SPECIAL POST - 2020 SEPTEMBER
The Month of Tuesdays in August: 4, 11, 18, 25 | 12:30 – 1:30 PM, EDT
Robin Lewis, CEO of The Robin Report and Richard Jaffe, in collaboration with the Deming Center at Columbia Business School, presented the annual Summer Retail Forum online for a month of Tuesdays in August. This destination online event deconstructs the new normal for the retail industry. What are the significant changes that will shape the future of retail? What will happen to the future of startups? What did we learn and where are we headed?
8/4/2020 The Three Pillars of Conscious Capitalism: Profits, People and the Plant
What is the required formula for retailers to operate a sustainable business that resonates post-Covid? What are customers’ expectations and how do retailers meet these demands authentically? Richard Jaffe, Advisor, Educator, Investor in All Things Retail moderates a conversation with Matt Scanlan, CEO of Naadam, Melissa Gonzalez, Founder and CEO Lionesque, and Nick Brown, co-Founder of Imaginary.
8/11/2020 Positivity & Pivots
Matt Laukaitis, Global GM, Consumer Industries, SAP, is in conversation with Bonin Bough, CEO/Founder, OpenMessage, to explore positive insights and stories highlighting the creativity and innovation that has emerged from the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic.
8/11/20: The Retail World Post-Covid
Recap of key points – Terri Fisher
Consumers will look for VALUE post-Covid. Consumer confidence is KEY as well as company confidence. How will you make the world a better place? Companies and individual leaders.
Shopping online will be the norm. Everything will be “digitized”. Cashless payments are already becoming the norm.
People will start saving money “for a rainy day” since Covid was an unexpected “rainy day”.
How do we communicate to customers in a post-Covid world? There are hardly any sports on TV to advertise during. Mobile phones might be the best way to communicate with our customers.
The PACE OF CHANGE will continue to accelerate. How much of current demand for products “REAL”? How do we forecast for the future with past history which is invalid at best.
Sustainability will be a CRITICAL issue, equal to or greater than supply chain issues.
Authenticity is critical! Customers will demand authenticity from brands they buy from. What is this brand doing to help the world? So much can actually be done. Think the issue of SMOG going away in cities like Shanghai due to no cars on the road. In 30 days the issue was greatly reduced!
2020 will be THE YEAR of GROCERY. Covid greatly accelerated online grocery shopping.
What do companies want to be in the future? DO IT NOW! ALL OF IT! Do not wait!
Speed of decision making has been unparalleled and pivoting out of necessity!
New: “INSTAGRAMIFICATION” of America. WeChat in China. In the U.S. your phone number is your new identifier. Email response rates continue to drop so phones/texts are the new way to communicate with customers.
QR codes are finally having their day. Increased usage! Just open your camera! Even restaurants are using QR codes for you to pull up their menus in a safer, touchless way.
Will customers pay more for sustainability?? YES! Already starting to. Organic etc. Customers want to do good to bring about CHANGE!
Near-shoring in apparel will accelerate (such as cotton). Near-shoring is trying to source in our own country. Food will continue its drive to be picked LOCALLY. Think community and helping out your community.
8/18/2020 What Makes Great Leadership
Robin Lewis presents an overview of the macro trends resetting the retail industry. He is followed by Mark Cohen, Director of Retail Studies, Columbia Business School and Mike Gould, former CEO, Bloomingdale’s who weigh in on how talented visionaries lead through a pandemic…the good, bad and ugly examples of leadership through a crisis and beyond. Books recommended by Mr. Gould: Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin | Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell | Mandela’s Way: Lessons for an Uncertain Age by Richard Stengel and Nelson Mandela.
8/18/20: GREAT LEADERSHIP
Recap of key points – Terri Fisher
2 great speakers, Michael Gould ex- CEO of Bloomingdales and Mark Cohen from Columbia Business School. Great leaders with great points of view.
TRUST in today’s leadership world is #1,#2,k and #3 in importance! After Trust comes Integrity, Empathy, and the Power of Reasoning. Resilience is critically important. Transformational leaders will succeed. Leaders who inspire optimism and develop a clear and shared purpose. They must create a plan and be flexible but STAY THE COURSE overall. Flex as needed. There will be less risk-taqking after Covid. People want HOPE!
Teams wand acknowledgement and recognition. Teams need to celebrate wins. Now more than ever.
The best team is not made up of just the best players. A team works together, complements each other and cares about each other.
The year 2022 will be the year of Recovery in Retail! Yes, 2022! Use that target date and work backwards on EVERYTHING: assortments, balance sheets, etc… Shift stores to e-commerce ASAP. What will customers prefer after the pandemic? Are you logistically and operationally prepared? Will the team members we count on today still be there in 2022? So take the view of likely future in 2022 or 2023 and walk backwards to August 2020 and DEAL WITH IT!
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, Michael Gould. Your company’s culture is critical to your survival. “Zoom Culture” – how to create?
A book Mr. Gould suggested all business leaders should read: “Leadership in Turbulent Times” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
8/25/2020 The Experiential Model
Chris Timmins, Director of Marketing at Intel, presents new experiential business models enabled by technology. He moderates a panel of game-changers who are defining Retail Reset including Mark Stutzman, CTO of Area 15 and Bridget Johns, CMO of RetailNext.