Tracking the Single SKU with Antonia Johnstone, CEO of Sign of the Times
02/17/22 • 30 min
This episode features an interview with Antonia Johnstone, CEO of Sign of the Times. For over 45 years, Sign of the Times has been London’s premier luxury resale store, which Antonia acquired in 2019.
On today’s episode, Antonia discusses her journey as an entrepreneur, the complexities of her industry’s supply chain, and why fashion must reduce its environmental impact.
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“100 billion apparel items are produced yearly and 60% of those will be discarded within one year. It’s quite a big issue, and I think fashion needs to lighten its footprint on the planet.” -Antonia Johnstone
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Show Notes
- (1:27) Tony’s takeaways on the conversation
- (3:28) Antonia’s journey as an entrepreneur
- (6:26) A day in the life
- (9:08) Resale as a sustainability initiative
- (10:39) The role technology has played at Sign of the Times
- (12:30) Using microscopic photo AI to authenticate merchandise
- (13:53) The complexities of the luxury resale supply chain
- (18:23) Why fashion must reduce its environmental impact
- (23:08) Biggest challenges and tracking the single SKU
- (25:13) Lightning round
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Sponsor
This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.
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Links
Connect with Antonia on LinkedIn
This episode features an interview with Antonia Johnstone, CEO of Sign of the Times. For over 45 years, Sign of the Times has been London’s premier luxury resale store, which Antonia acquired in 2019.
On today’s episode, Antonia discusses her journey as an entrepreneur, the complexities of her industry’s supply chain, and why fashion must reduce its environmental impact.
--
“100 billion apparel items are produced yearly and 60% of those will be discarded within one year. It’s quite a big issue, and I think fashion needs to lighten its footprint on the planet.” -Antonia Johnstone
--
Show Notes
- (1:27) Tony’s takeaways on the conversation
- (3:28) Antonia’s journey as an entrepreneur
- (6:26) A day in the life
- (9:08) Resale as a sustainability initiative
- (10:39) The role technology has played at Sign of the Times
- (12:30) Using microscopic photo AI to authenticate merchandise
- (13:53) The complexities of the luxury resale supply chain
- (18:23) Why fashion must reduce its environmental impact
- (23:08) Biggest challenges and tracking the single SKU
- (25:13) Lightning round
--
Sponsor
This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.
--
Links
Connect with Antonia on LinkedIn
Previous Episode
NRF 2022 Recap
This episode features a recap of NRF 2022: Retail's Big Show, which took place in New York City from January 16th-18th.
On today’s episode, we hit the convention floor and hear from various companies about how they are tackling some of retail's most pressing matters, from staffing shortages to supply chain issues to leveraging massive amounts of data.
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Show Notes
- (3:38) What were the big themes of this year's convention?
- (5:30) Zliide, the automated checkout company
- (7:38) Exotec, the warehouse automation company
- (10:24) Retail Robotics, the parcel locker company
- (14:42) Ulisse, the behavioral AI company
- (16:00) Heuritech, the image intelligence company
- (17:57) Dressipi, the fashion AI company
- (19:23) Nobal Technologies, the interactive mirror company
- (21:04) Scandit, the barcode scanning AR company
- (22:45) Tokinomo, the shelf advertising robot company
- (25:19) Yugabyte, the open-source, multi-cloud company
- (27:20) The future of retail technology
- (28:58) The advantage of being press at NRF
- (30:08) Why New York is the perfect location for NRF
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Sponsor
This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.
Next Episode
Bricks and Mortar with Simone Sweeney, Vice President Global Retail Development, The LEGO Group
This episode features an interview with Simone Sweeney, Vice President Global Retail Development at The LEGO Group. Since 2015, Simone has helped develop, lead, and implement global retail programs for the nearly 90 year-old brand.
On today’s episode, Simone discusses the concept of “retailtainment,” the challenges of opening 300 stores in over 40 countries over the last two years, and how technology plays both an inspirational and practical role.
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“Everything that we do is our mission to inspire and develop the future builders of tomorrow." -Simone Sweeney
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Show Notes
- (1:27) Tony’s takeaways on the conversation
- (2:50) Simone’s journey in retail
- (6:22) Introducing the concept of “retailtainment”
- (11:58) The inspirational and practical role of technology in Lego stores
- (17:50) Diving into the experiential “Brick Lab” experience
- (21:08) The challenges of leading a global retail company
- (26:48) Creating a seamless offline and online shopper experience
- (30:26) What makes the Lego brand special?
- (32:36) Lightning round
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Sponsor
This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.
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Links
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