Category: Marketing

  • Keep the Customer in the Room: Marketing Insights from Asda and Waitrose

    Martin George, former Customer Director at Waitrose, and Jessica Cole, Senior Director Own Brand, Masterbrand, Customer Strategy & Propositions, at Asda join Natalie to discuss the evolving role of marketing in retail.

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    They explore:

    • Retail disruption – how has AI impacted retail marketing? How have legacy retailers responded to disruption? Which grocery innovations haven’t stuck?
    • Customer centricity – how to embed this in the organization and learnings from other sectors.
    • Understanding diverse customer needs and how some low-tech solutions (ie. spending time on the shop floor) can be among the most effective.
    • What skills are required of retail marketeers today and how might this evolve in the future? 
    • Is the CMO role still relevant in retail? Should they have a seat on the board?
    • Tesco Clubcard’s 30th anniversary – what is the role of data in retail marketing today and how do you measure success?
    • Do customers expect the same experience in an airport as a supermarket (ie. frictionless, self-service, personalization) or are needs more individualized? Martin shares his views from his time as Commercial Director at BA.

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    This episode was brought to you by the Richmond Retail & E-commerce Directors’ Forum. Are you a retailer interested in attending? Email Natalie to secure your seat.

    Bios:

    Jessica Cole has spent the past 15 years working in the Retail industry and has held senior roles with Morrisons, Selfridges, Accenture Strategy, Monitor Deloitte and most recently Asda as Senior Director Own Brand, Masterbrand, Customer Strategy & Propositions. Jess specialises in setting and executing strategies, leading large scale transformations, building brands and driving profitable sales growth.

    Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn.

    Martin George is the former Customer Director at Waitrose. He started his career at Cadburys and held a number of senior roles including Commercial Director at British Airways, Group Development Director at Bupa and most recently as Customer Director at Waitrose where he was responsible for Marketing and Customer Experience. He has previously held a number of Non-Executive Director roles as well as setting-up businesses in the hospitality, travel media and healthcare sectors. 

    Martin is now a Non-Executive Director at Goodwood, Visit Jersey and Trust Alliance Group. He is also a School Governor and working with the Marketing Academy to increase diversity in the marketing profession.

    Connect with Martin on LinkedIn.

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

  • Perpetual Innovation with ex-Pandora and The Body Shop Boss

    Jeremy Schwartz was the turnaround CEO of Pandora, the world’s largest jewellery company with 2,500 stores and e-commerce sites in 90 countries. Prior to that, Jeremy was Chairman and CEO of The Body Shop from 2013 to 2017. He also previously spent time at Sainsbury’s and, as Brand Director, he was the architect of the grocer’s turnaround in 2005 which saw a decade of growth after years in decline. He is the former Managing Director of L’Oréal UK and, as Innovation Director for Coca-Cola Europe, he invented Coke Zero. Jeremy is currently the Chairman of Kantar’s Sustainability Transformation Practice.

    In this episode, recorded live on stage at the Richmond Retail and E-commerce Directors’ Forum, Jeremy and Natalie discuss:

    • Why some retail businesses fail and how to avoid becoming a statistic.
    • How to embark on a successful turnaround strategy.
    • The importance of perpetual innovation and how Jeremy uncovered an opportunity to create Coke Zero.
    • ESG – addressing the intention-action gap and FMCG best practices. 
    • Customer loyalty and doubling down on your top 20% of customers.

    You can watch in full on YouTube.

  • Victoria’s Secret Is Bringing Sexy Back

    Victoria’s Secret Is Bringing Sexy Back

    In retail today, you need to have a laser-clear understanding of your brand and what it stands for.

    But what if what you stand for is no longer culturally relevant? Can you shed your skin and completely reinvent yourself? Can you buy your way out of cultural insignificance?

    The lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret tried to do exactly that and it hasn’t worked out so well. They’re now ready to ditch their feminist makeover and re-embrace “sex appeal”. On today’s podcast, we’re going to be exploring what went wrong at Victoria’s Secret, how they tried to fix it, and whether they can go back to their roots in a post-#MeToo world.

    TLDL: Victoria Secret’s newfound conscience and subsequent brand overhaul whiffed of inauthenticity. Too much, too soon… alienating both those in favour (who perhaps questioned the integrity of such a radical makeover) and those not.