huge expertise leading and developing a range of teams across operational, technical and strategic retail topics.

She has headed up a number of industry-leading initiatives within the retail sector, many of which she talks about in this episode. Maeve discusses growing the business with Lidl’s colleagues, by nurturing and upskilling them and in turn they deliver the service and sales that the business needs. This is a fascinating conversation, full of golden nuggets and thought provoking ideas. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Hiring and retaining staff
• The Leadership Academy for everyone
•  Lidl’s initiatives and benefits supporting inclusivity
• What smaller retailers could do
• Company culture versus company policy
• What’s next; Christmas is coming…

For more information check out: https://jobs.lidl.ie/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

On this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast I’m joined by a guest who is a gift-maker and a businesswoman. Maria Porter is one half of Duffy and Porter, an Irish family run business specialising in personalised gifts.

Having started her career in a very different field, Maria and her husband Melvin realised that they were not happy with their jobs. They wanted to do something more meaningful and fulfilling, something that would bring joy to themselves and others. This episode is full of those meaningful moments, as Maria describes the highs and lows of running a retail store and ecommerce business while making so much of the stock. This is a wonderfully heartwarming episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

•  Starting and growing Duffy and Porter
• From online to physical store
• The importance of customer relationships
• Lifetime value of the customer
• Top tips for makers considering scaling up or branching out
• Christmas is coming….

For more information visit: https://www.duffyandporter.ie/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

Today’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, who bring companies and customers together. I’m joined by an incredibly experienced businessman, who’s company provides the backbone to the retail industry. Niall Rock is Managing Director of Storage Systems Limited, one of Ireland’s largest commercial fit out companies. Founded in 1979, the business has grown to be the leading provider of storage solutions that make the maximum use of space. 

Over the years, Niall has met the customer at every touchpoint from design through to implementation and he firmly believes in customer centricity. He describes how storage solutions are normally an afterthought for retailers and brands and how he can guide them to solutions that ensure retail staff are more customer facing, which leads to a greater ROI and increase in sales. This is a fascinating episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Bringing the stock room to the shop floor 
• Solutions that enhance the customer experience
• The explosion of ecommerce and click and collect. 
•  Inefficient stock rooms- top tips for saving time and delivering a return on investment.

For more information visit: https://www.storagesystems.ie/commercial/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by a guest who is a global eCommerce and digital transformation leader. Dean McElwee is the author of ‘eCommerce for CEOs’.

From omnichannel to marketplaces, B2B eCommerce, and Direct to Consumer, Dean has had a varied career covering local, regional and global roles across both emerging and developed markets. Before joining The Stanley Black & Decker Company, Dean held roles at The Kellogg Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Mastercard Advisors and Nestle. All this experience gives him a unique perspective of the eCommerce landscape across the world, how it is evolving and what to do about it. This is a fascinating conversation, full of golden nuggets and thought provoking ideas. So grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• Writing the new book ‘Ecommerce for CEO’s- what every CEO and C-Suite leader should know about ecommerce’
• The seismic shift in consumer buying behaviour
• Ecommerce isn’t the magic solution to grow a brand or drive sales…    
• The explosion of D2C brands
• Measuring ecommerce performance
• What’s next in the world of ecommerce?

To purchase the book visit: https://amzn.eu/d/0UNYATN

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast has not one, but 4 guests! Sara Allbright, Elaine Hooper, Neil Amer and Anna Berry are Co-Founders of Retail 100 Consulting. Together they have over 100 years of retail experience at senior levels across buying and merchandising. With expertise and knowledge ranging from homeware, gifting, toys, seasonal & beauty they have a multitude of insights to offer.

This episode really does dispel the myths about buying and merchandising (not to be confused with visual merchandising) with insights into the not so glamorous life of a buyer and how to plan a range. Underneath it all, there is a clear message about the importance of team work, collaboration and communication. It is a great episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• 100 years experience in the retail industry
• Buying and merchandising, the perfect mix of creativity and finance
• Data driven planning and merchandising #bemoreneil
• The importance of front line collaboration and insights
• Quick top tips; the next newest trend in retail, building relationships, ‘friendly’ data, utilising your team.

For more information visit: https://www.retail100consulting.co.uk/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast is sponsored by StoreHero, the profit dashboard for ecommerce companies. 

I speak to Thomas Gleeson, the Co-Founder of StoreHero, who alongside his Co-Founder Karl O’Brien want to empower retailers through their ecommerce analytics platform.

