The Voice of Retail

Welcome to The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

In this episode, I’m in Istanbul talking with Emre Soyer, author of his new book, The Myth of Experience. Armed with a Ph.D. in behavioural science and founder of the SOYER Decision Advisory to help people and organizations make better decisions. In a wide-ranging and fascinating interview, Emre turns the conventional thinking of what we learn from experience on its head - it turns out, experience may not be the best teacher...

You can learn more about Emre and the work he does on his website here.

You can pick up his book, The Myth of Experience, here or wherever amazing books are sold.

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Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of The Voice of Retail. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss out on the latest episodes, industry news, and insights. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review, as it really helps us grow so that we can continue getting amazing guests on the show.

I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company, and if you’re looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co!

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Something different on the podcast for this episode: Meet Ariela Nerubay, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at Curacao retail stores, a fellow 2024 ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert and leader in ethnic and modern marketing strategies and tactics. You might not recognize the LA-based retail stores she leads, but the insights, challenges and opportunities translate well on the mic and across the border.

• Curacao website: https://icuracao.com/
• Instagram: @icuracao_usa
• Twitter (X): @icuracao
• Facebook: CuracaoUSA
• TikTok: @curacaousa

About Ariela

As the EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Curacao retail stores, Ariela Nerubay has

been instrumental in driving the company's business strategy, brand positioning, and

online expansion efforts. Since joining, the company has experienced an impressive 10-

30% YoY growth in both customers and sales. Over the past five years, Ariela has led

the charge in repositioning the Curacao brand and expanding its target audience,

resulting in the attraction of new customer segments and increased scalability.

Ariela's efforts have included designing programs aimed at improving customer

experiences, streamlining creative production processes, and promoting a culture that

prioritizes customer-centricity, data-driven decision-making, and agility. Drawing from

her extensive experience in entertainment, startups, and retail, Ariela has played a

pivotal role in transforming Curacao from a traditional retailer to a digital-forward brand.

Currently, Ariela is focused on designing and implementing Curacao's marketing

technology stack, which aims to provide hyper-personalized customer experiences

through first-party data enrichment. Additionally, she has created and leads the

company's first Customer Advocacy Group, which is dedicated to evaluating and

improving both on and offline customer journeys. Ariela also serves as the leader of

Curacao's Community Foundation.

With over 20 years of experience in marketing, Ariela is an award-winning executive

who specializes in targeting the multicultural consumer. She has worked with several

esteemed brands, including Wal-Mart, Comcast, Allstate, Univision Communications,

The Walt Disney Company, Fox Studios, and Sony Pictures. During her tenure at these

companies, Ariela has been responsible for spearheading marketing efforts aimed at

reaching the U.S. Hispanic customer.

In addition to her role as CMO at Curacao, Ariela also serves as an adjunct professor at

USC's Marshall School of Business and Annenberg School of Communication and

Journalism. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Boys and Girls of

America, where she is involved in the Impact and Youth of the Year Committees.

Prior to joining Curacao, Ariela served as Vice President of Multicultural Marketing at

The Walt Disney Studios, where she led the multicultural strategy for several films

including the re-launch of the Star Wars franchise. She also spent 12 years at Univision

Communications, where she held multiple senior executive positions, including General

Manager of Univision Cable Networks. In this role, she built the marketing department

from scratch and was responsible for leading channel distribution sales, public relations,

advertising sales promotions, B2C and B2B advertising, and marketing efforts for five

Spanish language music and movie cable networks.

Under Ariela's leadership, her marketing departments received more than 24 industry

awards, including NAMIC's (National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communication)

Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards, The Cablefaxies, and CTAM's (Cable and

Telecommunications Association of Marketers) Golden Palm and CTAM Mark Award.

Ariela herself has been recognized for her work with a "Luminary" award by the National

Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communication, a "Successful Latinas in Business

Award" in the Media and Communications category by the National Latina

Businesswomen Association and was selected as one of the Most Influential Minorities

in Cable...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

In this episode, I’m in Dallas, Texas welcoming back to the podcast top retail strategist, best selling author and my Remarkable Retail podcast co-host Steve Dennis! We're back on the mic together talking about the launch of the 2nd edition of his best selling book Remarkable Retail, and we cover a lot of ground reviewing the core principles of the first book, what has changed in the second edition written in the COVID era, and the big trends and six key forces in the post-COVID retail world you need to know to survive and thrive!

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Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption will be released April 13th and is now available for preorder at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.

*Very* excited to host my good friend and podcast partner Steve Dennis's virtual book launch of his new and expanded second edition of his breakthrough book April 13th, 5pm ET!
I get the pleasure of speaking to Steve each and every week for our podcast (btw, check out the latest episode featuring Kiri Masters all about how retailers should think about Instacart and other 3rd party delivery services) now you get to hear him 1:1 talk about the key strategies *you need to know* to survive and thrive in the COVID era of retail and beyond and ask questions directly in this live and interactive event.
Click the link today to register - space is limited!
https://lnkd.in/eGbg-Fy

We'll also be doing a Clubhouse launch event Monday April 12th at 5pm ET, I'll be moderating so please look for me and connect on Clubhouse!

Click here for your chance to win one of three copies hot off the shelves of Remarkable Retail!

Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of The Voice of Retail. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on the latest episodes, industry news, and insights. If you enjoyed this episode please consider leaving a rating and review, as it really helps us grow so that we can continue getting amazing guests on the show.

I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co!

Until next time, stay safe and have a great week!

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvai...

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.

In this special episode I’m helping retailer Harry Rosen Set The Tone with a new online webinar series which invites Canadian thought leaders and role models to chat about current events, their passions and how they set the tone for their personal and professional lives. In this first episode of the series Larry Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Harry Rosen, and top executive coach Jane Gaynor are introduced by series host Trinh Tham, CMO for Harry Rosen and then join me to talk about leadership in the COVID era.

You can watch a playback of the live webinar here.

Next, I welcome back to the podcast Eric Morris Managing Director of Retail for Google Canada and we catch up and talk about the latest fascinating fresh insights from Google based on search data on how Canadian consumers are shopping and getting ready for Holiday 2020. Check out the report and the data here.

But first, let’s listen into Set the Tone with Larry Rosen and Jane Gaynor from Gain Your Edge Coaching

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Thanks to Trinh, Larry, Jane and Eric for being my guests on this episode. If you liked this podcast please subscribe on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform, rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.

I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn

Until next time, have a safe week!

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and with the support of omNovos, Canada’s digital customer engagement company. omNovos make Personalization EASY by helping you engage the right customer, with the right content, at the right time. Find out how you can get started quickly and affordably so you can focus on doing what matters most--driving revenue and margin growth at www.realcustomerengagement.com

This episode is also supported by riwi, real-time interactive world-wide intelligence, visit www.riwi.com to learn more...

In this episode I welcome Samir Kulkarni, CEO of Showcase - Home of Canada's hottest trends. Samir shares his innovative approach to staying ahead of the top retail product trends with social media listening and agile supply management and merchandising that also made them an important destination for PPE in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis.

Next, I catch up with Gary Davenport, CIO Mentor and Board Advisor and talks about the early days of working together and launching Hudson's Bay groundbreaking eCommerce, plus his wise advice to modern retail technology leaders.

But first, let’s hear from Samir from Showcase

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Thanks to Samir and Gary for being my guests, plus omNovos and riwi for their support on this episode. If you liked this podcast please subscribe on Apple, Spotify or your favourite podcast platform, rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.

I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.