Grocer Power Plays Send Ripples (w/ Sylvain Charlebois)

While the Pandemic Triage is well in the rearview of retail executives, we have been hearing of the need for sharing and discussion around more deep challenges facing the sector.   New in 2023, TBOR is tackling the next round of complexities.  Here is our first - Re-Innovating Retail.

As the retail industry transitions through a high-speed technological revolution filled with overwhelming mounds of data, Ai, robotics, and digital transformations. The power to lead, leverage, and innovate will belong only to a few. 

Many didn’t expect the disruptive innovation of the last decade to take place, then came the Pandemic no one anticipated its duration and impact, then we were hit by supply chain challenges, inflation, and higher interest rates, needless to say a consumer that is fatigued.

Retaining a brand’s position in the market is a challenge. The need to develop an ongoing aptitude to innovate is one response.  80% of retail executives cite Innovation as one of their top 3 imperatives in 2022, but only 10% where satisfied with their organization’s progress. 

A few brands are able to overcome that challenge and those that do have a formula. In today’s retail landscape, staying ahead of the curve is no longer just a choice or luck—it’s a necessity and takes planning and management. A deep focus on Innovation at the business core is an option many seek, but few find.   This is a recent discussion exploring the opportunities and challenges true innovation brings retailers - and why those adept at tuning their existing processes may need a paradigm shift.

Arguably the top buzzword of 2021 is “The Great Resignation”.  Catchy as it sounds, it's an incomplete story.  Many are leaving, but others are staying and new will come - for the right opportunities.  

A recent Fast Company piece suggests it is actually “The Great Reprioritization”.   It focused on the worker perspective, but reprioritizing and redesigning the way retail works should be a high priority for CEOs.  We turn to the changes in play around head office retail employment, professional careers, and how we organize talent in this exceptionally human industry. 
 

This time of year in particular brings urgent calls to "Shop Local".    Individually and collectively, the TBOR Crew has been a vocal supporter of independent retail and foodservice from the earliest days of the pandemic. 

Yet,  as we dove into Ep. 30, we soon realized these two words can mean different things to different people.  Is it about buying 'locally made' product?  Or are we to focus on buying product from a nearby owner-operator (that might be sourced overseas)?  And more...

We recap the reasons to support indie while noting the challenges discouraging a shift.  We confirm the substantive reasons chain retail will retain its own value.  .Join as we unpack the  "Shop Local" call while emphasizing what is needed to create something purposeful - rather than simple sloganeering.  

Some fire showed in this 24 min episode.  All agree that the retail front of house staffing model for stores is broken. There are quick patches for Holiday 2021, but the underlying issues are not going away.  The question is whether the industry can disrupt itself to find the answer.  The ongoing campaign against a higher minimum wage suggests it won't.  We speculate on a slow demise of stores, to the detriment of consumers and brands, if staff are not invested beyond 'minimum'.

Another shorter segment (22.35 min).

The Supply Chain issue has many facets.  This episode focuses on what can be done at the store level in face of stock unpredictability and shortfalls.  Independents might be hard hit with supply, yet have a real edge here to pivot and reset product experiences.  The challenges are exponential for chains.  The crew dissects the issues and offers tips to mitigate the impacts.

As we head into the last quarter of 2021, the crew looks to the retail CEO's path to 2022.  Each of us brought our top one or two priorities to the discussion.  What must be tackled now, while continuing to solidify foundations for 2023 and beyond.  

This was a fast moving discussion.  Listen as we scan the landscape to establish in real time our curated topics for deep dives in the next while.

Are #retailers' #supplychains ready for the next Black Swan moment(s)?   Listen here for our preview of Episode 26.

We know Amazon has been buying planes while chip shortages are creating shortages in car rental fleets. Gary notes that 2020/21 backlogs might take a year to catch up given current global capacities.  If corona-virus protocols wax and wane through 2023 or beyond, supply chain vulnerability will continue to be the biggest wild card for retailers and shoppers alike. 

This  is the subject of Episode 26, fortuitously timed with the announced shocker that Canadian Tire purchased a stake in an inland 'port'.   As with so many things, this is at heart a people issue despite the obvious need for systems and tech. Not only will leaders need to bring supply and logistics firmly into the C-suite, but generate creative out-of-the-box thinking and  break from the linear efficiencies, 'standard practice' playbook.  Will globally experienced pros 'over 50' be a hot commodity?  Will skus need to narrow?  Will risk mitigation dominate?
 

We have heard much about ado about how we have “gained 5 years in 5 weeks”, evolving rapidly through the pandemic. There are pundits claiming soon 50% of retail will flow online. At #thebusinessofretail we love an intriguing hypothesis to test. We take this one head on.

Gary had come across a push-piece calling for #ecommerce to comprise half of all retail transactions by 2025.

"No way!" we thought.  Yet, we dissected it to contemplate implications and conditions for this to occur.  Here is a sample from Ep 25, which will launch in full in one week..