Having grown up watching and supporting the family DTC business grow, Thomas now helps ecommerce brands grow their businesses bridging that gap between marketing and finance. The company’s mission is to provide store owners with the insights and tools they need to make informed decisions about their business and drive growth in the confidence of doing so profitably.

This is a great episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics: 

• What is StoreHero?
• Marketing and Finance working off the same data
• Free Shipping and the real cost to the business
• Unit economics and KPI’s
• The true cost to doing business

For more information visit: https://storehero.ai/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. I’m joined by an internationally recognised expert in the retail industry, a seasoned researcher who helps global organisations build the future of their business.

Michelle Grant is Director of Strategy and Insights for Retail & Consumer Goods at Salesforce. She has shared her thoughts with the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Financial Times. Footwear News honoured as one of the 6 Powerful Women in Technology in 2021, Rethink Retail continues to list her as one of the top retail influencers in the world for 2022 and 2023.

At Salesforce, she blends data and analysis to create thought provoking content that helps companies understand how new technologies will impact the future of their business. In this episode, she takes me through Salesforces predictions for the holiday season.

This is a fantastic episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

·         Salesforce predictions for the Christmas and holiday season

·         Predictive AI driving digital sales

·         BOPIS; delivering an efficient, convenient shopping experience

·         Returns policies impacting the shopper journey

·         Social media advertising delivering peak ROI both instore and online

·         Resale gifting

·         Keeping Christmas shoppers

For more information visit: https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

Original five trends for holiday predictions: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/holiday-shopping-predictions/

Updated predictions with forecasts for spending: https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-holiday-predictions-2023/

Link to Connected Shoppers report: https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/connected-shoppers-report/

For more information and the transcript, please visit www.theretailadvisor.ie

Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in as I look back at the first 50 episodes of The Retail Tea Break Podcast.

Topics:

Customer Experience

• In episode 3, Cristiane Ross from Sparc Consulting explains that the emotional connection with your customer matters. As the customer’s relationship with your brand deepens, they become more valuable to you.
• In episode 14, Ian Scott describes the new era of physical retailing. He asks the question “Is your physical store speaking to your ideal customer?”
• In episode 22, Dr Denis O’Hora paints an incredible picture of how you can turn consumers into paying customers.
• In episode 29, Chris Igwe warns us to “Leave a lasting impression… to keep me coming back”. Chris talked about physical retail stores and raising the bar with retail basics.

Loyalty and a true Omni-Channel experience

• In episode 44, Scott Kennedy from Salesforce describes what a true customer centric, omni-channel experiences should look and feel like.
• In episode 28, Gurpreet Kuar from Salesforce blows my mind by describing the importance of hyper personalisation- it’s well worth a listen!
• In episode 34, Jennie McGinn, Paul Gillart and Gurpreet Kaur discussed the importance of gathering the right data, how to build a loyalty programme and how best to use the information.

Sustainability and Conscious Consumerism

• In episode 2, Elaine Kennedy from Hawthorn Handmade Skincare set the scene “we should be asking more questions as producers, consumers and retailers and looking a bit deeper in terms of sustainability”.
• In episode 6, James Byrne from Faerly explained that customers want to be able to buy products from retailers that conform with their ethics and values and retailers want to be able to provide these goods.
• In episode 36, Jenny Johnston, Head of Marketing for Kilkenny Design/ Champion Green and Sheelin Conlon, founder of The Kind described the importance of supporting local businesses.
• In episode 45, Sharon Yourell Lawlor from Think Plan Do Consulting explores the Sustainable Irish Retail Action (SIRA) guide. She describes how best to use the guide and the impact that it can have on retail businesses.

Our People

• In episode 24, Dr Oran Doherty from Retail Ireland Skillnet explained “To get talent and to keep talent you need to offer people training and education opportunities”.
• In episode 40, Aine Greallis from Circle K explored a recent Circle K survey that looked at the harassment that frontline retailers experience- from customers.
• In episode 43, Elma Carew described the new workforce, the next generation and the idea of replacing exit interviews with ‘stay interviews’.

If you have enjoyed the podcast, please like and share it. Remember you can also listen back to previous Retail Tea Break episodes on your favourite podcast platform or on YouTube. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow The Retail Advisor across social channels.

See you in September!

