Steve and Michael open earnings season for March-ending retailers with a tour of luxury's stumble. LVMH posted just 1% organic growth, with fashion and leather — including Louis Vuitton — remaining soft. Kering continues its turnaround "with more promise than proof" under new CEO Luca de Meo. Even Hermès saw growth slow and its stock fall. The common thread: the Middle East, where mall traffic has reportedly dropped 30–50% at locations like Mall of the Emirates. Albertsons' 0.7% comp reinforces the "unremarkable middle" thesis. Meanwhile, Amazon's Andy Jassy confirmed in his shareholder letter that Amazon has surpassed Kroger to become America's #2 grocer — a milestone that largely slipped past the headlines.

March core retail sales came in hot at 7.05%, with apparel, health & beauty, and sporting goods posting low-double-digit gains — likely fueled by tax refunds and the ongoing GLP-1 wardrobe refresh. On tariffs, refunds appear to be coming. Even so, the Treasury is already signaling new tariffs to replace those ruled illegal.

The centerpiece of the episode is Retail Rumble Part 2, recorded live on the ShopTalk Las Vegas stage. In Round 1, Steve faces off against Ken Pilot, Founder and CEO of Ken Pilot Ventures, on whether department stores can be resurrected. Ken argues format and geography still matter — pointing to thriving concepts in Dubai, Beijing's SKP, and El Corte Inglés — and jabs at Steve's alleged American-centric view. Steve fires back with the numbers: department stores' share of U.S. retail has collapsed from 10% to 1.8%, with poor momentum and store closings running rampant.

Round 2 pits Lauren Livak Gilbert against Sarah Enge, on whether AI is a threat or opportunity for your job. Lauren leans into Goldman Sachs' 300-million-jobs figure and the hollowing out of analyst roles. Sarah counters that AI effectively returns a full workday to marketers and frees humans for storytelling and connection.

In the back half, Steve revisits Allbirds' bizarre reinvention as NewBird.ai — a GPU-as-a-service AI compute platform that sent the stock up 700% before it cratered. The duo also unpacks Starbucks' strategy under Brian Niccol, now being called the "couchification of Starbucks" — leaning into comfort and dwell time over throughput.

On the radar: Steve flags global travel disruption tied to the Iran conflict, including warnings of a potential European jet fuel shortage within six weeks. Michael highlights New York State's new cash-acceptance law for retailers and softer-than-expected World Cup ticket sales.

Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

This week Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc bring listeners a high-energy live episode from Shoptalk Las Vegas — Part 1 of the inaugural Retail Rumble.

The episode opens with the week's most important retail news. Levi Strauss delivers strong revenue growth driven by its expanding direct-to-consumer business, underscoring how its pivot away from wholesale dependency is unlocking margin and brand control — an increasingly critical playbook in modern retail.

The department store sector remains under pressure. Saks Global's bankruptcy exit signals stabilization, but also highlights the structural challenges facing legacy luxury retail. With store closures, ownership restructuring, and vendor confidence still rebuilding, the hosts examine whether Saks can regain lost ground as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom move to capitalize on the disruption.

Additional analysis covers early warning signs in mall traffic, with Placer.ai data pointing to a potential slowdown, and Wayfair's continued push into physical retail despite broader category softness — raising pointed questions about the evolving role of stores in an omnichannel world.

The second half shifts to the Retail Rumble stage, where industry heavyweights debate two of retail's most pressing questions. Michael LeBlanc and Anne Mezzinga, founding CEO of Retail Field Report, referee the action.

Round one: Is eCommerce entering a new phase of accelerated growth? Neil Saunders argues that demographic shifts, infrastructure investment, and AI-driven discovery will fuel acceleration. R.J. Hottovy counters with the realities of market saturation, the enduring importance of physical retail, and the law of large numbers limiting growth upside.

Round two: Does retail media improve the shopper journey? Kiri Masters argues that retail media enhances relevance and subsidizes pricing through high-margin revenue streams. Rachel Tipograph challenges the model as increasingly pay-to-play — one that risks distorting product discovery and eroding the customer experience it claims to enhance.

Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

This week on The Remarkable Retail Podcast, Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc break down the forces reshaping retail before sitting down live at Shoptalk in Las Vegas with Matt Baer, CEO of Stitch Fix.

The episode opens with a wide-ranging look at the macro pressures bearing down on the industry—geopolitical conflict, rising tariffs, and supply chain strain. Earnings from Nike and RH reveal a consistent theme: even iconic brands can stumble when positioning and innovation lag behind a volatile consumer environment. In grocery, the "collapse of the unremarkable middle" continues as Walmart, Amazon, Aldi, and premium players squeeze traditional operators like Albertsons. A wave of M&A activity—including Allbirds' dramatic valuation collapse, Bed Bath & Beyond's improbable resurrection, and its acquisition of The Container Store—underscores just how much disruption is still unfolding. The hosts also push back on the hype around AI tools like Macy's shopping assistant, cautioning against confusing correlation with causation.

At the center of the episode is a compelling conversation with Matt Baer, who outlines how Stitch Fix is executing a disciplined turnaround built on three phases: establishing a strong operational foundation, reimagining the customer experience, and returning to sustainable growth. Four consecutive quarters of improving revenue trends suggest the strategy is working.

Baer's core argument is that true personalization isn't about volume or targeting—it's about relevance, timing, and understanding customers at a granular level. Stitch Fix achieves this by pairing deep data and AI-driven recommendations with human stylists who bring judgment, empathy, and relationship-building to a category that remains inherently emotional. New tools like AI styling assistants and digital visualization are enhancing that human element, not replacing it.

The episode closes with forward-looking perspective on retail crime, supply chain vulnerability, and macroeconomic uncertainty—and a clear throughline: in an increasingly chaotic landscape, agility and strategic clarity aren't optional.

Join us at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York June 23rd and 24th with this exclusive discount code for 10% off general admission tickets and FREE retail tickets: Your code is "REMARKABLE" . See you in the Big Apple!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.