Episodes
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
- Dyson's philosophy is to rethink, reimagine, and renew.
- Sustainability can coexist with sales strategies.
- Focusing on fewer markets can lead to better results.
- Consumer motivations for refurbished products include sustainability and price.
- Refurbishment processes require strict quality standards.
- Different regions have varying maturity levels in sustainability practices.
- Sales KPIs are closely tied to return rates and refurbishment cycles.
- A career path can be unpredictable and shaped by opportunities.
- Continuous improvement is essential for growth in a sustainable business.
-- Run time: 38 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Dyson - https://www.dyson.co.uk/
[ 👨👧 ]
Gertin Schraa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gertin-schraa-17b8595/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
In this episode, Ian Jindal speaks with Alec Mills, co-founder of Dame, about the journey of creating sustainable and toxin-free period products. They discuss the challenges faced in the industry, the importance of changing the conversation around menstruation, whether men have a role in women's health discussions. Alec shares insights on product innovation, market positioning, and the impact of collaborations with larger brands. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of Dame and the ongoing mission to improve menstrual health and sustainability.
Takeaways
- Dame was launched in 2019 to address the issues with traditional period products.
- The company focuses on creating sustainable and toxin-free products.
- Changing the conversation around menstruation is crucial for societal progress.
- Product design must prioritize both functionality and sustainability.
- Reusable products can save money in the long run.
- Period poverty is a significant issue that needs addressing.
- Collaboration with larger brands can amplify impact and reach.
- Innovations like self-sanitizing menstrual cups can change user habits.
- The mission to improve menstrual health continues as long as subpar products exist.
Sound Bites
"We make sustainable and toxin-free period products."
"Traditional period products are full of toxins."
"Can we change an industry?"
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Sustainable Period Products
02:57 The Journey of Dame: From Idea to Impact
05:49 Challenges and Insights in the Period Product Industry
09:11 The Role of Men in Women's Health Conversations
11:59 Innovations in Period Products: Design and Functionality
14:51 Market Positioning and Addressing Period Poverty
17:48 Collaborations with Big Brands and Their Impact
21:08 Future Directions for Dame and the Industry
24:00 Conclusion and Reflections on Progress
-- Run time: 45 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Dame - https://wearedame.co/
[ 👨👧 ]
Alec Mills: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-ph-mills/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
- The Very Group is the UK's largest domestic online-only retailer with an integrated flexible payment platform.
- The company aims to help families get more out of life by offering a wide choice of products and flexible ways to pay.
- The role of credit is to support families in managing their household income and making purchases more affordable.
- The Very Group is focused on digital experience and constantly optimizing the customer journey.
- The company is undergoing a technology transformation to create a composable architecture and enhance the customer experience.
- "Our purpose as a business is to help families get more out of life."
- "Our job was to translate [the heritage] into a digital world, create a compelling digital experience, and then find a way of translating the mechanism of how you could spread the cost online."
-- Run time: 48 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Very - https://www.very.co.uk/
The Very Group - https://www.theverygroup.com/
[ 👨👧 ]
Paul Hornby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhornby/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Thursday Jun 13, 2024
Thursday Jun 13, 2024
Welcome to a special episode featuring Mark from Guitar Guitar, who joins us to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary. Hosted by Ian Jindal, Editor-in-Chief of Internet Retailing, and Georgia from Adobe, this episode dives deep into the evolution of Guitar Guitar and its unique approach to music retail.
Mark shares the history of Guitar Guitar, from its humble beginnings to becoming a significant player in the music retail industry. He discusses the company's commitment to providing a personalized customer experience, both online and in-store, and the challenges and triumphs they've faced over the years.
The conversation touches on the innovative ways Guitar Guitar has integrated technology to enhance customer interaction, the importance of maintaining a physical store presence, and the company's recent transition to an employee-owned business model. Mark also highlights their efforts in music education and community engagement, reflecting on how these initiatives align with their core values.
