Category: ESG

  • Not a One-Trick Pony: Nobody’s Child Founder on Becoming More Than a Dress Brand

    Andrew Xeni is the Founder/Chairman of Nobody’s Child and Soreto, and Founder/CEO of Fabacus. He joins Natalie for a video episode which can be watched on YouTube. 

    Andrew discusses the evolution of Nobody’s Child, an M&S-backed fashion brand known for its commitment to affordability and sustainability. He shares insights on the brand’s transition from pure-play e-commerce to physical retail and the importance of product diversification and brand elevation in order to achieve profitable growth. 

    We also get Andrew’s views on sustainability – how NC is embedding it into the organization and how other retailers should respond to growing demands for circularity. They discuss digital product passports – Andrew has been a real trailblazer here through his other venture, Fabacus, and soon every NC product will have a digital product passport. He shares how it’s enabling the business to enhance transparency and deepen customer engagement.

    This episode is sponsored by Aptos, a leading provider of Unified Commerce solutions for retail. For more, visit https://www.aptos.com/ 

    Andrew’s bio:

    Andrew Xeni is a visionary technology and retail entrepreneur; founder of award-winning businesses that are reshaping their industries.

    After building a successful family manufacturing business supplying the UK high street, Xeni went on to establish responsible fashion brand, Nobody’s Child, named 2023 & 2024 Drapers Retailer of the Year (<£100m), as well as building technology ventures; Fabacus, where he serves as CEO, and Soreto, where he acts as Chairman. Operating globally, his businesses are servicing some of the world’s largest organisations in licensing and retail, including Tesco, NBCUniversal and Samsung. Xeni also welcomed Marks & Spencer as a strategic investor and minority shareholder in Nobody’s Child.

    Passionate about shaping the future of sustainable retail, in 2023, Fabacus and Nobody’s Child collaborated to launch a Digital Product Passport solution driven by compliant product catalogues, in preparation for incoming legislation around the world, set to redefine and evolve the retail landscape.

    Xeni is backed by a number of leading financial institutions and prominent individuals and in addition to managing a diverse portfolio of businesses, he is an active angel investor and mentor.

     

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • World Retail Congress: What Did We Learn?

    Andrew Busby joins Natalie live from the World Retail Congress to reflect on key takeaways from the event. They discuss why AI is only as good as the data you feed it and why Gen Z shoppers are loyal to trends and not brands, picking up on insights shared by Estee Lauder and Albert Heijn.

    For the second half of the conversation, they turn to sustainability in fashion retail. Are we doing enough in the West? Is the ease of buying preloved online encouraging shoppers to actually buy more clothes? And whether it’s charging for returns, banning serial returners, or educating consumers, how can retailers stem the tide of returns?

    Andrew’s bio:

    A well-known retail industry expert, speaker, and writer, Andrew Busby has extensive experience and knowledge in the retail sector, particularly in areas such as retail technology, customer experience, and emerging trends. He is Senior Industry Adviser at BOXTEC, Board Adviser at The Industrious and founder of Redline Retail Consulting (formerly Retail Reflections), a retail consultancy firm that provides strategic advice and insights to the industry community. He is a retail writer at Fortune Magazine and also a regular contributor to various media outlets, including retail trade publications and national news media where he is known for his expertise in analysing and commenting on the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in the retail industry.

    Author of the best-selling retail book, ‘Harry Was Right All Along’, and ‘Breathless – Covid, Two Metres and Me’, Busby is recognised by the industry as a global thought leader and is a member of the exclusive global retail community ReTHINK Retail.

    In a retail career spanning over 25 years, he held senior positions at Kingfisher and Superdrug before joining a number of leading technology partners to bring innovative solutions to many retail businesses. In addition to publishing many retail blogs and articles, Andrew is a member of the IORMA Advisory Board, Advisory Board member at Retail Week, Founder of the Retail Advisory Board and is also editor at large for Retail Technology magazine.