On the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break I’m joined by a retailer who is on a mission to bring joy to customers and the community. Anne Barber is founder of Butterslip in Kilkenny. She has won numerous awards and accolades, as well as loyal customers over the last 20 years. The store is remarkable for its colourful displays, inside and out and for the joy with which it embraces its customers - a theme that runs through both its physical and online presence. 

Anne is passionate about independent retail and its place in the community and in creating vibrant town centres. The message is simple; bringing joy to your customers is the best and possibly only way for small retailers to thrive. This is a gorgeous episode to listen to ahead of Black Friday- support local and if you can, help Anne turn it into an Amber Friday! Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…

Topics:

• Positivity in retail
• Creating an easy and uplifting customer journey. 
• Nurturing the lifetime value of the customers
• Engaging shoppers senses
• Thriving as an independent retail owner
• Happy Staff = Happy Customers
• It’s not Black Friday, it’s Amber Friday
• What’s next and celebrating 20 years in business next year

 For more information visit: https://butterslip.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In the 50th episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a passionate retailer. Rachel Davoren is Managing Director of Portwest Ireland. As well as working in-store, Rachel’s experience of buying, operations and strategic decision making, has helped her deal with the demands of the industry.

In this episode we hear about Portwest’s 4 retail stores in Ireland, which sell outdoor clothing and equipment and how the brand also supplies workwear & PPE to retailers nationwide. Rachel describes why they recently remodelled their flagship store in the West of Ireland and the impact it is having. She also explains how the retail division plays a small part in a bigger, global brand that sells into over 200 countries worldwide.

Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in to episode 50, ahead of the last episode of the season next week!

Topics:

• From Assistant Manager to Managing Director.
• Advice for having a long sustainable retail career.
• Strategically placed physical stores.
• Delivering exciting customer experiences in redesigned stores.
• Meeting the needs of the customers.
• Portwest- the family owed global brand.

For more information:

https://www.theoutdoorshop.ie/

https://www.portwest.com/

Ahead of next week’s 50th episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast, this one is a little different.

This week we welcome back a wonderful guest whose vast knowledge of, and experience within, global retail is mind blowing. Chris Igwe runs his own international retail advisory firm, providing services to luxury and premium brands. The keynote speaker, coach and mentor with an entrepreneurial mindset, inspires with his advice. He’s back on The Retail Tea Break podcast to tell us about his new book.

Breaking Down Barriers; my journey from small African village to the world stage takes a look behind the scenes of Chris’s personal philosophies. He explores some of the key themes from the book in the latest episode and shares some incredible stories and ideas that challenge us all to think a little deeper. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Writing Breaking Down Barriers
• Action items, recommend resources and critical thinking questions…
• Dreaming big is not enough. Invest in yourself.
• Recognition and reflection.
• The standout retail memory.
• Retailing in 2023.

For more information:

www.igweinternational.com

To purchase Breaking Down Barriers:

https://www.amazon.com/author/chrisigweinternational

Listen back to Chris’s previous episode of The Retail Tea Break Podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/02REn06Id90EDHkt07ecra?si=93d299b7a2ec4043

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to an ephemeral retailing specialist. Ghalia Boustani is a senior retail consultant in Paris. Her career started over two decades ago in the fashion industry and she continues to work closely with fashion brands at retail and management levels.

This published author and marketing and retail lecturer, has international teaching experience, having attended universities and business schools in Beirut, Istanbul, London, and Paris. Her research and publications cover retail, fashion management and ephemeral retail. This episode does a deep dive into pop up stores, one of Ghalia’s specialities. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Ephemeral retail and pop-up stores.
• Retail atmospherics and building reason to visit.
• Being part of a community.
• The disadvantages of pop-up stores.
• Can they play a part in retails every changing future?
• Key takeaways…

For more information on Ghalia’s academic articles, publications and books visit:

https://linktr.ee/gboustani

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by VisionR, driving retail revenues through shopper insights. In this episode I speak to Oran Mulvey, founder and director of VisionR. The ground-breaking retail analytics solution was created right here in Ireland. It aims to empower brick-and-mortar retailers with shopper insights, typically available to e-commerce companies through IoT & computer vision.

This episode explores what VisionR can do for retail businesses. Oran explains that the team are focused on bridging the gap between online and traditional retail, shaping the future of shopper data-driven success. Their revolutionary shopper insights enable retailers to optimise their marketing, operations, and stores in order to boost revenues. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• VisionR creating actionable insights.
• Identifying potential revenue that is walking out the door.
• Insights that can be used by everyone in the business.
• Plug and play solution.
• Beacon technology is a thing of the past.
• Privacy; the customers and the retailers.

