RetailCraft 42 - ”Details Matter” - retail and the arts - Ros Lawler and Zia Zareem-Slade

RetailCraft 49 - "Predicting the unpredictable" - in conversation with Radharaman Jha, VP Supply Chain at Flaconi

Welcome to an illuminating discussion with Rad, VP of Supply Chain at Flaconi, Germany's leading online beauty marketplace. In this episode, we delve into the fascinating supply chain management domain within the beauty sector.

Since its inception in 2011, Flaconi has made gains in the German market, with over 25% share, and continues its successful journey across multiple European countries. Rad, with his extensive experience handling supply chains for luxury brands in Dubai, brings distinctive perspectives on the beauty industry.

Rad brings to life the transformative role of supply chain management in digital retail, emphasising viewing it as a value-adding function fostering business growth rather than a cost centre.

Rad offers an intriguing overview of the beauty industry’s dynamic nature. He illustrates how brands rise and fall in the blink of an eye due to fluctuating consumer preferences and intense competition. We discuss the benefits of leveraging customer data and predicting stock movements to optimize costs, allied to the notion of sustainability in business practices.

We learn not only about an agile supply chain to support flexible business, but also the dynamics of the online beauty market.

-- Run time: 28 minutes

INFORMATION:

[ 🖥️ ]

Flaconi - https://www.flaconi.de/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/flaconi-gmbh/

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Rad Jha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radharaman-jha/

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

RetailCraft 48 - ”Activating a City” - in conversation with Juliet Scott-Croxford, President North America for Brompton Bicycle

At the end of NRF 2024 in New York I was able to chat with Juliet Scott-Croxford of Brompton Bicycle. Juliet is President, North America, and leads the growth of this quintessentially British brand in the market.

Brompton is an urban-first, engineering-born, British-made success story, and so the transition to the US is an interesting one. Leading with a combination of product quality and clubhouse retail vibe, they have been at the vanguard of the city-centre, community cycling renaissance that brands like Rapha (just along the road from them in Soho) have embraced.

I caught up with Julia in the back-office stock area of their Soho store as she prepped for an evening event, hence a bit of "real life buzz" in the background of the recording 📼.

In our chat we cover their hire scheme, the Brompton Junction Stores concept, retail partnerships and expansion, Juliet's career path, the importance of a strong team, the "Activating Cities" strategy and the move to B-Corp status...

-- Run time: 32 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Brompton Bicycle: https://www.brompton.com/ and https://www.brompton.com/find-a-store/brompton-junction/new-york

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Juliet Scot-Croxley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliet-scott-croxford-72050313/

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

RetailCraft 47 - ”3am Brew” - in conversation with Georgie Janion-Shaw, Founder, SISTIR

SISTIR is a coffee-originated gifting brand, that grew from a sisterly conversation (SIS) about coffee (Stirred) around the ideal '3am blend' to power parents through that mid-night wake-up moment for a crying baby.

SISTIR's founder, Georgie Janion-Shaw, joins us in the studio and we hare about the brand's beginnings and how the combination of branding savvy, punning and the availability of a gifting channel in NotOnTheHighStreet allowed them to start. Over time - and through experimentation, optimisation, product development efforts - the product range and channels grew. Georgie share with us her journey and learning with a level of humour and wordplay!

We get a chance to reflect upon the mindset of the growth entrepreneur as well as hearing about the extension into sweets and pets.

See below for the AI-generated show-notes: summary, takeaways and timestamps - pretty impressive and created by Riverside.fm...

-- Run time: 33 minutes

INFORMATION:

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SISTIR: https://sistir.com/

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Georgie Janion-Shaw: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiejanionshaw/

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

Here's the AI summary...

