The Retail Podcast

Marks & Spencer is moving its European ecommerce fulfilment to Zalando's ZEOS platform across 22 continental European markets. Alex Rezvan and Simone Oloman, Co-founder and CEO of NIFT, examine what the partnership means alongside five other UK retail developments from the week.
John Lewis is developing its Sports & Wellness proposition around customer fitness goals and shopping missions. ASOS and Barbour have worked with Jimmy Turrell on their Re-loved collaboration, while George at Asda has launched its If You Know, You Know campaign with Lucky Generals.
Also covered: Vans x BAPE Knu Skool, menswear designer Aaron Levine's special collection with Zara, and the wider implications of these moves for UK retail strategy, ecommerce, stores and fashion.
Five Things Friday is The Retail Podcast's weekly UK retail briefing.
00:00:00 Intro00:01:32 ASOS x Barbour by Jimmy Turrell00:03:57 George at Asda: If You Know, You Know00:04:44 Vans x BAPE Knu Skool00:05:34 Aaron Levine x Zara00:06:46 John Lewis Sports & Wellness00:07:57 M&S x Zalando fulfilment00:10:32 Close
Newsletter: https://www.theretailpodcast.com/newsletter

Walmart has started rolling out Apple Pay at select US Walmart and Sam's Club locations, with rollout to all US stores and clubs planned by the end of 2026.
Alex Rezvan is joined by Jill Dvorak, Senior Vice President, Content at NRF, for five US retail stories: Home Depot's nationwide Express Delivery; American Eagle's back-to-school push featuring Lamine Yamal; Best Buy's certification of all 29 supply chain facilities as zero waste; and Ross's 10% comparable-store-sales growth versus 4% at TJX overall.
The Apple Pay share figure mentioned in the episode was stated on air and has not been independently verified.
Sponsored by Sygnls.AI.
Newsletter: https://www.theretailpodcast.com/newsletter
00:00:00 Walmart + Intro00:02:03 Home Depot + American Eagle00:05:23 Best Buy + Ross
 

What does Target appointing a Chief AI Officer tell us about the next phase of AI in retail?
In this USA edition of Five Things Friday, Alex and Jill examine five developments shaping the US retail market — and the strategic implications behind them.
Target has brought Chandu Nair across from Lowe’s as Chief AI Officer, raising a bigger organisational question: should AI sit under one executive responsible for governance and adoption, or should AI capability be embedded throughout the entire business?
Foot Locker and Nike are taking a different approach to physical retail with Crenshaw Rec in Los Angeles — combining retail with an open gym, local run clubs and year-round community programming. The discussion looks at whether stores can become genuine community spaces rather than simply places to transact.
Then comes one of the clearest retail comparisons of the week.
Coach grew 15% while Kate Spade declined 7%.
Both sit within Tapestry and operate against broadly the same economic backdrop.
Tapestry also recruited more than 2.5 million new customers during the quarter, with around 35% coming from Gen Z.
The question for retail leaders: when one brand grows while another declines in the same environment, is the consumer really the problem — or should we be looking harder at product, brand relevance, merchandising and execution?
Alex and Jill also look at Michaels, which is building on opportunities created by changes at Joann and Party City and experimenting with how categories, intellectual property and customer demand can be incorporated into future store formats.
Finally, they examine research based on almost 19 million North American in-store retail interactions or pieces of feedback, which reported a customer satisfaction rate of 93.4%.
Perhaps more interestingly, Tuesday and Wednesday produced the highest satisfaction levels — raising questions around footfall, staffing pressure and store operations.
In this episode
• Target appoints a Chief AI Officer• AI governance versus distributed AI adoption• Foot Locker + Nike and community-led retail• The Crenshaw Rec concept• Coach growth versus Kate Spade decline• Tapestry and Gen Z customer acquisition• Why blaming the consumer can hide execution problems• Michaels, Joann and Party City• Store-format innovation• US in-store customer satisfaction• Staffing, footfall and retail operations• NRF Europe
Chapters
00:00 — Five US Retail Stories This Week00:39 — Target Appoints a Chief AI Officer03:51 — Foot Locker + Nike Build Community Retail05:23 — Coach Growth vs Kate Spade Decline08:20 — Michaels Reinvents the Big-Box Opportunity11:29 — US In-Store Satisfaction Hits 93.4%13:06 — Why European Retail Markets Are Different14:14 — NRF Europe and the Innovation Stage
The Retail Podcast brings together retail leaders and industry experts to examine the technology, strategy, brands and ideas reshaping global retail.

