THE RETAIL PODCAST

Why Poundland Could Vanish From the High Street | Decoding Retail

33 views · 1d ago · 3:21

Guest: Decoding Retail

Poundland's slide towards administration puts around 11,000 jobs and a value price anchor on the high street at risk, just as the BRC warns retail faces £41 billion in business taxes this year. In the US, Aritzia, Etsy and Walmart show where growth and price pressure are heading, while Migros moves to centralise Switzerland's largest retailer.

Topics: Good morning, this is Decoding Retail · Poundland on the brink of administration · BRC: £41bn business tax bill for retail · Aritzia plans up to 14 US stores a year · Etsy active buyers grow for first time in 2 years · Walmart's $35 holiday meal for 10

Why Luxury Brands Are Walking Out of David Jones | Five Things Friday APAC

88 views · 2d ago · 18:28

Guest: Five Things Friday APAC

Luxury brands are walking out of David Jones: Gucci has reportedly exited, Chanel has stopped selling and Dior has pulled shoes and handbags. Ryf Quail and Ngai Yuen Low, co-hosts of Five Things Friday APAC, ask whether department stores still matter.

Topics: Five Things Friday, APAC edition · Asian brands win attention with mystery names · David Jones fights for relevance as luxury walks out · Hong Kong malls swap fashion for sportswear and bags · Rolex and online giants top APAC brand conviction · Alex hosts the Innovators Showcase stage at NRF

Why Jigsaw Opens Stores While the High Street Closes | Chris Browne

72 views · 3d ago · 28:07

Guest: Chris Browne

Trading is not harder now than in the 1970s, which is why Jigsaw is opening stores while rivals close them. Chris Browne, Retail Director at Jigsaw and a 30-year Ted Baker veteran, explains how stores work with fewer staff and less footfall.

Topics: From a paper round to 30 years running Ted Baker · Trading is not tougher now than in the 1970s · Stores can work with fewer staff and less footfall · Market towns keep growing as commuting fades · Jigsaw does not buy customers, it earns them · Move the rates burden onto the big online players

Aldi vs Sam's Club: Who Wins Thanksgiving Dinner? | Five Things Friday

49 views · 1w ago · 14:13

Guest: Five Things Friday

Aldi Thanksgiving dinner for 10 costs $39, Sam's Club is going bigger, and value is winning the holiday table. Jill Dvorak, SVP Content at NRF, also unpacks NRF's 4.2% holiday forecast, BJ's staff bonuses and Victoria's Secret's influencer runway.

Topics: Five Things Friday, US edition · Victoria's Secret puts influencers on the runway · BJ's rewards hourly staff before the holiday rush · NRF expects holiday growth despite tight budgets · Aldi feeds ten for $39 this Thanksgiving · Sam's Club goes big on its Thanksgiving meal

Why Selfridges Went Full Christmas in October | Five Things Friday

30 views · 1w ago · 13:08

Guest: Five Things Friday

Christmas in London now starts in October: Selfridges has launched its Christmas in the City windows before Halloween. Simone Oloman, Co-host of Five Things Friday UK, joins Alex on that, plus Gap x Victoria Beckham and John Lewis x Rixo.

Topics: Five Things Friday, UK edition · Sainsbury's backs Healthy Start families this winter · John Lewis courts a younger customer with Rixo · Gap and Victoria Beckham return for a second drop · Oatly and Lego bet on immersive pop-ups in London · Selfridges launches its Christmas in the City windows

Sainsbury's Is Winning the Weekly Shop Again | Decoding Retail

60 views · 1w ago · 4:28

Guest: Decoding Retail

SOURCES Sainsbury's: Sainsbury's Reports First-Half Volume Growth on Price Investment and Nectar Prices British Retail Consortium: BRC: Economy Confidence Hits -40 as Spending Intent Rises to +15 Ahead of Budget British Retail Consortium: Shoplifting Falls 2% to 519,516 but BRC Says New Police Powers Unused Six Months On

Topics: Sainsbury's returns to volume growth · BRC: economy confidence falls to minus 40 · Shoplifting falls 2% but police powers unused · Aldi and ABP launch Grounded in Goodness · Walmart sets terms for AI shopping agents · eBay cuts around 1,000 jobs

Why Walmart Is Letting AI Shopping Agents In | Decoding Retail

43 views · 1w ago · 3:27

Guest: Decoding Retail

SOURCES British Retail Consortium: UK CPI Rises to 3.5%; BRC Calls for Cost-Cutting Budget Bain & Company: Bain Forecasts 3.5% UK Christmas Sales Growth, Strongest in Four Years Target: Target Offers 8,000-Plus New Holiday Gifts, Most Under $20, With New AI Gifting Tool Carrefour Belgium: Carrefour Opens Five More BuyBye Autonomous Stores, Reaching 12 Locations

Topics: UK inflation rises to 3.5%, BRC wants a budget cut · Bain: Christmas growth is mostly in price tags · Walmart opens up to third-party AI shopping agents · Target's 8,000 new holiday gifts and AI tool · Carrefour BuyBye autonomous stores reach 12 · Ahold Delhaize confirms Thierry Garnier as CEO

Debenhams Group CEO: 248 Years, Zero UK Stores | Dan Finley

55 views · 1w ago · 6:29

Guests: Dan Finley, Debenhams Group CEO

Recorded at NRF Europe 2026 in Paris, Dan joins Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, and Jill Dvorak, SVP Content at NRF. They discuss the value of the Debenhams name, how technology and AI are changing the business, and why the turnaround is becoming the playbook for boohoo, boohooMAN, PrettyLittleThing and Karen Millen.

