The Retail Influencer

AI is a hot topic in retail at the moment. But to make sure the hype is here to stay; the market needs to see concrete and efficient applications. To help us see a bit more clearly on the topic, David Grunewald, AI strategist came for a chat.

The technique of Buy now pay later is probably familiar to you. But how is it perceived by consumers and how useful is it for retailers? These are valid questions and a recent study by Lightspeed sheds some light on the perception of this concept. Ewout van Rossum, Regional Manager Retail Benelux at Lightspeed came to explain the results of the study.

Wine production in Belgium has evolved considerably in recent years, both in terms of quality and volume. Belgian winemakers are exporting all over the world, and retailers are taking an increasing interest in the phenomenon.

Delhaize is even a forerunner in this field: in addition to reserving a place for Belgian winemakers on its shelves, the retailer has even collaborated with one of them to create its own brand of Belgian wine, Leo Vinum. To talk about this project, my guests are Christophe Bollyn, buyer at Delhaize, and Jeroen Houben from Domein Hoenshof.

The Anuga is coming up. So, Jan Philipp Hartmann, the Director of the event is my guest in this episode. Together we chat about the upcoming event which brings together food professionals from all over the world to Cologne.

Let's talk about the word that's on everyone's lips at the moment in Belgian food retail: franchising.

Though, let me reassure you. This episode isn't about shooting red-hot bullets at the concept. Nor am I going to start giving you a ladleful of stores with and without picket lines.

No, it's more like a bunch of questions that have been running through my head since early March.

As a young entrepreneur or startup, the dream is to approach retail buyers directly. But the process can be sometimes confusing, time consuming, and even frustrating when trying to find your right category manager. 

So good news to all young manufacturers out there as Delhaize and RangeMe announced their new partnership. 

From now on, a matchmaking digital system exists. So as a young entrepreneur you can simply use the new platform and be put directly in contact with the right department and responsible. 

On the other hand , the life of category managers is also made easier as the new tool will help them search, filter and even set up campaigns to find new partners and suppliers. 

To explain the new system and give us all the practical advantages for (local) startups and businesses I welcome John van der Valk, CEO of RangeMe and Antoine Walravens, Director Assortment strategy Space Management and Local Products at Delhaize Ahold.

To determine and optimise your pricing policy is quite crucial. Some of you might have heard or consider to use the Yield Management approach. But is it suitable for you ? What are the advantages? 

The best is to ask an expert and I have the pleasure to welcome Valentine Dreyfuss from Mercio. She helps us get a better understanding on the subject.

Our topic in this episode are payment trends. CCV recently published its yearly Pulse report listing a few of the major trends in payment methods. Sam Arckens, the CCO of CCV came to guide us through the report. 

Many reconsider their meat consumption and nobody denies that plant based alternatives are a necessity on the shelves. But did consumers really abandon meat? and should alternatives be allowed to use whichever name they want just for marketing purposes? To discuss these points, my guest for this episode is Michael Gore, Managing Director of FEBEV (the Belgian Meat Federation). 

Robots are a trend in retail at the moment. But there are many different aspects of the value chains that see robots involved. In this episode we look at warehouse robots in particular, and to discuss this topic, my guest is Wim Vermeir Expert Warehouse robotics at Exotec