    Check out Andrew’s articles at Fortune and Substack.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Real-Time Retail: Why Fashion Retailers Need to Embrace AI

    Paid partnership with Centric Software

    With extensive experience in merchandising, Beatriz Ciraudo has worked with global brands such as Lacoste, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chloé. Her career spans Brazil, France, and Italy, giving her a unique international perspective on merchandising and retail strategy.

    Now, as a Presales Consultant at Centric Software, Beatriz helps retailers and brands leverage cutting-edge AI-driven planning, pricing, and market intelligence solutions to optimize decision-making and drive profitability.

    She joins Natalie on the podcast to discuss what retailers must do to stay relevant in the face of disruption. They explore:

    • Data, data, data: the dangers of relying on intuition (or Excel!) when it comes to making important decisions.
    • Real-time retail: what retailers can learn from disruptors like Shein and the importance of agility and speed for fashion retailers today.
    • Excess stock, brand-damaging discounts, and waste: why Beatriz believes that the best use case for AI in fashion retail is markdown optimization.
    • Can fashion retail ever be truly sustainable? Get Beatriz’s view on why retailers need to rethink the entire sourcing process.

    This episode is brought to you by Centric Software. Centric Software provides an innovative and AI-enabled product concept-to-replenishment platform for retailers, brands and manufacturers of all sizes. As experts in fast-moving consumer goods like fashion, outdoor, luxury, home, multi-category retail, grocery, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care and consumer electronics, Centric Software delivers best-of-breed solutions to plan, design, develop, source, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Sneakers and Scaling with The Sole Supplier Founder

    It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Natalie shares her own neurodiversity journey and speaks to fellow ADHD-er and founder of The Sole Supplier, George Sullivan.

    George is a 34-year-old founder, born and bred in London.

    Ten years ago, whilst working in recruitment, he started a platform to help people find shoes. Since then, that online community has grown into an 8-figure global business and a key strategic partner to some of the world’s biggest brands like Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma, and more.

    George and his team have built a community of over three million dedicated streetwear enthusiasts, generated over 1.5 billion impressions and driven over £250 million in revenue for brands.

    Natalie speaks to George at the Retail Technology Show press briefing. For more about the event, visit https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com/  

    Watch George Sullivan’s tips on how to build a business with ADHD:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzETy0vCHxk 

    Check out The Sole Supplier: https://thesolesupplier.co.uk/  

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Ebay’s Global Fashion GM on Secondhand, Sustainability, and the Say-Do Gap

    Kirsty Keoghan is responsible for eBay’s global fashion business. She joins Natalie to discuss the evolution of the fashion category on the platform, emphasizing the importance of a frictionless experience for both buyers and sellers, and the trust built through authenticity guarantees. Kirsty shares how the competitive landscape is evolving and the impact of eBay’s decision to remove fees for private sellers.

    The discussion also touches on how consumer attitudes towards preloved are changing, what makes the marketplace model so attractive to legacy retailers, the integration of AI in enhancing the shopping experience, and the future trends that could drive further adoption of secondhand shopping.

    📺 This is a video episode and can watched on the Retail Disrupted YouTube channel here.

    This episode is sponsored by the Richmond Retail and E-commerce Directors’ Forum. For more info, including how to register for the event, visit: https://www.richmondevents.com/forums/details/ret25

    Kirsty’s bio:

    Kirsty Keoghan is eBay’s Global GM of Fashion, where she is responsible for the company’s global fashion business.  Since joining eBay in 2011, Kirsty has led a number of initiatives, including the launch of free fashion selling, the pivotal pre-loved fashion partnership with Love Island and the successful launch of Authenticity Guarantee in the UK.

    She has been leading the charge in repositioning eBay as a destination for buying and selling authentic high-end items. All of which has culminated in Kirsty being recognised in Retail Week’s Future Leaders 2023 list and The Tech List 2024. Kirsty is also an eBay seller herself, having joined the platform in 2007.

