Beyond the Shelf: Retail Reimagined

Lessons learned from B2C Retail Executives at The Lead’s Summit.

I never tire of learning. After 12 industry conferences in 2024, I know a thing or two about trends impacting retail. TLDR = AI’s your friend, think non-linear, stay curious, open to change, willing to partner & focused on what matters most.

In an effort to make this article actionable, I included a link to view additional details on each iconic brand via my LinkedIn coverage.

Leveraging Tech & AI:

• Zenni Optical → David Ting is always thinking, building, and looking for a frictionless and predictive CX. The roadmap through the eyes of Zenni will have them transforming eyecare through a mix of software, hardware, and experiences you’ve yet to imagine, solving multiple pain points inclusive of the lack of optometrists. [LinkedIn Post] 👓

• ThredUp → With 100M+ unique items, GenAI is our world’s #Gutenberg moment. James Reinhart has operationalized AI across the business, embracing a skunkworks-like mentality with https://www.thredup.com/concept, whereby they are testing visual search and more. [LinkedIn Post] 👕

• Vince → Transformation is not about cost-cutting. Heather Wilberger sees GenAI as her co-pilot to free her team to focus on high-value tasks. [LinkedIn Post] ✈️

• Bain Capital Ventures → If you don’t have tailwinds, you don’t stand a chance. And will somebody build a merchandising co-pilot? Scott Friend wants to talk. [LinkedIn Post] 🧑🏽‍✈️

• Tapestry → Focus. Focus. Focus. Noam Parkansky is laser-focused on taking measured and calculated risks. Counting cards, never gambling. Velocity is a mandate; if you’re standing still, you’ll get passed. [LinkedIn Post] 🧘🏽

Customer-Centric:

• Target → Christina Bennington dropped major truth bombs as she spoke about scale through partnership, co-creation, and genuine collaboration where consumer needs are aligned. Partnership is NOT share-shifting; it’s 1+1=3+. [LinkedIn Post] 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻

• Macy’s → A relentless focus by Bennet Fox-Glassman on the customer experience has kept the brand thriving in a world where relationships are everything. Don’t fall victim to linear thinking; embrace the messiness of the customer journey. [LinkedIn Post] 🙏🏼

• Urban Outfitters → “Feeling” community is central to the brand’s growth. By leaning into TikTok and niches (e.g., #DormDecor), Cyntia Leo is excited about her brand’s ability to drive growth, bridging the journey that starts on digital with the physical. [LinkedIn Post] 🛌

• Chanel → Finding the cultural nuances in business is a necessity. Maloni Goss continues to scale through diversity within the organization, learning, testing, and applying what works best. [LinkedIn Post] 🔎

• Marc Jacobs → Product and marketing work hand-in-glove. Robert Rizzolo discussed bringing the motion, connecting with experience and lifestyle. Kristin Patrick emphasized the importance of involving the consumer to fuel product evolution, especially with Gen Z. [LinkedIn Post]👂🏼

• Coty → Andrea DiNunzio emphasized the importance of education, experience, and trial, which can best be delivered through IRL experiences. Hence their move into the La Maison Orveda one-of-a-kind showrooms. [LinkedIn Post] 🎓

Strategic Focus & Adaption:

• New Balance → It’s okay to focus and reset. Going from four consumer targets to one target was instrumental in how Melissa Worth (re)established New Balance within their target’s zeitgeist. Leaning into athletes as ambassadors and always supporting (not always selling). [LinkedIn Post] 👟

• David Yurman → Supply chain and technical infrastructure may not always get as much press, but the value it can deliver across the D2C can not be ignored. Leila Jalai talked about her approach to making tech flexible, being an accelerator, not a pinch point that impacts creativity. [LinkedIn Post] 📦

• Lands’ End → Quality over quantity has shifted how Angie Rieger has led the brand from being not just a catalog company. They stay curious and look at context and opportunities to test/learn in markets (i.e., Europe) that enable her to pressure test product evolution. [LinkedIn Post] 📒

• Coach → What gets measured, gets managed. Pooja Chandiramani has built a culture of growth through data by always learning, looking into ethnographic research, and being open to evolution based on consumer needs and wants. [LinkedIn Post] 👜

• Clorox → D2C table stakes mean having an always-on, near real-time philosophy around building business. For Vivian Chang, D2C is about democratizing data, adding structure, and using it to fuel measurable outcomes. [LinkedIn Post] 🫧

• Coresight → Mitigating risk, being structured, and following a process is central to deploying AI effectively. Deborah Weinswig has built a career of shaping businesses by staying curious, flexible, and open to change. With AI, understand the risk of hallucination, toxicity, representation bias, and data leaks. [LinkedIn Post] 🔬

Emphasizing Authenticity & Experience:

• SMAC Entertainment → Koral Gutterman went deep into the value of building off celebrity authenticity in a meaningful manner, where there’s [still] open space. [LinkedIn Post] 🎤

• Kenneth Cole Productions → Finding your passion outside work, connecting with like-minded professionals, and pulling through that purpose-driven process is what excites Jed Berger and keeps them dialed in on mental health. Using their voice and platform for change. [LinkedIn Post] 🧠

• Nuts.com → Love drives PJ Oleksak’s business. Add in an always-learning philosophy and focus on trends (i.e., the healthy snacking category on the rise). [LinkedIn Post] ❤️

Scaling through Partnership & Innovation:

• Diageo → Staying focused on businesses that complement yours and/or live in open space is core to how Sallie Jian looks at investment opportunities. Furthermore, leaning on the support of Distill Ventures to offer an end-to-end solution helps add velocity where money, time, and resource allocation is at a premium. [LinkedIn Post] 🍸

• COS / H&M → Iteration is imperative. Katie Reeves drives her team to be open to change and embrace entrepreneurial values as a way to think differently. Perfection is (often) an enemy of progress. It’s okay to fail, learn, but don’t fail on the same thing. [LinkedIn Post] 🧐

• Ramy Brook → Scale through strategic partnership will continue to help the (not so small anymore) brand scale. And making sure everything ties to their DNA: Happy, Sexy & Strong! Just ask Ramy Sharp. [LinkedIn Post] 💪🏼

• Vera Wang → Mark Katz talked about Vera being much more than wedding dresses. They have 14 licenses and continue to build immersive IRL experiences. Plus, I personally love their focus on people with superpowers via #PopcornForThePeople. [LinkedIn Post] 🧩

• XRC Ventures → If your innovation does not solve a TOP 3 issue within an industry, stop. Pano Anthos reminds us to focus on where trends and habits live. It’s extremely hard for startups to change macro-patterns within retail. [LinkedIn Post] 💡

These insights highlight the importance of connection, collaboration, and continuous learning in driving business success. If you’d like to discuss more of the specifics behind these insights, how to apply them to your business, I’d be happy to connect further, find me on LinkedIn.

I hope you found value in the work I’ve shared. If you have any thoughts on the links or would like to discuss further, LMK. If you’re interested in any session recordings, feel free to reach out. I’ve found that Fathom + AI is a powerful combination to ensure you don’t miss anything. 💡

For further insights and discussions on industry trends, connect with me on Medium or find me on LinkedIn. ✌🏼