For more information visit:

Website: https://visionr.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35643878

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a retailer with a difference. Caitriona Cullen is the owner of family run business, Cullen Nurseries. With a passionate customer centric approach, Caitriona and her husband Robert love to speak with their customers and are on hand to help, guide and educate them in all steps of the customers’ journey.

This episode explores the reality of running an award winning SME! This rapidly growing brand supplies customers nationwide, helping them work on their hedges and plants, bringing nature to your home. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Running a family business
• Educating the customers through real service
• Simple, but effective selling
• Keeping track of the customers
• The importance of resilience in business

For more information visit:

https://cullennurseries.ie/

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to an experienced retailer marketing strategist. Sharon Yourell Lawlor is Managing Director Think Plan Do Consulting. With over 25 years’ experience working within the Consumer Product Goods industry, her aim is to assists clients to better understand trends shaping the retail and hospitality landscape and to develop strategies by guiding consumers and shoppers on their purchase journeys.

This episode explores the SIRA guide, that Sharon helped research and write as co-author. She describes how best to use the guide and the impact that it can have on retail businesses. Sharon also tells us about an event coming up for anyone looking to better understand sustainable retailing through the eyes of the ‘conscious shopper’… Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• The Sustainable Irish Retail Action (SIRA) guide
• Understanding sustainability and the circular economy
• A sustainability strategy
• Using retail to educate customers whilst supporting the conscious consumer
• Going on a ‘Sustainable Shopper Safari’

For more information visit:

https://www.retailexcellence.ie/sira/

Eventbrite - Sustainable Shopper Safari

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. In this episode I speak to Scott Kennedy, Regional VP for Salesforce Commerce Cloud across the UK and Ireland. This former retailer thrives in a high-growth, fast-paced environment and is focused on creating strong strategic relationships with customers.

Scott describes the impact that the unprecedented digital growth and the physical store renaissance is having across the globe. We discuss what a true customer centric, omni-channel experiences should look and feel like. Scott also gives us an insight into what Salesforce Commerce Cloud can do for retail businesses. He explains how brands could be utilising their customer data to personalise communication and experiences, ensuring customer loyalty.

This is a fantastic episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Current retail trends across physical and digital
• True omni-channel experiences
• Gen Z buyer behaviour
• Focusing on retaining loyal customers
• Salesforce helping retailers having deeper customer conversations
• What’s coming up next for Salesforce?

For more information visit:

https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to an experienced retailer. Mark Sweeney is Chairperson of Charity Retail Ireland. His passion for community development and social justice that led him to move across to the charity retail sector. 

This episode explores the lessons that commercial retailers can learn from the charity retail sector. Mark explains how charity shops have been at the forefront of the circular economy for years. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Charity retailers supporting each other
• Dispelling myths; rent costs, efficiencies and recycling
• Vintage clothing and the circular economy 
• Conscious consumers 
• Challenges facing the sector
• Charity Retail Ireland week 2023

For more information visit:

https://www.charityretail.ie/

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a HR expert, who takes a person-centred approach. Elma Carew is an ICF certified Career, Life, and Business Coach, she is a certified emotional intelligence practitioner and also a Chartered MCIPD accredited Senior HR professional with over 17 years’ experience in a range of sectors. She brings awareness by empowering clients to look at things differently, so that they can create a clear path and move forward with confidence.

This episode explores Elma’s insights on the honest, transparent attitude that is needed within the retail industry to entice new employees and to empower and retain those already working. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• The current state of recruitment and retention.
• The ‘great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’.
• The new workforce, the next generation…
• Changing the way we recruit, interview and hire.
• Replacing exit interviews with ‘stay interviews’.

For more information visit:

https://www.elmacarew.com/

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Salesforce, the world’s #1 CRM. In this episode I speak to Deirdre Purcell, Head of Ireland Sales at Salesforce. The tech industry veteran has been with Salesforce for over 15 years and is currently leading the Salesforce Ireland sales organisation covering Enterprise, Commercial and Small and Medium sized business for all Salesforce Clouds.

This episode gives us an insight into what Salesforce can do for retail businesses in a “digital first way”. Deirdre explains how the company supports the full scope of the customer journey, helping brands get closer to their customers. She also describes how the company continues to invest in Ireland as “a world leading technology hub”.

