The Voice of Retail

10 Episodes
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By: Michael LeBlanc

The Voice of Retail is a weekly podcast hosted by retail pioneer, advisor and keynote speaker Michael LeBlanc and is produced in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Each and every week I interview the most interesting people in and around the retail industry, examining the key issues and strategies on the minds of thought leaders in Canada, the U.S. and around the world. © 2018-2025 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Retail Readiness 101 with Liza Amlani, retail expert and author of the brand new book The Whole Sale: Profitable Wholesale Strategies For Brands
#451
Last Friday at 8:05 AM

Retail success isn't just about having a fantastic product—it's about understanding the business of selling. On this episode of The Voice of Retail, I welcome Liza Amlani, renowned retail strategist and co-author of The Whole Sale: Profitable Wholesale Strategies for Brands. Liza shares insider insights from her 20+ years in buying, merchandising, and retail consulting, helping brands navigate the complexities of wholesale expansion.

In a rapidly changing marketplace, many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands struggle to break into wholesale partnerships, unsure how to negotiate terms, optimize product placement, or manage markdown strategies. Liza outlines the critical retail fundamentals that br...


From Marketing Leader to Independent Retailer: Daryl Aitken's Entrepreneurial Journey to Fabric Spark
#450
02/07/2025

On this episode of The Voice of Retail, I reconnect with Daryl Aitken, the founder of Fabric Spark, for an engaging conversation on the shifting landscape of retail. Darrell's journey is a masterclass in adaptation—starting in advertising and e-commerce, then pivoting into a fabric business that blends digital and brick-and-mortar retail.

Fabric Spark began as a passion project to improve the customer experience in the online fabric space.

What started as a side hustle quickly became a full-fledged business fueled by a deep understanding of e-commerce and a strong sense of community. The pandemic po...


Retail Strategist Carl Boutet and his latest book "Blind Spot: Navigating the Unseen Effects of Technology on Commerce"
#449
01/31/2025

On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc speaks with retail strategist, professor, and author Carl Boutet about his journey in academia, insights from NRF 2025, and his latest book, Blind Spot: Navigating the Unforeseen Effects of Technology on Commerce.

Carl discusses his evolving role in retail education, including his work at McGill University and teaching in Asia. He shares how his exposure to different global markets, particularly in Vietnam, has shaped his perspectives on retail innovation and emerging technologies.

A key topic of discussion is Carl’s take on NRF Big Show 2025, wh...


Vancouver's Innovative Retail Crime Fighting Solution, Project Barcode, with Sgt. Craig Reynolds & Arezo Zarrabian, Vancouver Police Department
#448
01/24/2025

In this episode, meet Sgt. Craig Reynolds & Arezo Zarrabian, a Senior Crime Analyst from the Vancouver Police Department. Together, they take us behind the scenes for a comprehensive discussion of both the criminal justice system & an update reflecting the work of their innovative and data-driven task force, Project Barcode, investigating and fighting violent retail crime on the streets of Vancouver.

 

https://vpd.ca/news/2024/06/06/vpd-targets-downtown-eastside-fencing-operations/

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 th...


A Modern Take on Retail Media with Drew Cashmore, Head of Strategy, Vantage
#447
01/17/2025

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, Michael LeBlanc sits down with Drew Cashmore, a retail media pioneer whose career spans over 15 years, including roles at Walmart and Vantage. Drew discusses his journey from building Walmart Canada’s advertising business to spearheading Walmart Connect in the U.S., scaling it into a multi-billion-dollar retail media platform.

The conversation delves into retail media’s evolution—bridging traditional shopper marketing and sophisticated, data-driven advertising. Drew outlines how retail media connects vendors with customers through first-party data, enabling targeted, measurable campaigns that drive both sales and customer satisfaction. He distin...


Fail Better: Special Guest Host Bonus Episode with Steve Dennis
01/10/2025

If you have been following this short special series—or if you just think about what distinguishes organizations that are winning the future from the also-rans, it is very often that they act more boldly, they take more chances, they fail regularly, they adjust, they fail some more.

They believe, as my friend Seth Godin says, “if failure is not an option, then neither is success.” Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is not to avoid failure; it is to fail better. But what does this mean, why is it so important, and how do we do...


Safe Is Risky: Special Guest Host Bonus Episode with Steve Dennis
01/08/2025

Clayton Christensen, the late great Harvard Business School professor, wrote one of the best business strategy books of all time. In his classic "The Innovator's Dilemma" he explains how successful companies often fail by becoming overly locked into their established business models and optimizing the heck out of them, thereby ignoring, more risky disruptive innovations.

Of course, back in 1997, when Christensen's book first started to have impact, e-commerce was in its infancy, smart devices were a decade away, and cloud computing and AI weren't even glimmers in anyone's eyes.  The speed of disruption back then wasn't exactly g...


I Love You. But You Are Not Serious People: Special Guest Host Bonus Episode with Steve Dennis
01/06/2025

Something different for this Holiday season on the #pod as I head into my eighth year of The Voice of Retail and prepare for the year ahead - a guest host, cross-over thought leader insight bonus series of episodes from my award-winning Remarkable Retail #podcast. This past summer, Steve Dennis and I released a series of six bonus episodes with leadership insights adapted from his newest best-seller, Leaders Leap.

Remember a few years ago when everyone was talking about a retail apocalypse? Physical retail was dead or dying, they said. Malls were going away. If you wanted...


I'm The Problem. It's Me. Special Guest Host Bonus Episode with Steve Dennis
01/03/2025

Something different for this Holiday season on the #pod as I head into my eighth year of The Voice of Retail and prepare for the year ahead - a guest host, cross-over thought leader insight bonus series of episodes from my award-winning Remarkable Retail #podcast. This past summer, Steve Dennis and I released a series of six bonus episodes with leadership insights adapted from his newest best-seller, Leaders Leap.

In his new book Leaders Leap, Steve proposes a series of 7 Mind Leaps that are essential to transforming you and your organization. There is a powerful reason that...


Shift Happens: Special Guest Host Bonus Episode with Steve Dennis
12/30/2024

Something different for this Holiday season on the #pod as I head into my eighth year of The Voice of Retail and prepare for the year ahead - a guest host, cross-over thought leader insight bonus series of episodes from my award-winning Remarkable Retail #podcast. This past summer, Steve Dennis and I released a series of six bonus episodes with leadership insights adapted from his newest best-seller, Leaders Leap.

Having spent most of his career working in either senior leadership positions at a corporation or as a strategic advisor, where he was focused on driving growth & innovation...