Retail in America

Welcome to the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast, and we made it to 10 episodes! This is a special one because I have 2 of the Brand Presidents and Franchise Owners of Buff City Soap, Charli Gorman and Tim Chaffin. It was recorded in a store location outside of Memphis, Tennessee, in front of a live audience of team members and leaders from various Buff City Soap brand locations.

For anyone unfamiliar with the brand, here are a few details;

• They are currently open in 29 states and have 218 locations.
• Their purpose: "Make Life Smell Wonderful, One handmade Soap at a Time."
• 100% of their products are handmade daily by local Makers in their Soap Makery, and customers can experience their beauty and laundry products handmade in front of their eyes
• This also means that each store creates its own inventory and only produces what is necessary and favored by that local customer.
• No complicated ingredients and confusing language. Just plant-based goodness, that's the Buff City Soap way.

In this episode we learn more about what it means to be a franchise owner of a fast-growing retail business, an essential part of our industry. You don't want to miss it!

There is also a quick video here with all of the highlights of our time together.

But first, a huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast.

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats.

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more.

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more.

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more.

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to episode 11, Season 1 of the RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast! This episode was recorded live in our Airstream trailer in Dallas, Texas, and I am honored and excited to introduce you to Patrick Carrion.

Patrick is the perfect guest to share what retail in America means to Texas, as he is originally from Robstown, a small town close to Corpus Christi.

He attended Baylor University in Waco for a bachelor's in marketing and a minor in Fashion Merchandising. Subsequently, he received his Master's in Business Administration from Texas A&M Kingsville and is now a certified life coach.

Patrick has been in retail for over 20 years, including 13 years at Gap Inc with Old Navy, Banana Republic, and GAP, where he went from retail to corporate. (9 years in the field and four years in SF at Corp)

From there, he spent four years at Louis Vuitton as a Training Manager for the Central Region of the US. After four years with MCM Worldwide, where he started as a Training Manager for the Americas, he is now the brand's Global Director of Learning and Development.

Patrick is also the first guest to share his insight on the metaverse and Web 3.0 - you don't want to miss it!

But first, a huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast.

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats.

YOOBIC Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more.

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more.

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, media links, and more.

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak

Cover image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to RETAIL IN AMERICA!

This podcast is part of The RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, my year-long journey to discover incredible retail heroes all across the country, celebrating our retail culture, community, and careers. Go to retailpride.com or IG @retail pride to see it all, including past podcast episodes, playlists, and future cities on tour.

This conversation was recorded live in our Airstream in San Diego, CA, with Tony Drockton, Founder and self-proclaimed Chief Cheerleader of Hammitt, a genuine American luxury brand based in Los Angeles.

A lifelong entrepreneur, beginning with an MBA from Bowling Green in his home state of Ohio, Tony established his pattern of success early, through his start-ups in the construction and finance industries, before moving into this crazy fashion business.

Tony took the reins at Hammitt in 2008, overseeing its transformation from a best-kept hometown secret to a digital and retail phenomenon.

Tony is a philanthropist, speaker, mentor, and lifelong entrepreneur, but mostly, he loves experiencing the zest and wonder of life and brings all of that to this conversation. Enjoy!

A huge thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast.

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats.

YOOBIC is a Frontline Employee Experience Platform. It’s an all-in-one mobile app that provides Retail leaders and their frontline teams with inclusive communications, mobile learning, and digitized task management - all in the flow of work.

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omni-channel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more.

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

The RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast team includes:

Producer Roi Perets

Audio Engineer Dean Albak

Cover Image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to RETAIL IN AMERICA!

This podcast is part of The RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, my year-long journey to discover incredible retail heroes all across the country, celebrating our retail culture, community, and careers. Go to retailpride.com or IG @retail pride to see it all, including past podcast episodes, playlists, and future cities on tour.

Today I am LIVE from the Airstream in Malibu, California, with Bree Jacoby, the founder and CEO of BREE.

Bree Jacoby is an LA-based entrepreneur, stylist, founder, and all-around powerhouse - and if you work in any capacity in sales or retail, you will want to experience this conversation!

Bree and I go way back and have done several things together that we'll talk about, and as she says, "fashion and entrepreneurship are in my blood."

As a Los Angeles native who grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, she is passionate about trailblazing the style space by making luxury more attainable and empowering people to be their best.

Her company's mission is to transcend what to wear by revolutionizing how people get dressed and sparking a more personal, confident relationship with style for everyone.

By streamlining what you already own, curating purposeful purchases, and digitizing polished looks, you reduce stress, wasted time, and guesswork to make dressing well a whole lot more fun and BREEzy for you!

Please enjoy the episode, and a big thank you to the three title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour and this podcast.

Spotify Advertising is the #1 podcast platform in the US and has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform. Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats.

YOOBIC is a Frontline Employee Experience Platform. It's an all-in-one mobile app that provides Retail leaders and their frontline teams with inclusive communications, mobile learning, and digitized task management - all in the flow of work.

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers.

With over 35 years of experience, let KWI help you execute flawlessly with the features that matter most, including endless aisle, clienteling, mobile checkout, inventory management, e-commerce, and more.

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or say hello.

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

The RETAIL IN AMERICA podcast team includes:

Producer Roi Perets

Audio Engineer Dean Albak

Cover Image shot by Duke Winn

Welcome to episode 6, and I have another exceptional retail hero here with me in Boston today! Ladiane Cardoso is a Multi-Store General Manager for Zadig et Voltaire today and is very passionate about Talent Development and Client Relationship Management.

She is originally from Cape Verd, a small country on the West Coast of Africa. Ladiane moved to the US 8 years ago for college and started her American journey without knowing the language in a small town in Rhode Island.

She was initially studying Social Service, but after only one year of working in retail, she changed my major to Business Management and Fashion Merchandising at Fisher College.

This life-changing introduction to the retail industry was just 6 years ago as a Part-Time Sales Associate at Banana Republic, right here on Newbury St. in Boston.

She says that although her retail career was accidental, it unfolded perfectly, and she can't imagine doing anything else!

But before we get started, I want to thank you to the three essential title sponsors fueling the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour AND this podcast.

Spotify Advertising Spotify is the #1 podcast platform in the US. It has grown to over 420M monthly unique registered users around the globe, over half of which are supported on the ad platform.

Spotify advertising will help you reach and target your audience across devices, locations, and formats.

Over 300 companies in 80 countries trust YOOBIC to drive their retail performance at scale, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, digitized task management, and more.

KWI is the industry's only true turnkey omnichannel platform for specialty retailers.

Please subscribe, review, and then share this podcast with everyone you know in retail - and there are many of us!

Go to RETAIL PRIDE and follow me on IG @retailpride to see all the details about the RETAIL IN AMERICA tour, the cities we will visit, upcoming events, media links, and more.

Contact me directly here to nominate a retail hero for this podcast, host a retail networking or book signing event in your city, or just say hello.

Keep your retail pride strong, and I will see you on the road!

Audio engineer Dean Albak

Cover image shot by Duke Winn