Our guest this week is Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global CEO, VMLY&R who joins us to talk about the ever changing landscape of retail and consumer branding, customer engagement, and loyalty. In particular with dip into what defines high performance retail and the emerging world of "creative commerce."  We also get a sneak preview of her upcoming session at the World Retail Congress in Paris. 

Then, as usual, we unpack the week in retail news including the correct way to pronounce Temu, news on the persistency of inflation and what lessons can be gleaned from the past month in retail sales. Then its another return to the Wobbly Unicorn Corner, before wrapping up with quarterly earnings from Shopify and Under Armour.

To access VLM's rich trove of insights click here. 

World Retail Congress:  Non-retailer passes and discount offer codes:

Non-Retailer pass: REM-SPONR

Retailer discount code: REM20

Dive into the future of retail with the World Retail Congress's End of Year Report! Explore the latest trends, innovations, and insights shaping the competitive retail landscape, presented in collaboration with the Congress’s Knowledge Partners. The Congress’s report is a must-read for retailers to become world class in today’s retail climate. 

The End of Year Report reinforces the focus of next year’s World Retail Congress on High Performance Retail and our key pillars of winning the customer, winning with innovation, winning with purpose, the winning business models and building winning teams. 

Furthermore, the report brings together 14 of the world’s top retailers’ reflections from stores such as Action, Ikea, Zalando, Kmart Group, Woolworths and Wumart to present insights from around the world. 

About Beth Ann

Beth Ann is the Joint Chief Executive Officer of VML Commerce - WPP’s end-to-end Creative Commerce agency, created from the combined talent, expertise and scale of powerhouse global agencies VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson.

Beth Ann is recognized as a leader with a proven record of reimagining retail, as well as creating and designing commercial programs that drive growth at the intersection of physical, digital and social. She continues to drive innovation in this space with a belief that commerce holds the most untapped creative potential to grow brands and people.

In her two plus decades in the industry, Beth Ann has touched every aspect of marketing communications across consumer-packaged goods, retail, finance, restaurant and technology companies and brings both client and agency side perspectives to her work. She is a strong advocate of insights-inspired marketing programs and the power of creativity to drive positive societal impact.

A worldwide traveler born in Baltimore (though she considers herself more of a Bostonian at heart- especially when it comes to sports loyalties!), Beth Ann graduated with a BA from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and an MBA from Boston University in Organizational Behavior. Beth Ann was a founding member of a successful startup purchased by Omnicom, led TracyLocke as the first female CEO in its one-hundred-year history, as well served as the first Global Chief Marketing Officer of Westfield Corp and CEO for Kantar Consulting Americas. She most recently served as Global CEO of Geometry.

Beth Ann is a voice on IE&D issues and has been recognized as an AdAge Woman to Watch, is a member of WPP’s X-Factor, and serves on the national boards of the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications as well as the non-profit charity Back on My Feet.

While she sees work as personally fun and a bit of an endurance sport, she also is an avid runner, loves cities and making them better, and spending time with her husband, family, and close friends.

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in April 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..

Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.

Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice, a keynote speaker around the world and consumer growth consultant.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,   The Voice of Retail, plus  Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor , Canada's top food industry podcasts and one of the top management podcasts in the nation according to Apple, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael  on  LinkedIn. 

Be sure and check out Michael's Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the all new Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , now available for purchase in the U.S. and available for pre-order at book retailers elsewhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..

Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.

Michael LeBlanc  is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Secure conference with leaders from The Gap and Kroger talking about violence in retail stores, keynotes on the state & future of retail in Orlando and Halifax, and at the 2023 Canadian GroceryConnex conference, hosting the CEOs of Walmart Canada, Longo's and Save-On-Foods Canada.   Michael brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael also produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in North America, Remarkable Retail,

Canada's top retail industry podcast; the Voice of Retail; Canada's top food industry and the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail influencers for the fourth year in a row, Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer, and you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state of the retail industry in Canada and the U.S., and the future of retail.