This week we are joined by Clare Cryer, Vice President of Growth at Global innovation agency Outform. We discussed how Clare’s early work honed her focus on shopper psychology, the work Outform does with big retail clients designing and manufacturing solutions for their stores and how the role of the store may change when shaping the overall consumer experience.

This week we spoke with David Muldoon, vice president strategic advisory at MediaLink, a management consultancy which provides strategic media buying, PR, and creative options. We spoke about his 23-year career at Boots, what he learned about effective retail marketing across their seasonanal campaigns and TV advertising, what drives consumer engagement in the modern retail marketing setting, and how retailers should be thinking about the coming years.

In this episode, we’re joined by Julian Bambridge, CEO of MPM Products. Julian discusses MPM’s unique offering and expansion into 49 global markets, the process of becoming a B Corp organisation and the symbiotic relationship between the business and its investors.

This episode we spoke with Nicky Lovell, head of outlets and retail business development, at Global Mutual, a real estate investor, operator and developer. We covered how outlet retail has developed since it emerged the 90s, how Global Mutual identifies opportunities, and turning outlet shopping into a family-focused destination for the benefit of the local community.

Marcus Fox, CEO of Agile Retail, joins us this week to discuss what he learned during his 15 years at supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, how Agile helps retailers trial innovative solutions in order to figure out what their customers will want and need in the future and how the make up of physical stores may change in the coming years.

This week we are joined by Josh Graham, the co founder and CMO of Airtime Rewards. We discussed how Josh identified a gap in the market for mobile strategies for retailers, how a literal elevator pitch helped the business find its feet in its early days and how technology will play an important role in bringing customers back to bricks and mortar stores.

This episode we are joined by Sarah Parham, founder of Sarah Verity Jewellery. We talked about the brand's interesting origins than can be traced back to afternoon tea in India, how a government mentor scheme helped her learn all she needed to run a successful retail business and why she believes the launch of her brands new TV channel may signify an opportunity for all retailers

This week we spoke with Jim Rudall, head of EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp. We spoke about his career in marcomms including founding his own consulting firm, how Intuit Mailchimp is incorporating AI into its toolset to help SMBs drive better customer comms than ever before, and how consumers’ expectations around email marketing have evolved over time.

This episode we’re joined by Sam Walker, the manager of independent, family-run department store Walker & Ling. He discusses the interesting history behind the building itself, how retailers can best engage with their local community, his approach to running a sustainable independent business, and the return of traditional stores to the high street.

This week we are joined by Stefan Loncar, the founder of data analytics company Loncom Consulting. We discussed how Loncom has helped fashion brands with managing their inventory, common errors retailers often make with their data management, and how technological development may lead to even more opportunities for data-driven decision making.

This week we spoke with Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO of GDR Creative Intelligence, a business futurist consultancy. We spoke about the global macro trends that affect retail and what they mean for a five year horizon, how the age of abundance is giving way to a reconstruction based around efficiency and AI based consumer experience, and why the successful retail firms of tomorrow needs sophisticated strategies from the off.

This week we are joined by Anna Uprichard, Vice President of Commerce for Blackhawk Network. We discussed how the £1trillion pound gift card market has developed over the years, how they can help drive customer acquisition, and how they may be an innovative solution to mitigating rising staff costs.

This week we spoke with Theo Paphitis, owner of Rymans, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue, who became a household name appearing as one of the famous Dragons on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. We spoke about how he overcame dyslexia during his education, his early entrepreneurial career, his high street business empire, his experience owning Millwall FC, and how he can’t choose a favourite from his collection of cars.

This episode we are joined by Nikolay Piriankov, the CEO of Bespoke Jeweller Taylor & Hart. We discussed his early entrepreneurial spirit and whether retail leaders are born or made, the challenges and opportunities of operating in a highly fragmented market and why retailers should not be solely focused on guaranteeing low returns.

This week we speak with Stuart Russell, chief strategy officer at Plinc, a customer data technology company. We spoke about the changing nature of personalized customer communications and how retail marketeers are adapting, how Plinc can bring together a retailer's disparate data sources and produce insights that help the marketing team have maximum impact, and how AI looks set to revolutionize the space.

This week we are joined by Jessica Hanley, founder of Piglet in Bed, the luxury bedding and homeware retailer. We discussed how important branding and marketing is when launching a new lifestyle brand, the process and intricacies of opening its first bricks and mortar stores, and how it plans to become a heritage brand of the future.

This week we’re joined by Lex Deak, the founder of e-commerce app, Basket. In this episode we discuss his latest venture and how it is revolutionising how consumers track the products they desire, what its like taking a business from startup to exit, and how you should go about courting investors for your business.

This week we’re joined by Charlotte Broadbent, the UK country lead for online wholesale marketplace, Faire. We discuss how Faire has revolutionised the wholesale game, the ways in which it supports independent retailers and brands, and what the future of the High Street looks like in the coming year.

This week we spoke with Tillie Peel, founder of the Pop Up club, which takes unused retail spaces and turns them into pop up venues for a collective of small retailers. We discussed how Tillie went from having her own pop up to founding the collective, how some of the small brands have found big success through the model, and how she selects new pop ups to come aboard from thousands of applications.

On this week’s episode of Talking Shop we are joined by Helenor Gilmour, director of insights and strategy at kids insight consultancy Beano Brain. We discussed the methods Beano Brain uses to gain invaluable insight into Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s characteristics, how this translates to their purchases, and how best to prepare your brand for the younger consumer

This week we are joined by Karen MacDonald, owner of natural beauty retailer Blomma Beauty. We discussed how her background in buying helped prepare her for launching her own business, the key to developing strong relationships with other brands and how small retailers can create interesting and exciting shopping experiences

This week we’re joined by Chris Griffin, CEO of online marketplace Secret Sales. Chris talks to us about how he disrupted the off-price sales market, how brands can benefit from Secret Sales’s unique model and why evolution is crucial for online marketplaces in the year ahead.

This week we are joined by Tony Preedy, the managing director of e-commerce marketplace Fruugo. We discussed how Fruugo helps remove the barriers for cross border trade for retailers, how discounting may not always be the best solution for when trying to move unsold stock and he provides his answer to the question left by last week’s guest.

This week we speak with Steve Medway, the CEO of Knightsbridge Partnership & Kings Road Partnership, two Business Improvement Districts or ‘BIDs’, in London. He told us about what BIDs are for and what they can achieve for local retail areas, what the dynamics and challenges of running a BID are like, where he thinks the government could improve how BIDs operate, and what his thoughts are on the state and future prospects of the retail industry.