Topics: Dan Finley at NRF Europe 2026 · Why the Debenhams brand was worth saving · Why Debenhams has no UK stores · Technology and AI in retail · Growing the retail marketplace · The playbook for boohoo and the wider group

Gymshark's First Celebrity, Stelios's easyShop, Cyber Attack Hits Hobbs Owner TFG

63 views · 1w ago · 13:26

Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, and Simone Oloman run the five UK retail stories that matter this week: a golden quarter where shoppers need a reason to spend before Black Friday, the cybersecurity lesson in the TFG attack, the easyJet founder's 21-country marketplace bet through easyGroup, Gymshark's celebrity play, and the collab boom at YPB, Ugg and Farm Rio.

Topics: Five Things Friday, UK edition · Shoppers need a reason to spend this golden quarter · Cyber attack hits Hobbs and Whistles owner TFG · Gymshark bets on a celebrity to reach new shoppers · Collabs: YPB, Ugg and Farm Rio chase new audiences · Wrap

LVMH Uneven Quarter, Albertsons Review, Just Eat Ad

19 views · 1w ago · 4:14

SOURCES Just Eat : Just Eat Launches 'Stay Just Where You Are' Global Brand Platform Built on the Time Delivery Gives Back Ocado Retail: Ocado Launches Simple Ingredients Aisle as 74% of UK Shoppers Prefer Recognisable Ingredients

Topics: Just Eat: 'Stay Just Where You Are' campaign · Ocado launches Simple Ingredients aisle · Sainsbury's SmartLists turn ideas into baskets · Albertsons withdraws outlook, sales down 0.8% · LVMH: fashion down 5%, selective retail up 8% · Flipkart revenue up 18%, losses narrow

Creator Strategy: How to Win the New Retail Search Game

61 views · 2w ago · 3:46

Guests: Creator Strategy, Alex Rezvan

When a shopper asks ChatGPT or Gemini for the best running shoe, does your brand come up? Recorded on the red carpet at YouTube Festival London 2026, Ben Jeffries, co-founder of , talks to Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, about the opportunity he thinks most retailers are missing: creator-first AEO, answer engine optimisation built on creator content.

Topics: Who is ? · What retailers miss: creator-first AEO · Example: the best running shoe · Shoppers search YouTube too

Amazon Grocery Shake-Up and US Inflation Hits 3.7% | Decoding Retail

39 views · 2w ago · 3:32

Guest: Decoding Retail

Sources Landsec: Landsec Raises Bluewater Stake to 74% in £95m Deal Retail Times: Adobe: 49% of AI Shoppers Abandoned a Purchase Over Data Conflicts Retail Times: AliExpress Launches Elite, a Free Loyalty Programme for High-Spend Shoppers US Bureau of Labor Statistics: US September CPI Rises 0.6%; Annual Rate Reaches 3.7%

Topics: Landsec takes Bluewater stake to 74% · Adobe: 49% of AI shoppers abandon purchases · US inflation rises to 3.7% · Albert Heijn recovers from cyberattack

Boots Chief Customer Officer: Creators Are the New Beauty Counter | Charlotte Lock

106 views · 2w ago · 6:29

Guests: Charlotte Lock, Boots Chief Customer Officer, Alex Rezvan

Creators are the new beauty counter. That is how Charlotte Lock, Chief Customer Officer, Boots, describes where customers now discover products and find advice they trust. Part of our three-part series from YouTube Festival London 2026, with Sophie Neary, Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Goods, Google, and creator Jade Beason.

Topics: Creators are the new beauty counter · Shopping straight from creator videos · How Boots chooses its creators · Purpose, Macmillan, and what to say · Brand building meets easy shopping

Is Now Where Shoppers Decide to Buy | Sophie Neary, Google

33 views · 2w ago · 4:07

Guest: Alex Rezvan

YouTube is no longer just where shoppers see your brand. It is where they decide to buy it. Sophie Neary, Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Goods, Google, talks to Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, at YouTube Festival London 2026: where a retailer should start on YouTube, why brand and creator content belong in the same plan, how shoppable video now reaches the living room TV and the high street, and why your videos now feed AI search.

Topics: Where shoppers now decide to buy · Where to start: your channel plus creators · Connected TV and the high street · From inspiration to purchase · AI search: models read your videos

Ahold Delhaize IT Outage: Websites Down Since Sunday | Decoding Retail

71 views · 2w ago · 3:29

Guests: Decoding Retail, Ahold Delhaize IT Outage

Sources British Retail Consortium: BRC: September Retail Sales Subdued as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget Retail Times: CBRE: Luxury Brands Invest Estimated £400m in London Flagship Fit-outs Since 2025 Retail Times: Aldi Allocates £19.5m to Scotland in 2027 as Part of £900m UK Investment Programme Grocery Dive: Kroger Plans 3,000 Corporate Job Cuts Over Three Years

Topics: BRC: UK retail sales subdued in September · CBRE: £400m on London luxury flagships · Aldi puts £19.5m into Scotland in 2027 · Kroger to cut 3,000 corporate jobs · Ross Stores completes 115 new stores · Ahold Delhaize IT outage since Sunday