Tag: customer experience

  • Aisle to Algorithm: David’s Bridal’s New CEO on Retail Transformation

    Kelly Cook is the newly appointed CEO of David’s Bridal. She joins Natalie on the podcast to discuss how David’s Bridal is embarking on the biggest shift in its 75-year history, transitioning from a legacy bridal retailer to becoming a tech-powered retail, AI, and media powerhouse.

    📺 This is a video episode and can be watched here.

    Kelly and Natalie explore:

    •    How David’s plans to expand beyond wedding dresses to capture a bigger piece of the $65 billion wedding industry, leveraging first-party data, AI-driven planning tools, and a digital marketplace to transform how brides shop, plan, and celebrate.
    •    Retail media: with 90% of all US brides entering the David’s ecosystem, how is David’s monetizing this reach and what does Kelly think of the broader retail media explosion we’re witnessing around the globe?
    •    From virtual try-ons and mood boards to AI chatbots, how is David’s utilizing AI to enhance the customer experience?
    •    100% of all David’s owned communications are now AI-driven! How has this enabled David’s to better serve the customer?
    •    From cowboys boots to QR codes, what are the key bridal trends that Kelly is observing in 2025? 
    •    Learnings from pandemic pivots – curbside pick-up and augmented reality.
    •    Kelly is the most recent example of a CMO to CEO transition, but we’ve also seen this with brands like Starbucks and Taco Bell. What’s behind this trend?
    •    Advice for future retail leaders.

    Kelly’s bio:

    Kelly Cook is a visionary executive with over two decades of leadership in omnichannel strategy, digital transformation, IT, branding, and marketing. A catalyst for growth, she has a proven track record of driving business growth through brand evolution, pioneering innovation and aligning teams behind transformative strategies that drive bottom-line impact. Her leadership has propelled organizations to new heights – boosting profitability, increasing stock value, and earning industry accolades from Newsweek (Best Place to Work for Women) and Forbes (Most Inclusive Marketing).

    Her career spans a diverse mix of industries ranging from airlines and fashion to home decor and retail, and now the bridal fashion and wedding industry. Prior to joining David’s Bridal, Kelly held executive leadership roles at top companies, including Continental Airlines, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, and Pier 1, where she spearheaded large-scale brand, marketing and digital initiatives that redefined customer engagement. In her current role at David’s, Kelly leads marketing, IT, digital, customer experiences, analytics and e-commerce, ensuring that innovation and customer-centricity remain at the heart of the brand’s growth.

    Recognized by Harvard Business School as one of 2003’s Most Dynamic Women in Business, Kelly embodies a leadership style grounded in service to others. She finds joy in seeing individuals at any and every level do extraordinary things. She is a steward of the power of determination, often toting her mantra: “If cauliflower can become pizza, anything can happen.”

    Kelly holds an MBA and a Master of Finance from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business. Beyond the boardroom, she is a devoted wife of 30 years to her husband Damon, the proud mom of five kids (including triplets,) as well as two pampered, plump basset hounds, Jasper and Rufus. Based in Houston, Texas, she continues to inspire her “Dream Makers,” disrupt industries, and shape the future of brand innovation.

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

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  • Forbes: M&S Chairman: Online Grocery Is A ‘Desert Of Profit’

    In my latest article for Forbes, I explore Marks & Spencer Chairman Archie Norman’s session at the Retail Technology Show, where Norman declared that grocery e-commerce is a “desert of profit.”

    He explained that although retailers around the world feel compelled to move into e-commerce, “nobody is really making true profit from food online.”

    “There’s been more wealth destroyed in people trying to develop food online businesses than any other industry I can think of.”

    Read full article on Forbes

  • 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

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  • Kingfisher’s Head of AI on Agentic AI, Visual Search, Chatbots, and Sustainability

    Mohsen Ghasempour is the Group Director of AI at Kingfisher. He joins Natalie on the podcast, live from the Retail Technology Show press briefing, to discuss how Kingfisher is utilising AI to drive operational efficiencies and improve the experience for customers. They discuss:

    • AI-powered markdowns and promotions.
    • How AI enabled Kingfisher to quickly scale its marketplace from 55,000 SKUs to over one million.
    • How visual search and genAI chatbots are improving the customer experience.
    • Sustainability: how Kingfisher is measuring the environmental impact of its AI initiatives.
    • The importance of incorporating compliance and legal teams into your development team.
    • The future: retailers must prepare for the age of agentic AI.

    Also on today’s show…

    How will we pay for goods in 2030? Will digital payments become ubiquitous around the globe and what are the implications for traditional forms of payment like cash and cards?

    Natalie unpacks three key findings from WorldPay’s 2025 Global Payments Report. To learn more about trends, insights and future payment predictions, download Worldpay’s Global Payments Report 2025 here: https://bit.ly/4hpBAuE 

    Worldpay is a leading payments technology company, processing over 50 billion transactions annually across 146 countries and 135 currencies. For the past decade, its Global Payments Report, based on a survey of over half a million consumers, has tracked the evolution of payment methods and is widely respected by merchants, experts, and the retail community.

    Mohsen’s bio:

    Mohsen Ghasempour is a distinguished expert in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) with a solid academic foundation, holding a PhD in Computer Science. Currently, Mohsen serves as the Group Director of AI at Kingfisher, where his leadership contributes to the advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies within the organisation.

    With over 15 years of experience as an accomplished data scientist and visionary leader, Mohsen has consistently harnessed the power of data to drive strategic decision-making. Prior to his role at Kingfisher, he held pivotal positions in leading technology and retail organisations, including The Hut Group (THG) and Shop Direct. In these roles, he spearheaded cross-functional teams to implement cutting-edge Machine Learning and AI solutions, resulting in measurable and transformative outcomes.

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

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  • 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

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  • Jigsaw CEO: Uncertainty And Disruption Is Our New Normal

    Hash Ladha, CEO of Jigsaw and former CEO of Oasis and Warehouse, joins Natalie to discuss fashion retailing, the resurgence of accessible luxury, and lessons for the next generation of retail leaders.

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

    Hash and Natalie explore:

    • Accessible luxury – with competition intensifying, how does Hash see the sector evolving?
    • Why there hasn’t been a “normal” year in retail since the Brexit vote in 2016.
    • From the Budget to tariffs, what’s keeping the fashion industry up at night?
    • Self-checkout in clothing stores – does this enhance or detract from the customer experience?
    • Why the first step to combating returns is sticking to a full-price proposition and why fast and free delivery is a race to the bottom.
    • Leadership – Hash shares his views on what makes a good retail leader, drawing on lessons from both personal and professional experiences.
    • DEI – as some US retailers dismantle their DEI policies, what are Hash’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion?

    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 

    Hash’s bio:

    Hash Ladha is CEO of Jigsaw, which is a contemporary British fashion brand founded in 1970. He was appointed CEO in November 2023 and previously had served as Group CEO of Oasis and Warehouse. Prior to that he was COO of the group. He joined as Group Multi Channel Director from Asos where he had been Marketing and Operations Director. 
     
    Ladha has a proven track record in leading and growing omni-channel businesses. A passionate leader and strategist that has successfully created differentiated customer propositions, developed brands and accelerated sales. Results oriented and pragmatic whilst driven to achieve; someone who values people, their contribution and invests in their development. A very strong belief in creating an inspiring place to work and creating a strong ethos of personal accountability. A leader who understands the importance of diversity and inclusion and is a champion of the cause, who harnesses an open and honest culture, underpinned with integrity.

    For more, visit https://retaildisrupted.com

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

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  • Every Little (Bit of Innovation) Helps: Chatbots, Digital Twins, Autonomous Stores, and Drones With Tesco

    Jane Mustoe, Senior Technology Director at Tesco, joins Natalie to discuss how Tesco is using tech to redefine both customer and colleague experiences. They explore:

    • Tesco’s recent innovations – GetGo and frictionless shopping, gen AI chatbots, digital twins, mobile apps for store associates, and more.
    • All about the margins – the importance of achieving marginal gains in a low-margin industry.
    • Always keeping an eye on future innovations and finding pockets of “reality” amongst the “hype”.
    • Why over half of innovations fail, why that’s important, and lessons from Tesco’s drone trial.
    • Why getting the culture right is ‘make or break’ for organisations and the need to balance agility with operational efficiencies.
    • DEI and advice for the next generation of female tech leaders.

    Today’s 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 fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home and related goods like cosmetics, food & beverage and multi-category retail, Centric Software delivers best-of-breed solutions that optimize planning, pricing, design, product development, sourcing and production.

    📣 Register for Centric Connect 2025.

    Connect with Jane on LinkedIn.

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

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  • 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

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  • Post-Death Consumerism

    What happens in the digital afterlife? Do you even need to be alive to be a consumer? Should retailers and brands be thinking about a post-death strategy?

    VML’s Naji El-Arifi and Hugh Fletcher join Natalie on the podcast to discuss all of this and more:

    • Digital avatars and virtual goods – what are the opportunities for brands?
    • Why retailers need to be paying more attention to gaming.
    • The evolution of AI and delegation of purchasing tasks.
    • Grocery e-commerce – addressing perennial challenges with AI.
    • Digital immortality – just how ethical is this?

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    Links:

    VML Future Shopper Report

    OpenAI/Instacart news mentioned by Naji 

    Connect with Naji on LinkedIn

    Connect with Hugh on LinkedIn

    Bios:

    Naji El-Arifi:
    As the Head of Innovation at VML Enterprise Solutions, Naji spearheads transformative solutions for businesses navigating the digital landscape. With a robust background in Product Management and Innovation, he has collaborated with an impressive array of companies and start-ups, including DFS, Lego, Domestic & General, Sainsbury’s, Shop Direct Group, Audi, Lloyds Bank, Kobalt, and BP. Naji consistently demonstrates how cutting-edge technology can address and overcome industry challenges.

    Hugh Fletcher:
    Hugh is an internationally sought after digital commerce futurologist, heading up the Demand Content Thought Leadership team at VML. As an ex-Audi digital guru, Hugh uses his client-side experience and unique take on the future of commerce to help organisations set up for, and implement, digital change in the constantly evolving commerce market. His work focuses on helping ambitious Clients to transact more digitally through strategic consultancy, covering digital business transformation, the future of ecommerce and conversion. He is a go-to spokesperson in press and TV for tech trends impacting ecommerce, and author of reports, white papers and articles covering future shoppers, Generation Alpha, Digital Commerce Leaders, space commerce and peak selling.

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

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  • Forbes: Amazon Stores CEO Says AI May Spawn New Retail Formats

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to radically transform the retail sector and could result in the creation of new shopping channels, according to Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores.

    “We really haven’t had a technology revolution as large as this since the start of the internet,” Herrington told delegates at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Big Show.

    He acknowledged that the shift to mobile and the rise of social media platforms were transformative, but both pale in comparison to the impact AI is going to have on the sector.

    “It’s going to touch all of us. It’s going to lower costs, improve quality, help us develop new customer experiences, and it may even spawn new retail formats.”

    This is an excerpt. Read my full article on Forbes.