    Prior to joining eBay, Kirsty had a decade-long career working at some of the UK’s biggest fashion brands, including Arcadia Group, M&S, TK Maxx, and Brand Alley.

    Kirsty is mother to two fashion-obsessed kids, and loves to shop herself, investing in a mix of new and pre-loved classic pieces.

     

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • AllSaints Founder: The World Cannot Afford Fast Fashion

    Stuart Trevor is the Founder of AllSaints and STUART TREVOR, his eponymous sustainable fashion brand that launched in 2023. He joins Natalie to talk about why he decided to launch a clothing brand that doesn’t produce any new clothes.

    They discuss:

    • What inspired Stuart’s move into sustainable fashion.
    • A founder’s vision and being clear on what makes your brand special: AllSaints was a success in part because “there was nothing else like it”.
    • Why longevity, not price, is the key to unlocking value in apparel.
    • Which high street brands are the biggest offenders when it comes to UK clothing waste?
    • Demand coming from LA consumers after the wildfires.
    • The importance of authenticity when launching a fashion brand.
    • Why Stuart has a problem with M&S pants.

    Bio:

    Stuart Trevor started his career as a fashion design student in 1985, aged 19 won the Smirnoff Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall and became the first ever designer and buyer for REISS. 

    Aged 28, he founded AllSaints. Many of the clothes that feature each week in the top 10 bestseller list of the high street brand today were designed by Trevor over 20 years ago.

    ‘AllSaints was my baby, I created that look from scratch, all inspired by my teenage years. That best selling biker jacket started out as a vintage find, the ramskull was my first logo design, a cross between my love of animals, pirates and punk rock and it took over the world!’

    ‘Inspired by a childhood obsession with Bowie, Kate Bush & Adam Ant, customising hand me down clothes gifted from my mother’s church friends. I learned to sew at 9 years old in Dundee, my ambition from very early days was to create the world’s greatest rock n roll brand. I’m still on that mission and I’m determined to make it happen’ 

    ‘Now I want to create something that brings the same joy, even more pleasure to people whilst doing what’s right for our planet’

    Trevor started customising vintage finds, then began creating small quantities of reworked outerwear in limited edition from a small factory in East London. 

    ‘People want to have more fun, rediscover the magic of fashion, buy clothes that will last, that have the smallest possible environmental impact. We make this possible.’

    The first STUART TREVOR collection was shown at an exclusive launch party during London Fashion Week on 15 September 2023. It was a huge success with over 750 people from all across the world turning up, hanging out and sharing their favourite thoughts about sustainability, music, art, fashion, design and culture. 

    We’re mentoring the youth of today with a similar passion for the future of fashion – we’re not going to change our love of fashion and design, we’re determined to change how we affect the planet by creating a better world.

    It doesn’t get much more sustainable than this!

    Links:

    STUART TREVOR

    Retail Technology Show

     

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Resale Revolution with Goodwill CEO Steve Preston

    Did you know that over 80% of the U.S. population lives within a 10-mile radius of a Goodwill store or location?

    Live from the NRF Big Show in NYC, Natalie speaks to the CEO of Goodwill, Steve Preston. He discusses the organization’s strategic priorities, why the perception of thrifting is evolving, and the impact of digital. Steve also shares his views on what’s driving the surge in the resale market today and how Goodwill’s proximity to the customer allows for deeper community engagement.

    Bio:

    Steven C. Preston is the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, which provides services to 154 local, independent Goodwill organizations which together represent the leading provider of workforce training and development. In 2022, Goodwill served more than 2.1 million people which range from lighter touch services to extensive training, career navigation and job placement support.

    Preston has served in numerous operational and financial leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. He headed two federal agencies during times of national crisis, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Small Business Administration (SBA); led successful turnarounds as the CEO of two private corporations, Oakleaf Global Holdings and Livingston International; and served as the CFO of two Fortune 500 companies during times of significant change and restructuring, Waste Management and ServiceMaster.

