Verde voice blog

In this episode, guest Steve Dennis chats with Kristin about Steve’s latest book, Remarkable Retail, and the overarching state of retail today. Steve has a wealth of experience in the space, and we are delighted to have had him on the show. A major facet of the new book is the ‘8 Essentials of Remarkable Retail’ framework, crafting what’s necessary to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

Leta Kalfas, the CEO and Founder of MTNSTUFF joins the show to chat about the growth of the outdoor industry, retail stakeholders, vendor relationships, differentiation in a crowded market, and the evolution of relevancy between retailers and a vendor. Kristin and Lita also dive into trade shows, buying patterns, developing relationships in the industry, pandemic pivots, lengthening the buy-sell cycles, and more!

In this episode, we have Anne Mezzenga in the chair, and she’s brought her A-Game! Yes, she over-delivers insightful broader-market retail trends that bring a ton of consumer insight as we head toward 2023. Anne also brings creative and actionable strategies to combat the myriad of challenges in retail today, including the inventory glut.

In this episode, Kristin reflects on how our “best-laid plans” continue to elude even the most disciplined of teams and shares tips on adopting new approaches with quick execution to further growth and traction. This episode also covers the outdoor rec consumer’s resemblance to luxury consumers, a Q3 view on consumer ‘buying vs. spending,’ and hand-selected resources, including an ‘ode to evolving the legacy supply chain’ by Doug Stephens, the “Retail Prophet,” and Euromonitor International's take on the luxury consumer, and more.

The newest guest on the show, Adam Cramer, is the founding Executive Director and present CEO of Outdoor Alliance, a national coalition of outdoor recreation advocacy groups that has breathed new life into the conservation movement by harnessing the outdoor community’s passion for place and combining it with a modern approach to organizing and digital engagement. During his time as CEO, Adam has brought new sensibilities to conservation work that have resulted in hundreds of thousands more acres of protected landscapes, improved management for outdoor recreation, and thousands of outdoor enthusiasts awakened to conservation and advocacy work.

The current economic climate is volatile and at times confusing for consumers. This can make for a challenging time for brands and speciality retailers. We were grateful when Scott wanted to come back on the podcast and talk about how brands can navigate the current times. Kicking off by talking about inflation and the importance of knowing how inflation will affect your consumers. He continued on with his recommendations on how leaders can end the year on a strong path forward. Leaving with his best piece of advice - taking data seriously and using data to make the best business decisions for your brand or retailer.

In this special solo cast episode of the Chanel Mastery podcast, Kristin dives into the level setting we’re seeing in the business landscape and, more specifically, in the outdoor industry as we head into one of the largest buying periods of the year. Kristin touches on the regression of the Covid-timed consumer, economic slowdown, consumer spending trends, held inventory, and the important months ahead that can not only shape how we finish this year but also set the tone for the partnerships we have and how we work to maintain and build trust with our consumers in 2023 and beyond.