<ai>

Summary Georgie, the founder of Novello, shares the story of her coffee brand Sistir and how it started with a concept for a business. She discusses the importance of branding and packaging in creating a unique proposition for consumers. Georgie also talks about launching on Not on the High Street and tailoring product listings for different platforms. She emphasizes the importance of supporting women growers in the coffee industry and how Novello is working towards female empowerment. Georgie shares her experience working at Disney and Hasbro and how it has influenced her approach to product development. She also discusses the mindset of a successful entrepreneur and the challenges of starting a business. Finally, Georgie talks about her plans for the future, including expanding into other product categories and exploring retail opportunities. Takeaways

• Branding and packaging are important in creating a unique proposition for consumers.
• Tailoring product listings to different platforms can enhance the consumer experience.
• Supporting women growers in the coffee industry is a priority for Novello.
• The mindset of a successful entrepreneur involves optimism and a willingness to try new things.

Chapters 00:00. Introduction and Background 01:19. The Story of Sistir 03:13. Starting a Coffee Business 04:34. Launching on Not on the High Street 07:25. Analyzing and Tailoring Product Listings 09:31. Supporting Women Growers in the Supply Chain 12:20. Lessons from Working at Disney and Hasbro 15:20. Becoming an Expert in Coffee 17:36. The Path of Purpose in Retail 18:32. Overcoming Challenges as an Entrepreneur 19:29. The Mindset of a Successful Entrepreneur 20:56. Expanding into Other Product Categories 24:09. Lessons Learned from Global Corporate Roles 25:53. Maintaining Consistency and Flexibility 28:42. Knowing When to Take the Next Step 30:37. Future Plans and Expansion </ai>

RetailCraft 46 - ”Really Different” - in conversation Kieron Smith, Digital Director of Blackwells, Waterstone and Wordery)

Our studio chat with Kieron (Digital Director at Blackwells, part of the Waterstones group of booksellers) had a number of firsts... Not only the first podcast of 2024 (Happy New Year to one and all!) but also the first time that Georgia and I had been given gifts. In our prep for the studio session Kieron had asked us what were the last three books we'd read. He used this to predict a book for each of us and wrapped them for us to give in the studio! Utterly thoughtful, but more importantly gets to the heart of Kieron's focus upon data AND intuition.

In our conversation we talk about the history of Blackwells (surely one of the most famous longstanding and academic booksellers, now a part of the Waterstones group) and some of the dynamics of the book trade online. We discuss learning and the ongoing quest for information and knowledge, and the vital role of staff in retail. This is the origin of the "really different" of our title - how to engage staff with knowledge, skills, passion and individuality rather than falling into the trap of homogeneity.

There is so much to learn here about individuality, passion and invention in retail - our thanks to Kieron for being so open with us.

-- Run time: 53 minutes

INFORMATION:

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Blackwells (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/home) is part of the Waterstones (https://www.waterstones.com/) group.

Kieron's offered books were:

- for Georgia:"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/A-Gentleman-in-Moscow-by-Amor-Towles/9780099558781)

- for Ian: "Tokyo Express" by Seicho Matsumoto (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Tokyo-Express-by-Seicho-Matsumoto-author-Jesse-Kirkwood-translator/9780241439081)

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Kieron Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieron/

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal

RetailCraft45 - ”Consumer moments” - in conversation with Ntola Obazee (Emma Bridgewater) and Raine Peak (New Look)

Ntola and Raine joined Georgia and me in the studio and reminded us just why a roundtable discussion is so much fun and enlightening!

Raine - the head of digital at New Look (www.newlook.com) - talks us through how to connects with the 'moments' in customers' lives, and of course the planning, data, heuristics and approaches needed to deliver that at scale. We hear about her experiences ranging from luxury and digital (Farfetch) to high street (Arcadia), fast-moving digital (Boohoo.com) to more 'considered' retailers.

Ntola - trading director at Emma Bridgewater - picks up on the themes of data, customer focus and engaging the consumer and discusses how the pottery-and-homeware brand is embracing digital.

Ntola is a podcast host too, and creator of the Trailblazers Experience podcast that you can get on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trailblazers-experience-podcast/id1674539126?app=podcast

-- Run time: 44 minutes

INFORMATION:

[ 🖥️ ]

NewLook is at www.newlook.com

Emma Bridgewater is www.emmabridgewater.co.uk

Ntola's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trailblazers-experience-podcast/id1674539126?app=podcast

[ 👨‍👧 ]

Raine Peak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raine-peake-19954a11/

Ntola Obazee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntolaobazee/

Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/

Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal

[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal