Leadership

Who ultimately “owns” the marketing strategy of your brand or organization? Who is pulling the strings? I believe any marketing leader would ultimately like to respond to those questions with the answer, “I am.” Based on my own personal experience, that's not necessarily always the case. Merchants in Control I’ve worked for a number of large,…

Walmart is making further organizational changes as it continues to integrate its store and digital operations and leadership, according to a July 19 memo obtained by CNBC that was sent by CEO Doug McMillon to the retailer’s employees. The biggest change announced is Walmart's move to bring the U.S. supply chain teams together, which will be led…

While attending the IRCE at RetailX conference in Chicago, Total Retail's Joe Keenan interviewed Daniel Alarik, founder and CEO of Grunt Style, a patriotic apparel brand. During the discussion, Alarik touches on his career shift from the military into retail, what influenced him to start Grunt Style, and why he values hiring military veterans. In addition, Alarik shares his…

In episode 201 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan speaks with Mike Tamte, co-CEO and co-founder of EVEREVE, a national women's fashion brand that works to inspire joy in its customers. Listen in as Tamte discusses the growth of EVEREVE, including investments in brick-and-mortar stores; hiring the right talent, particularly for its technology…

We noticed in the January/February 2019 Harvard Business Review there was a short article about “the limits of empathy.” Since we've been writing extensively over the last year about the importance of self-awareness and empathy, this caught our attention. The gist of the “argument” is that the idea of taking someone else’s perspective doesn’t necessarily…

These days there's no shortage of additions to the C-suite. Creative job titles abound, and roles that didn’t exist a decade ago like chief experience officer or chief digital officer are becoming more common. The choice to add these positions to the decision-making table reflects the core value of these functions. Companies are realizing that…

Bed Bath & Beyond announced today that its CEO Steven Temares is stepping down, amid increasing pressure from activist investors pushing for changes at the company. Mary Winston, who was recently named to Bed Bath & Beyond's board, will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is found. The company said Temares is also resigning from Bed Bath…

The 2019 Women in Retail Leadership Summit kicked off last week with an energetic and powerful keynote presentation from Amy Errett, founder and CEO of Madison Reed, a hair color brand for women. In the opening keynote, titled "One Woman’s Journey to Disrupting a Multibillion Dollar Industry," Errett discussed how she was able — with determination, tenacity, passion and an innovative mind-set — to take on the multibillion dollar hair-dye industry and completely disrupt it.

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Kristina Stidham and Joe Keenan recap the Women in Retail Leadership Summit (WIRLS), an annual event held by Total Retail’s sister brand, Women in Retail leadership Circle. The 2019 Summit took place this week in Miami, and over 350 women retail leaders attended. The three-day event featured…

We've written in the past about relationships between baby boomers and millennials and how they can productively co-exist or, better yet, jointly thrive in the workplace. Building on this premise, in this article we offer some thoughts about how and why baby boomers increasingly reinvent themselves later in life, as well as the challenges that…