The Retail Podcast (Video Feed)

The Retail Podcast explores the future of retail through conversations with the leaders, innovators, and brands shaping the industry. Hosted by Alex Rezvan, former Microsoft and Verizon Retail lead, the show brings global conference insights, executive interviews, and sharp analysis on technology, stores, AI, customer experience, and the forces redefining retail.

The Retail Podcast (Video Feed) is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Retail Podcast (Video Feed), a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #214

  A Retail Executive Goes Shopping for AI | NRF APAC 2026

  Aug 19, 202610 min

  What does buying AI look like when a retailer has a real problem to solve? At NRF APAC 2026 in Singapore, Alex Rezvan joins Low Ngai Yuen, Managing Director of AEON360, on a live buying mission across the show floor. Ngai Yuen is not browsing demonstrations. She has a specific requirement: improve the quality, structure, localisation and usefulness of AEON’s product data before expecting AI to create value from it. The journey began at NRF New York, where she found two young product-data companies. In Singapore, she meets them again—this time with a clearer brief, real retail data and a route towards a proof of concept. The first conversation is with Lazuli, a Japanese product-data company whose location and market knowledge matter to AEON’s imported Japanese products and private brands. The team discusses turning unstructured catalogues and PDFs into structured, searchable information, then enriching products with the right language, descriptions, categories and market context. The second meeting focuses on inconsistent supplier data, missing attributes and a proof of concept involving 50,000 SKUs. The discussion shows why retailers need reliable information before adding generative or agentic AI—and why a product catalogue must keep changing as language, trends and customer search intent evolve. This is less a conference interview than a view inside the retail buying process: identifying a problem, finding potential partners, testing them on a real case and deciding whether the technology can scale. In this episode - Why Ngai Yuen came to NRF APAC with a live buying brief - How relationships formed at NRF New York continued in Singapore - Why local Japanese market knowledge matters to AEON - How unstructured product information becomes searchable catalogue data - What inconsistent supplier data costs retailers - Why the team is testing a 50,000-SKU proof of concept - How a “living catalogue” responds to changing search intent - What innovation showcases can offer established retailers This episode is for Retail CEOs, digital and data leaders, ecommerce teams, merchandising leaders, innovation teams, procurement leaders, retail technology founders and anyone responsible for taking AI from conference pitch to operational reality.

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  Episode #210

  What Retailers Can Expect at NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe

  Aug 10, 20266 min

  Why are some retail markets able to adopt AI faster than Europe? 30% off an All Access Pass: ALEX30 NRF Registration page here: ⁠https://bit.ly/4vh5Iz5⁠ . Annabelle Serres, Director of Events for NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe, discusses the barriers created by legacy infrastructure, the lessons Europe can take from APAC and why retailers now need to accelerate implementation. The conversation also covers what executives can expect in Paris, from keynote sessions and practical case studies to startup innovation, the Innovators Showcase and peer networking. For retail leaders working across technology, operations, transformation and customer experience.

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  Episode #213

  What's Really Happening in Global Retail Right Now? Hugo Boss, Uber Eats, Nike, Fair Price & LA 2028

  Aug 10, 202610 min

  Five retail stories. Less than ten minutes. And several signals about where global retail could be heading next. In this international edition of Five Things Friday, we examine five developments across retail, commerce, technology and consumer engagement. First, Fraser’s Group and its position in Hugo Boss — and why the premium market could be ripe for further change. The conversation then moves to Tesco and Uber Eats, as quick commerce increasingly becomes part of retailers’ last-mile strategies. Next, we look at Nike in China. After shifting aggressively toward direct-to-consumer and later rebuilding wholesale relationships, Nike is again refining its channel strategy, concentrating on selected platforms alongside its own direct business. Then we head to Singapore and Fair Price’s Store of Tomorrow, where smart carts, RFID, digital shelf labels, in-store navigation and health-focused experiences provide a glimpse at one possible direction for the physical grocery store. Finally, attention turns to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and what brands can learn from major global sporting events when planning consumer engagement and activation strategies. In this episode: Fraser’s Group and Hugo Boss Tesco, Uber Eats and quick commerce Decathlon and last-mile delivery Nike’s evolving China retail strategy Direct-to-consumer versus wholesale Fair Price’s Store of Tomorrow Smart carts, RFID and digital shelf labels Retail health and wellness experiences LA 2028 Olympic brand activations Marketing around major global sporting events Who should watch or listen: Retail executives, brand leaders, retail technology teams, marketers, commerce professionals and anyone tracking the evolution of physical and digital retail. Subscribe to The Retail Podcast for global retail intelligence, interviews and analysis.