Join us for an insightful discussion about the past, present, and future of Guitar Guitar, and learn how they continue to make music more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
-- Run time: 33 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Guitar Guitar - https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/guitar-guitar-limited/
[ 👨👧 ]
Mark McKenzie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mckenzie-uk/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Welcome to an illuminating discussion with Rad, VP of Supply Chain at Flaconi, Germany's leading online beauty marketplace. In this episode, we delve into the fascinating supply chain management domain within the beauty sector.
Since its inception in 2011, Flaconi has made gains in the German market, with over 25% share, and continues its successful journey across multiple European countries. Rad, with his extensive experience handling supply chains for luxury brands in Dubai, brings distinctive perspectives on the beauty industry.
Rad brings to life the transformative role of supply chain management in digital retail, emphasising viewing it as a value-adding function fostering business growth rather than a cost centre.
Rad offers an intriguing overview of the beauty industry’s dynamic nature. He illustrates how brands rise and fall in the blink of an eye due to fluctuating consumer preferences and intense competition. We discuss the benefits of leveraging customer data and predicting stock movements to optimize costs, allied to the notion of sustainability in business practices.
We learn not only about an agile supply chain to support flexible business, but also the dynamics of the online beauty market.
-- Run time: 28 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Flaconi - https://www.flaconi.de/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/flaconi-gmbh/
[ 👨👧 ]
Rad Jha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radharaman-jha/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Monday Apr 22, 2024
At the end of NRF 2024 in New York I was able to chat with Juliet Scott-Croxford of Brompton Bicycle. Juliet is President, North America, and leads the growth of this quintessentially British brand in the market.
Brompton is an urban-first, engineering-born, British-made success story, and so the transition to the US is an interesting one. Leading with a combination of product quality and clubhouse retail vibe, they have been at the vanguard of the city-centre, community cycling renaissance that brands like Rapha (just along the road from them in Soho) have embraced.
I caught up with Julia in the back-office stock area of their Soho store as she prepped for an evening event, hence a bit of "real life buzz" in the background of the recording 📼.
In our chat we cover their hire scheme, the Brompton Junction Stores concept, retail partnerships and expansion, Juliet's career path, the importance of a strong team, the "Activating Cities" strategy and the move to B-Corp status...
-- Run time: 32 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Brompton Bicycle: https://www.brompton.com/ and https://www.brompton.com/find-a-store/brompton-junction/new-york
[ 👨👧 ]
Juliet Scott-Croxley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliet-scott-croxford-72050313/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
SISTIR is a coffee-originated gifting brand, that grew from a sisterly conversation (SIS) about coffee (Stirred) around the ideal '3am blend' to power parents through that mid-night wake-up moment for a crying baby.
SISTIR's founder, Georgie Janion-Shaw, joins us in the studio and we hare about the brand's beginnings and how the combination of branding savvy, punning and the availability of a gifting channel in NotOnTheHighStreet allowed them to start. Over time - and through experimentation, optimisation, product development efforts - the product range and channels grew. Georgie share with us her journey and learning with a level of humour and wordplay!
We get a chance to reflect upon the mindset of the growth entrepreneur as well as hearing about the extension into sweets and pets.
See below for the AI-generated show-notes: summary, takeaways and timestamps - pretty impressive and created by Riverside.fm...
-- Run time: 33 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
SISTIR: https://sistir.com/
[ 👨👧 ]
Georgie Janion-Shaw: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiejanionshaw/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Here's the AI summary...
<ai>
- Branding and packaging are important in creating a unique proposition for consumers.
- Tailoring product listings to different platforms can enhance the consumer experience.
- Supporting women growers in the coffee industry is a priority for Novello.
- The mindset of a successful entrepreneur involves optimism and a willingness to try new things.
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Our studio chat with Kieron (Digital Director at Blackwells, part of the Waterstones group of booksellers) had a number of firsts... Not only the first podcast of 2024 (Happy New Year to one and all!) but also the first time that Georgia and I had been given gifts. In our prep for the studio session Kieron had asked us what were the last three books we'd read. He used this to predict a book for each of us and wrapped them for us to give in the studio! Utterly thoughtful, but more importantly gets to the heart of Kieron's focus upon data AND intuition.
