Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report

Hosted by The Robin Report

Business News Commentary

Website RSS feed

Episodes

317

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to Retail Unwrapped, a podcast from The Robin Report. Join Shelley E. Kohan and Haley Boehning as they share insights and unpack issues at the core of retail and consumer products. The conversations are lively and the opinions are honest. New episodes every Friday.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 6, 202645 min

EP 317: Disruptor James Reinhart Reveals ThredUp’s Backstory

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The resale market bets big on the number of people who like the idea of getting rid of the things that they're no longer wearing. The vast majority of people have closets full of clothes that they don't wear. The bet makes sense: The global secondhand and resale market is projected to grow to $393 billion by 2030, making up roughly 10 to 12 percent of total apparel and fashion spend. Join Haley and James Reinhart, Co-founder and CEO at ThredUp, as they discuss the brand’s origin story, its dedication to sustainability, the managed marketplace business model, and what it’s like to be a disruptor. This dialogue is revealing and compelling; ThredUp is more than a commercial enterprise, it’s a reflection of cultural and consumer values. Special Guest: James Reinhart, Co-founder and CEO at ThredUp For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

October 30, 202625 min

EP 316: Why Are So Many CEOs Out of Touch?

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Retail CEOs who are out of touch are the ones who don’t walk their stores. Or their competitors’ stores. Often the executives who make the most consequential decisions are more comfortable in their remote headquarters than interacting with their employees on-site. What’s happening here? Join Haley and Warren Shoulberg, TRR contributor and retail expert, as they deconstruct the disconnect between in-store retail operations and the isolation of the corner office. Is it hubris, over-confidence, scheduling pressure, or poor management? Find out how a company’s culture is shaped by a CEO’s presence and participation at the local store level. Special Guest: Warren Shoulberg, TRR Contributor, Retail Expert For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

October 23, 202645 min

EP 315: Sea Bags Is Original and Mission-Driven

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Sea Bags is built on a novel concept that is both clever and obvious. After sails have outlived their useful life on a sailboat, Sea Bags saves them from the landfill and transforms them into one-of-a-kind bags, accessories and home goods. Seems obvious for an artisanal brand based in Custom House Wharf in coastal Portland, Maine. It has scaled into a successful mission-driven business based on three principles: sustainability, made in the USA, and giving back generously to the community. Join Haley and Laura Hnatow, Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Sea Bags, to discover how a 20-year-old company with a startup attitude has built an authentic, nimble business boosted by a passionate focus on mission and impact. Special Guest: Laura Hnatow, Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce, Sea Bags For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

October 16, 202630 min

EP 314: A Good Return Experience Triggers the Next Purchase

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Retailers have spent decades trying to make returns disappear, yet the problem has grown to the tune of $850 billion. The return experience influences whether customers will ever buy from you again: 82 percent of shoppers say free returns matter, and 81 percent check the policy before they buy. Join Shelley and Birdie Smith, Head of Sales at Happy Returns, as they reveal how the smart play is to transform returns into a growth lever; retailers that give shoppers options, speed, and convenience can turn a return into the next purchase. They also discuss what happens when AI agents start handling returns for the shopper and why only two percent of retailers believe they can detect return fraud heading into the holidays. Returns are no longer the cost of doing business. How they are handled is why customers come back…or never do. Special Guest: Birdie Smith, Head of Sales, Happy Returns For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

October 9, 202631 min

EP 313: California Pizza Kitchen Reinvents Itself

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Restaurant growth has always meant more square footage, more leases, more licensees and fees, and more capital at risk. California Pizza Kitchen is betting the next chapter of its 41-year-old brand on meeting the consumer where they are and staying true to what built the brand in the first place. Join Shelley and Michael Beecham, President of California Pizza Kitchen, as they reveal why the founders were brought back and where the smartest path to today’s diner may lead to a vending machine or the frozen food aisle. Special Guest: Michael Beecham, President of California Pizza Kitchen For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

October 2, 202652 min

EP 312: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams: Empathy is the North Star