This is a fantastic episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• A global brand firmly rooted in Ireland.
• Retail strategy driven by loyalty, customer centricity and hyper-personalisation.
• Building a single source of truth; how it all works.
• Helping brands get closer to their customers.
• Growing your retail business supported by Salesforce.
• What’s coming up next for Salesforce?

For more information visit:

https://www.salesforce.com/eu/campaign/salesforce-ireland/

In the latest episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I’m joined by two guests with a whole plethora of sales and ecommerce experience. Eamonn Grant is Senior VP of Corporate Development at ESW and Jonathan Sheard is VP Sales at ESW UK. Their teams empower the world’s best-loved retailers and brands to make global shopping better, safer, simpler, and faster, end-to-end.

Eamonn has 24 years’ experience working across multiple industries, in roles that cover DTC, ecommerce and B2B for well known brands including Samsung and Supervalu. Jonathan Sheard has extensive retail sales leadership, securing career wins with internationally renowned brands including ASOS, Ralph Lauren, SHEIN and Boohoo Group. This is an episode that will help you grow your business internationally; so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in….

Topics:

• What do ESW do?
• Current challenges facing retailers 
• Omni channel demand variation by market
• Bringing value to the customers’ experience
• Delivering holiday magic to ensure customers have a happy worry-free holiday season
• ESW future plans

For more information: https://esw.com/

Transcription and show notes available at: https://theretailadvisor.ie/

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a highly experienced retailer. Áine Griallais is the HR & HSE Director for Circle K, Ireland. Previous roles in Retail Operations and as an Area Manager, led Áine into the world of HR. She secured a Masters in HRM and worked in various HR roles before taking up the position of People Director in 2020 which gave her the responsibility for 2400 colleagues.

This episode explores a recent Circle K survey of their workforce and the wider retail community. It looked at the harassment that frontline retailers experience- from customers. Have we got used to everyday verbal aggression? Is this part of the reason that so many are leaving the industry? Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

- The recent survey carried out by Circle K and the results.

- The impact that the harassment, aggression and anti-social behaviour is having on the workforce

- Finding a solution?

- Circle K’s first Kindness Day.

- The incredible impact of having a more diverse and inclusive workforce

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to a retailer who is passionate about her team, her customers and their experiences instore and online. Sandra Devenney is the General Manager of McElhinneys in Donegal. With the tag line ‘Being independent never goes out of style’, this is a brand who are proud of their identity. No longer just a destination store for customers, McElhinneys has become a destination for retail workers who want to relocate.

This episode explores Sandra’s belief in her team, her expectation that they work hard and her inspiration, company founder John McElhinney. With her vast industry experience and her huge plans for the future, she is an incredible leader and retailer. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

Topics:

• Taking over as GM of McElhinneys during Lockdown.
• Investing in the team, staff development and succession.
• The secret to McElhinneys retention rate being so good.
• Sandra’s 5@5!
• Charity and community work with the ‘See Me’ campaign.

Each week on season 3 of The Retail Tea Break, I’ve be joined by industry experts, retailers and product creators to decode the myths, share knowledge and give you a better insight into the retail industry. In this final episode of 2022, I give you a quick recap of key moments and look forward to season 4 & 5 in 2023.

So grab your cup of tea, sit back, relax and listen in….

In this episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast, I speak to an award-winning, highly experienced retail expert. Helena Dingley is the Retail Marketing Manager (EMEA) at Fitbit. She is an e-commerce and digital marketing strategist who truly understands the retail sector. Helena not only explains the value of creating the right content for your customer but also how best to use it. She describes how you should view your online space just like a physical store, with fantastic tips and strategies to embed into your daily routine. This episode is packed full of insights and practical advice. Grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in!

This week’s episode of The Retail Tea Break podcast is sponsored by Champion Green, to celebrate ‘turning Black Friday green’. I’m joined by Jenny Johnston, Head of Marketing for Kilkenny Design, one of the founding members of Champion Green and Sheelin Conlon, founder of The Kind.

 Times are tough for both retailers and consumers right now, with rising costs and uncertain times ahead. However as this episode explains, you don’t have to spend more to #shoplocal you can write a review or share a social media post. Champion Green is about supporting everyone in your local community, from the local café to the local service provider. This is a really important episode, so grab your cup of tea, sit back and listen in…