    Preston served as HUD Secretary during the housing crisis of 2008, representing the federal agency on the board of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). During his tenure, HUD dramatically increased Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae capacity to meet exponentially rising demand. Under his leadership, the agency also expanded its ability to assist victims of natural disasters, advanced the rebuilding of mixed-income neighborhoods in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, and improved financial literacy programs.

    From 2006–2008, Preston served as Administrator for the SBA. In addition to multiple small business services, the SBA provides disaster loans to homeowners and businesses. Following Hurricane Katrina, Preston spearheaded a reform agenda to expedite financial support to disaster victims and make the agency more responsive to customers, accountable for results, and efficient in the delivery of services. During his tenure, the SBA launched and advanced programs to expand entrepreneurship opportunities for veterans and military families, for people located in areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment, and for people who were facing various life challenges.

    In his private-sector roles, Preston gained significant experience expanding into new product and geographic markets, leveraging technology for both client and efficiency benefits, improving employee engagement and restructuring operations. Preston graduated with highest distinction from Northwestern University and holds an MBA from The University of Chicago. He has served on numerous boards or in other capacities for organizations supporting the needs of people with disadvantages, especially in urban centers. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for Public Service and the Board of Trustees of Wheaton College.

    He and his wife, Molly, live near Washington DC and have five children — Anna, Madeleine, Gibson, Eleanor, and Steven Jr.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Decarbonising Deliveries

    Murvah Iqbal, co-CEO and co-founder of HIVED, is on a mission to revolutionise the delivery industry. Founded in 2021, the all-electric delivery start-up has already distributed millions of parcels across London for major brands including ASOS, Uniqlo, Nespresso and Zara, and is backed by investors like Maersk Growth, Pale Blue Dot and Planet A Ventures.

    In this episode, Murvah shares her entrepreneurial journey, which began when she took over marketing and branding for her uncles’ fast-food chain at just 15 years old. She discusses the importance of decarbonisation in retail and how HIVED’s “sustainability-as-standard” approach differentiates them from competitors.

    Murvah also shares her views on the evolving expectations of consumers, particularly Gen Z, when it comes to delivery, how to address some of the legacy challenges of the final mile, and what regulatory changes she’d like to see to support the growth of green delivery. Murvah and Natalie also discuss the need for collaboration within the industry and the role of technology in improving delivery efficiency. 

    Connect with Murvah on LinkedIn.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Amazon Haul, What Makes Vinted Special, Advent Calendar Fever

    Natalie discusses the launch of Amazon Haul, the retailer’s new Temu-like storefront where most items are under $10 and delivery takes up to two weeks. She also unpacks the reasons behind Vinted’s success – what consumer needs is it tapping into and what are the implications for the wider retail sector? And, finally, Natalie shares her thoughts on the explosion of advent calendars. What is driving the trend and what can retailers learn from it?

    [4:20] Is Amazon terminating its online grocery service in Germany?

    [6:08] Amazon Haul launch

    [9:00] Vinted and the rise of pre-loved 

    [15:10] Advent calendars – history and why retailers of all varieties are jumping on the advent calendar bandwagon

    Links:

    Episode 45: Amazon Must Disrupt Itself, July 2024. Natalie and Miya explore whether Amazon and Temu can co-exist and thoughts on the (then) rumoured plans to launch an ultra-low price storefront.

    BBC: Are luxury beauty advent calendars a rip-off?

     

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Gen AI Chatbots, Empowering Staff and Sustainability

    Live from Barcelona, Green Retail World’s Editor Ben Sillitoe joins Natalie on the podcast to share what they learned at Manhattan Exchange this week. They explore how generative AI chatbots are going to revolutionize customer service, why the days of frontline staff being told to “sell, not think” are over and what sustainability looks like for retailers in 2025.

    If you missed the episode with Manhattan Associates’ Pieter Van den Broecke, you can catch up here.

    Links:

    Manhattan Associates
    Green Retail World

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com