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream is a revered and sought after brand; its community culture is solidly empathetic and focused on the quality of life for the growers, makers, ingredient producers, employees, and customers. Join Haley and Zoe Switzer, Chief People Officer at Jeni’s, as they discuss how to build a culture that nurtures a workforce. As Zoe says, “Maybe more than 50 percent of our quality of life is determined by, or at least heavily influenced by, what happens at work. So, the privilege of being an employer is a really big deal; you have an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on people's lives in terms of whether they can put food on the table and pay their rent, or whether they develop skills that serve them well at work.” She believes a Chief People Officer is a representative of the way a company thinks about its community which at Jeni's means a “genuine commitment to quality, doing the right thing for someone else, and make their life a little bit better.” Listen and learn how HR can be transformed by a mutual commitment to uphold high standards, treat other people with dignity and respect, solve problems together, and see one another as important individuals. Special Guest: Zoe Switzer, Chief People Officer, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

September 25, 202626 min

EP 311: Halloween and Hershey’s Are Enduring Traditions

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! It’s no surprise that there's a lot going on in the mind of the consumer, with concerns about the economy, what's happening globally, and the pressures of online social interactions. Halloween provides a welcome reconnection with people in real life. Join Shelley and Stephanie Berman, Vice President of Retail at The Hershey Company as they discuss how Hershey brings memorable moments to life with street fun, new products, and meeting consumers where they are. They discuss how to leverage consumer analytics, tools, and technology to make this Halloween an emotional experience by getting closer real-time to the consumer. Stephanie reveals how her field teams bring real-time insights to adapt and adjust to consumer needs. Learn how Halloween is more than family fun and a popular tradition; it is a time for unapologetic self-reward, social connection, and anticipation with about 67 percent of parents purchasing Halloween candy by mid-summer. Impressively, it is also a $900 million business for Hershey. Special Guest : Stephanie Berman, Vice President of Retail at The Hershey Company For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

September 22, 202618 min

Retail Unwrapped on the Road: How Ace Gets Retail Media Right

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Retail media, currently over-hyped and over-promoted, is typically seen as a novel advertising channel. That sells the network short as a business growth strategy. It is a powerful tool for multi-location, co-op-model retailers when it is used to tie advertising to sales, distribution and new customer acquisition across the brand. Join Shelley and Molly Hjelm, Corporate Vice President and of Head Retail Media at Ace Hardware, as they discuss how Ace is bringing together advertising, store distribution, ecommerce, delivery, customer acquisition, data, and the in-store experience. Learn how the network multitasks to inform and alert its independent store owners about everything from the weather to influencers to make Ace relatable and amplify the trusted relationship its customers expect. Ace also is a poster child for vendor relationships with is new Vendor Council that tests new media strategies and its Retailer Reach direct channel between vendors and store operators to maximize local inventories. Molly Hjelm, Corporate Vice President, Head Retail Media, Ace Hardware For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

September 18, 202630 min

EP 310: Can AI Be Trusted?

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! AI is in the crosshairs of its creators, ethicists, legislators, and a nervous public. With recent headlines predicting the demise of humanity, how does anyone trust AI? On a more operational level, retailers can train and scale AI, but it cannot build trust or relationships, which is an expensive blind spot for retailers. The emerging issue is that AI fluency will separate the haves and the have-nots, and retailers that understand and use AI as a tool to build trust will have a competitive edge. Join Shelley and Aaron Strout, author of Wired for Purpose: Why Humanity Is the Biggest Differentiator in a Digital World , as they reveal how Ford and Ikea became victims of their own tech hubris. Special Guest: Aaron Strout, Author, Wired for Purpose: Why Humanity Is the Biggest Differentiator in a Digital World For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .

September 11, 202628 min

EP 309: Brand Drift and the Risks of AI Marketing

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Most retail brands don't collapse in one dramatic moment; they drift, one small decision at a time. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 40 percent of CMOs pushing for bigger rebranding budgets will lose influence with the C-suite because they can't prove the return. AI is already eroding organic search, adding to brand drift. Join Shelley and Karen Leland, founder of Sterling Marketing Group and author of “The Brand Mapping Strategy,” as they unpack why reinvigorating a brand beats rebranding. They discuss how brand marking is findable, followable, or unforgettable and the risks associated with each. Special Guest: Karen Leland, founder of Sterling Marketing Group and bestselling author For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com , where you can read, watch, and listen to content from retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Twitter .