The International Briefing examines five developments shaping retail around the world—and what they mean for industry leaders.
Jill Dvorak, Senior Vice President, Content at NRF, joins Alex Rezvan for this edition.
Europe’s €3 parcel charge
A new charge on low-value parcels entering the EU could change the economics of cross-border retail, particularly for lower-value orders.
The discussion looks at the implications for businesses such as SHEIN and Temu, smaller international sellers and the possibility of more inventory being held inside Europe.
JD.com
Following JD.com’s second-quarter results, Alex and Jill discuss why large marketplaces should not necessarily be judged only by merchandise sales.
As JD develops more capabilities around its wider ecosystem, the economics of B2B services become increasingly important.
India and quick commerce
Retail demand is growing strongly, but traditional retailers are simultaneously being disrupted by rapid-delivery platforms.
The conversation examines grocery, premium retailers, shopping missions and whether ten-minute delivery is genuinely something consumers need.
Global shipping
Jill discusses NRF’s Global Port Tracker, changing shipping routes, higher costs and the potential implications for retail supply chains and Q4 inventory.
Fabletics
Fabletics has reached more than $1 billion in net revenue and is continuing its move into physical retail.
Its international expansion includes markets such as Colombia, Peru, India and Central America, highlighting how digital-first brands continue to find value in stores.
The International Briefing is a global look at the developments retail leaders need to understand—not simply the headlines.
Featuring
Jill Dvorak — Senior Vice President, Content, NRFAlex Rezvan — The Retail Podcast

Five Things Friday UK Edition brings together the retail stories worth knowing this week.
Alex Rezvan of The Retail Podcast and Simone Oloman, co-founder of Need It For Tonight, discuss the developments shaping the UK retail industry and what they could mean for retailers, brands and consumers.
In this episode:
Frasers and Harvey NicholsFrasers has acquired Harvey Nichols out of administration. Alex and Simone discuss what could happen next, the future of its stores, the importance of the Knightsbridge and Edinburgh locations, and where Harvey Nichols could sit alongside Flannels in Frasers’ luxury strategy.
Poundland and the value retail challengeWith Poundland potentially facing another sale, the conversation turns to what value really means. Is price enough, or do merchandising, experience and how customers feel inside a store matter just as much?
Need It For Tonight and rapid retail deliverySimone discusses Need It For Tonight’s 90-minute and same-day delivery proposition, its work with retailers and its new 12,000 sq ft operation at Westfield White City.
They also explore how stores can operate as local fulfilment centres and why keeping inventory closer to customers could change the economics of fast retail delivery.
IKEA and second-hand retailIKEA is expanding its second-hand marketplace into multiple countries, including the UK. Alex and Simone discuss why bringing an existing resale market into IKEA’s own ecosystem makes strategic sense—and the potential challenges around collection and delivery of bulky furniture.
Five Things Friday UK Edition is hosted by Alex Rezvan and Simone Oloman.
Follow The Retail Podcast for weekly conversations about the businesses, ideas and changes shaping retail.

What does buying AI look like when a retailer has a real problem to solve? At NRF APAC 2026 in Singapore, Alex Rezvan joins Low Ngai Yuen, Managing Director of AEON360, on a live buying mission across the show floor. Ngai Yuen is not browsing demonstrations. She has a specific requirement: improve the quality, structure, localisation and usefulness of AEON’s product data before expecting AI to create value from it. 
The journey began at NRF New York, where she found two young product-data companies. In Singapore, she meets them again—this time with a clearer brief, real retail data and a route towards a proof of concept. 
The first conversation is with Lazuli, a Japanese product-data company whose location and market knowledge matter to AEON’s imported Japanese products and private brands. The team discusses turning unstructured catalogues and PDFs into structured, searchable information, then enriching products with the right language, descriptions, categories and market context. The second meeting focuses on inconsistent supplier data, missing attributes and a proof of concept involving 50,000 SKUs.
The discussion shows why retailers need reliable information before adding generative or agentic AI—and why a product catalogue must keep changing as language, trends and customer search intent evolve. This is less a conference interview than a view inside the retail buying process: identifying a problem, finding potential partners, testing them on a real case and deciding whether the technology can scale.
In this episode - Why Ngai Yuen came to NRF APAC with a live buying brief - How relationships formed at NRF New York continued in Singapore - Why local Japanese market knowledge matters to AEON - How unstructured product information becomes searchable catalogue data - What inconsistent supplier data costs retailers - Why the team is testing a 50,000-SKU proof of concept - How a “living catalogue” responds to changing search intent - What innovation showcases can offer established retailers This episode is for Retail CEOs, digital and data leaders, ecommerce teams, merchandising leaders, innovation teams, procurement leaders, retail technology founders and anyone responsible for taking AI from conference pitch to operational reality. 

Why are some retail markets able to adopt AI faster than Europe?
30% off an All Access Pass: ALEX30
NRF Registration page here: ⁠https://bit.ly/4vh5Iz5⁠.
Annabelle Serres, Director of Events for NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe, discusses the barriers created by legacy infrastructure, the lessons Europe can take from APAC and why retailers now need to accelerate implementation.
The conversation also covers what executives can expect in Paris, from keynote sessions and practical case studies to startup innovation, the Innovators Showcase and peer networking.
For retail leaders working across technology, operations, transformation and customer experience.