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  Episode #212

  What You Don't See About Culture Shapes Everything

  Aug 7, 202627 min

  How can a global retailer maintain consistency across markets without losing local relevance? In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Katherine Melchior Ray examines why international brand strategies often break down not because executives reject localisation, but because organisations underestimate how differently trust, value, service and quality are interpreted across cultures. The conversation explores the strategic and commercial decisions behind global brand localisation: what should remain non-negotiable, what local teams should be allowed to change, who should hold decision-making authority and how leaders can determine whether adaptation is creating genuine customer value. Katherine also explains why the cost of entering a market incorrectly can be substantially greater than the cost and complexity of adapting properly. About Katherine Melchior Ray Katherine Melchior Ray is a global CMO, speaker, consultant, author and international marketing and management faculty member at UC Berkeley Haas. Her international experience spans Japan, Europe and the United States, with more than 25 years working across markets and categories. The episode discusses her experience with brands including Louis Vuitton, Nike, Gucci, Nordstrom, Hyatt and Shiseido. She is the co-author, with Natalie Kelly, of: Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to Build Brand Value Across Cultures Key Insights Why apparently universal concepts such as trust, speed, performance and value are expressed differently across cultures. How global brands can separate their enduring identity from the products, experiences and communications that should evolve. Why Louis Vuitton’s heritage in travel, quality and innovation allows the brand to expand into new categories without losing its identity. How trust between global headquarters and local leadership creates permission for meaningful innovation. Katherine’s “freedom within a frame” model for balancing global governance with local autonomy. Why failed market entry can be more expensive than local adaptation. What Airbnb’s experience in China reveals about trust, payments, reviews, housekeeping and cultural assumptions. Why AI can accelerate translation and content production but still requires human context, judgement and interpretation. The assumptions retail CEOs should challenge before approving international expansion. Topics Covered Global brand localisation, international retail expansion, cultural intelligence, global marketing strategy, local market adaptation, retail governance, headquarters and local-team relationships, brand consistency, Louis Vuitton, Airbnb in China, Nike in India, AI localisation, customer trust, cultural context and international leadership. Who This Episode Helps This episode is relevant to: Retail CEOs and executive teams Global and regional marketing leaders International expansion teams Brand and customer-experience leaders Retail technology providers Strategy consultants Business-school students Executives managing global and local teams Central Ideas from the Conversation Katherine argues that brands must become explicit about the elements of their identity that cannot change. Local teams can then innovate within a clearly defined strategic frame. She describes trust as being built through three elements: Shared values Open, bilateral communication A history of promises kept This trust gives local leadership the authority to make the brand relevant without fragmenting it. The discussion also examines AI’s role in localisation. AI can support research, translation and analysis, but culture depends on context. As Katherine explains, insight does not simply exist in the data; it emerges through interpretation. Join the Discussion Where should global brand consistency end and local decision-making begin? Share your perspective in the comments. Subscribe to The Retail Podcast for conversations with the executives, strategists and technology leaders shaping the future of retail.

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  Episode #211

  APAC Retail: Crime, Costco China, Vietnam E-commerce and K-Food

  Jul 31, 202616 min

  Retail crime in Australia is becoming serious enough to influence store closures, staffing and employee safety. In China, Costco is taking its membership proposition onto JD.com as paid retail membership continues to gain traction. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s mobile-first e-commerce market is being shaped by Shopee, TikTok Shop and live commerce. Alex Rezvan, Ryf Quail and Ewan examine these developments alongside two major food signals from Malaysia: the mainstream growth of functional food and the localisation of Korean food. The episode covers: Retail crime and violence against store employees Organised retail theft in Australia Costco and Sam’s Club in China Digital membership through JD.com Vietnam’s e-commerce growth Shopee and TikTok Shop Live commerce and mobile retail Grocery e-commerce adoption Functional food in Southeast Asia The localisation of Korean food Presented by The wonderful Ngai Yuen Low Managing Director, AEON360 & Ryf Quail Show Director NRF APAC

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