In our conversation we talk about the history of Blackwells (surely one of the most famous longstanding and academic booksellers, now a part of the Waterstones group) and some of the dynamics of the book trade online. We discuss learning and the ongoing quest for information and knowledge, and the vital role of staff in retail. This is the origin of the "really different" of our title - how to engage staff with knowledge, skills, passion and individuality rather than falling into the trap of homogeneity.
There is so much to learn here about individuality, passion and invention in retail - our thanks to Kieron for being so open with us.
-- Run time: 53 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
Blackwells (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/home) is part of the Waterstones (https://www.waterstones.com/) group.
Kieron's offered books were:
- for Georgia: "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/A-Gentleman-in-Moscow-by-Amor-Towles/9780099558781)
- for Ian: "Tokyo Express" by Seicho Matsumoto (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Tokyo-Express-by-Seicho-Matsumoto-author-Jesse-Kirkwood-translator/9780241439081)
[ 👨👧 ]
Kieron Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieron/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Ntola and Raine joined Georgia and me in the studio and reminded us just why a roundtable discussion is so much fun and enlightening!
Raine - the head of digital at New Look (www.newlook.com) - talks us through how to connects with the 'moments' in customers' lives, and of course the planning, data, heuristics and approaches needed to deliver that at scale. We hear about her experiences ranging from luxury and digital (Farfetch) to high street (Arcadia), fast-moving digital (Boohoo.com) to more 'considered' retailers.
Ntola - trading director at Emma Bridgewater - picks up on the themes of data, customer focus and engaging the consumer and discusses how the pottery-and-homeware brand is embracing digital.
Ntola is a podcast host too, and creator of the Trailblazers Experience podcast that you can get on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trailblazers-experience-podcast/id1674539126?app=podcast
-- Run time: 44 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
NewLook is at www.newlook.com
Emma Bridgewater is www.emmabridgewater.co.uk
Ntola's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trailblazers-experience-podcast/id1674539126?app=podcast
[ 👨👧 ]
Raine Peak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raine-peake-19954a11/
Ntola Obazee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntolaobazee/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Paddy joined us in the studio with "time" clearly on his mind. Throughout our zinger-filled, high-protein chat, Paddy returned to the theme of "if you find a fix for time, you'll see the sales".
B&Q is the £4bn-ish turnover DIY retailer that is now part of the Kingfisher PLC group (which also includes in its portfolio the trade-focused Screwfix, plus Castorama and Brico Depot in France and Koctas in Turkey.
During our conversation it was clear that Paddy's broad experience (financial services, department stores, logistics and final mile) has created an omnivorous approach to references and models. A synthesis of this is his contention that "to remain as #1, you have to think like you're #2". Seeking ideas from across the D2C realm, he's "receptive to what's good in the space" and looks at others' capability with 'envy and with pride' - taking the best of ideas and applying them to what B&Q already does well.
Listening to the recording, it's noticeable how frequently the ideas of "time" and convenience appear as a central theme. As their trade-only Tradepoint service has shown, "time is money", but the service also needs to be tailored to the consumer. We talk about just-in-time trade deliveries, and Paddy notes drily that "you can't deliver a fence post on the back of a moped".
Paddy's focus on time and efficiency is all in service of an emotional bond with the customer and products. Noting that in DIY customers seek "to improve their homes so that they can build their lives", we talk about layering emotion into the sales process while simultaneously making that service zippy and on-trend.
A high-speed (of course!) tour de force of insight.
-- Run time: 47 minutes
INFORMATION:
[ 🖥️ ]
B&Q is at DIY.com: https://www.diy.com/
Kingfisher PLC information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingfisher_plc
[ 👨👧 ]
Paddy Earnshaw: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddy-earnshaw-aa84882/
Georgia Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiajones1/
Ian Jindal: www.linkedin.com/in/ianjindal/ and www.twitter.com/ianjindal
[ 📷 ] (c) Ian Jindal / www.instagram.com/ianjindal