Five retail stories. Less than ten minutes. And several signals about where global retail could be heading next.
In this international edition of Five Things Friday, we examine five developments across retail, commerce, technology and consumer engagement.
First, Fraser’s Group and its position in Hugo Boss — and why the premium market could be ripe for further change. The conversation then moves to Tesco and Uber Eats, as quick commerce increasingly becomes part of retailers’ last-mile strategies.
Next, we look at Nike in China. After shifting aggressively toward direct-to-consumer and later rebuilding wholesale relationships, Nike is again refining its channel strategy, concentrating on selected platforms alongside its own direct business.
Then we head to Singapore and Fair Price’s Store of Tomorrow, where smart carts, RFID, digital shelf labels, in-store navigation and health-focused experiences provide a glimpse at one possible direction for the physical grocery store.
Finally, attention turns to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and what brands can learn from major global sporting events when planning consumer engagement and activation strategies.
In this episode:
Fraser’s Group and Hugo Boss
Tesco, Uber Eats and quick commerce
Decathlon and last-mile delivery
Nike’s evolving China retail strategy
Direct-to-consumer versus wholesale
Fair Price’s Store of Tomorrow
Smart carts, RFID and digital shelf labels
Retail health and wellness experiences
LA 2028 Olympic brand activations
Marketing around major global sporting events
Who should watch or listen:Retail executives, brand leaders, retail technology teams, marketers, commerce professionals and anyone tracking the evolution of physical and digital retail.
Subscribe to The Retail Podcast for global retail intelligence, interviews and analysis.

How can a global retailer maintain consistency across markets without losing local relevance?
In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Katherine Melchior Ray examines why international brand strategies often break down not because executives reject localisation, but because organisations underestimate how differently trust, value, service and quality are interpreted across cultures.
The conversation explores the strategic and commercial decisions behind global brand localisation: what should remain non-negotiable, what local teams should be allowed to change, who should hold decision-making authority and how leaders can determine whether adaptation is creating genuine customer value.
Katherine also explains why the cost of entering a market incorrectly can be substantially greater than the cost and complexity of adapting properly.
About Katherine Melchior Ray
Katherine Melchior Ray is a global CMO, speaker, consultant, author and international marketing and management faculty member at UC Berkeley Haas.
Her international experience spans Japan, Europe and the United States, with more than 25 years working across markets and categories. The episode discusses her experience with brands including Louis Vuitton, Nike, Gucci, Nordstrom, Hyatt and Shiseido.
She is the co-author, with Natalie Kelly, of:
Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures
Key Insights
Why apparently universal concepts such as trust, speed, performance and value are expressed differently across cultures.
How global brands can separate their enduring identity from the products, experiences and communications that should evolve.
Why Louis Vuitton’s heritage in travel, quality and innovation allows the brand to expand into new categories without losing its identity.
How trust between global headquarters and local leadership creates permission for meaningful innovation.
Katherine’s “freedom within a frame” model for balancing global governance with local autonomy.
Why failed market entry can be more expensive than local adaptation.
What Airbnb’s experience in China reveals about trust, payments, reviews, housekeeping and cultural assumptions.
Why AI can accelerate translation and content production but still requires human context, judgement and interpretation.
The assumptions retail CEOs should challenge before approving international expansion.
Topics Covered
Global brand localisation, international retail expansion, cultural intelligence, global marketing strategy, local market adaptation, retail governance, headquarters and local-team relationships, brand consistency, Louis Vuitton, Airbnb in China, Nike in India, AI localisation, customer trust, cultural context and international leadership.
Who This Episode Helps
This episode is relevant to:
Retail CEOs and executive teams
Global and regional marketing leaders
International expansion teams
Brand and customer-experience leaders
Retail technology providers
Strategy consultants
Business-school students
Executives managing global and local teams
Central Ideas from the Conversation
Katherine argues that brands must become explicit about the elements of their identity that cannot change. Local teams can then innovate within a clearly defined strategic frame.
She describes trust as being built through three elements:
Shared values
Open, bilateral communication
A history of promises kept
This trust gives local leadership the authority to make the brand relevant without fragmenting it.
The discussion also examines AI’s role in localisation. AI can support research, translation and analysis, but culture depends on context. As Katherine explains, insight does not simply exist in the data; it emerges through interpretation.
Join the Discussion
Where should global brand consistency end and local decision-making begin?
Share your perspective in the comments.
Subscribe to The Retail Podcast for conversations with the executives, strategists and technology leaders shaping the future of retail.

Retail crime is becoming serious enough to affect whether stores can continue operating in parts of Australia. At the same time, Costco is expanding its reach in China through JD.com, Vietnam’s e-commerce market is being shaped by Shopee and TikTok Shop, and functional foods are moving into the mainstream across Southeast Asia.
 
In this Five Things Friday APAC edition, Alex Rezvan, Ryf Quail and ⁠Ngai Yuen Low ⁠Managing Director, AEON360 discuss the retail signals shaping Australia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
 
They examine the cost of organised retail crime, the growth of paid membership retail, the role of live commerce, the importance of grocery in e-commerce adoption, the rise of functional food and the localisation of Korean food for Southeast Asian consumers.