The Retail Podcast

Simone Oloman joins Alex Rezvan to unpack how authenticity, community, and creativity are rewriting retail influence — from Prada’s cinematic London takeover to Morrisons’ 1-hour grocery promise.

1️⃣ The new face of influence — Why real voices, not million-follower celebrities, are shaping consumer trust.

2️⃣ Campus culture meets commerce — Hollister, the University of Texas, and how student-athletes are becoming micro-media brands.

3...

Alex (The Retail Podcast) and Ryf Quail (Director, NRF APAC) break down this week’s APAC headlines: Galeries Lafayette launches in Mumbai (with Delhi next), a surge of Chinese F&B brands expands into Singapore, and Porsche reports a Q3 delivery dip led by China and North America amid intensifying EV competition. They also explore lululemon Singapore’s retail-meets-wellness studio concept and why experiential formats are resetti...

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💬 Which of these trends do you think will shape the future of retail the most — and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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🌐 Visit Retail News.AI, your premium destination for the most relevant, cutting-edge information in the retail sector: https://retailnews.ai/💬 Which of these trends do you think will shape the future of retail the most — and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!✅ Subscribe now and never miss a new episode of The Retail Podcast.   / @theretailpodcast  --------🎧 Listen to The Retail Podcast on your favorite platform:Spot...

AI, upskilling, and the future of intelligent supply chains — live from NRF Europe.
At NRF Europe, Jill Dvorak sits down with Best Buy’s Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Mark Irvin, and Alex Rezvan from The Retail Podcast to explore how artificial intelligence, personalization, and collaborative learning are redefining the global supply chain.

Mark reveals how Best Buy is upskilling teams for the AI era, partn...

Retail is moving faster than ever—AI, private labels, and the holiday promo wave are reshaping how we shop. In this episode, Alex and Joe go live across YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitch to unpack the week’s biggest stories:

⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: First live broadcast
00:40 – Shopify unlocks ChatGPT checkout for 1M merchants
01:23 – Etsy stock jumps, what it means for marketplaces
02:27 – Prime Big Deals + Target &...

Five Things Friday UK Edition with Simone Oloman & Alex.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro cold open

00:17 Roll credits & setup

00:54 Boots fragrance-only boutique (Broadgate)

01:52 Boots’ beauty play & premium push

03:13 Hand-off

03:26 Designers at Debenhams returns (Kim Cattrall, Ashish)

05:09 High street needs a little “zhuzh”

06:00 Festive trading season set-up (Prime Day → Christmas)

06:46 Søstrene Grene: UK standout performance

08:00...

This week on Five Things Friday, Alex and Simon unpack the retail stories shaping headlines and boardrooms:

Shein sparks backlash with a London pop-up designed for independents

Amazon Fresh shutters physical grocery stores—pivoting tech into airports and e-commerce

UK retail sales decline for the twelfth month straight, according to the CBI

Starbucks retrenches: closing UK stores while doubling down on experience-led formats

Primark tri...

Welcome to Five Things Friday APAC Edition (yes, on a Monday this time!). In this episode, we unpack the big signals shaping retail and consumer markets across the region and beyond.

Here’s what we cover:

1. Shanghai Fashion Week SS26 – momentum, buying power, and why global buyers are watching China again.

2. India’s luxury beauty boom – $800M today, $4B by 2035, and why retailers are planting seeds now.

3. Recession Glam – consumers tradi...

In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex Rezvan sits down with Connie Kwok, Vice President of Quick Commerce at Glovo, to unpack the future of on-demand retail.

From groceries and electronics to medicine and AirPods, Glovo has become one of Europe’s most dynamic marketplaces—operating in 23 countries and redefining convenience beyond speed.

Connie shares her perspective on:

• What “quick commerce” really means for today’s custom...

London Fashion Week’s smartest activations, Tala’s next store move, circularity brought to life, Apple’s youth brief, and why brands are making TV.

Episode Summary
It’s Five Things Friday, UK Edition. Alex and co-host Simone Oloman break down five stories shaping retail and culture this week:

1. British Vogue’s concept café during London Fashion Week and why mindfulness-led micro-experiences restore relevance;

2. Tala doubling down o...

London Fashion Week’s smartest activations, Tala’s next store move, circularity brought to life, Apple’s youth brief, and why brands are making TV.

Episode Summary
It’s Five Things Friday — UK Edition. Alex and co-host Simone Oloman break down five stories shaping retail and culture this week:

1. British Vogue’s concept café during London Fashion Week and why mindfulness-led micro-experiences restore relevance;

2. Tala doubling down ...

In this special episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex Rezvan sits down with Jill Dvorak (SVP Content, NRF) and Ryf Quail (Managing Director, NRF APAC) for a behind-the-scenes look at NRF Europe’s inaugural show in Paris.

From global connectivity to the future of retail leadership, the conversation spans:

• Why Europe needed its own NRF “Big Show”

• The pace of retail innovation and technology adoption

• Retail as a people and emotional bus...

Five Things Friday (UK) with the incredible Simone Oloman —

• Adaptive fashion at Asda

• JLP’s H1 turnaround plan

• AI trolleys at Morrisons

• Barbour × FARM Rio

• Oxford Street car‑free day

This week we break down five UK retail stories shaping the Golden Quarter: George at Asda’s 28‑piece adaptive clothing line (inspired by the late Nicky Newman), John Lewis Partnership’s H1 results and investment push, Instacart’s Caper smart...

Kering pushes Valentino buyout to 2028, Armani’s will lays out a staged sale/IPO, Petit Bateau heads to Regent, and Valiuz × Infinity create a European retail media leader—plus Qijco adds repairs to the “Vinted of DIY.”

Kering defers the full Valentino acquisition to 2028 as debt pressure bites; Giorgio Armani’s will instructs heirs to sell a first stake and later a controlling tranche or pursue an IPO; Groupe Rocher selects Regent ...

APAC is running a different retail race: mobile-first commerce, one-hour delivery wars, tourism tailwinds in Korea, China fast-fashion push overseas, and a working model of AI-native grocery in Singapore. In this Five Things Friday APAC with Ryf Quail (NRF APAC) we break down what’s signal, what’s noise, and what operators should do next.

What you’ll learn
• Why APAC’s ecommerce growth remains mobile-led—and why Western playbooks...

What to expect at NRF 2025: Big Show Europe—keynotes, payments, tours, and how to work the floor.
NRF’s first Retail’s Big Show Europe (16–18 Sept, Paris) is almost here. Jill Dvorak, NRF’s SVP of Content, walks us through the theme “Retail Together,” the Sephora opening keynote, why payments (Apple + Adyen) are a growth lever, and how to get the most from the Retail Store Tours. We also touch on Best Buy’s momentum and the Auth...

Fast EU retail intel: marketplace moves, refurbished economics, urban formats, cross-border shocks, and beauty platform plays.

Fnac Darty’s TikTok Shop test, Amazon’s Second Chance Deal Days across Europe, Decathlon’s new “City” format inside Boulanger in Paris, the impact of new US rules on postal parcels from the EU, and Zalando’s expansion into beauty with virtual try-on and creator boards.

Topics
• Fnac Darty joins TikTok Shop...

M&S launches a dedicated resale shop on eBay (with Reskinned), the ONS delays July retail sales to 5 Sept, TikTok Shop’s GMV Max becomes the only supported campaign type, Sainsbury’s begins a facial‑recognition trial, Lush closes UK stores for a day in solidarity with Gaza, and Charlotte Tilbury drives experiential shade‑matching at John Lewis and Café Airbrush in Covent Garden. Simone Oloman joins to decode what matters for op...