Talk Retail to Me

From holograms and go-karts to voice tech and virtual reality, Day 2 at NRF 2026 offered no shortage of surprises—and even more insight into what truly matters in retail innovation. 

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, we bring together three perspectives—a consultant (Dan Wittner from The Parker Avery Group), a retailer (Ryan Holm from Helzberg), and a solution provider (Dustin Sundy from Zipline)—to share what truly stood out o...

In this episode of Talk Retail To Me, Parker Avery’s chief revenue officer, Dan Wittner, and Blue Yonder's head of global retail strategy, Jim Hull, discuss the evolving landscape of retail, focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence, the importance of data quality, and the transformation of store models into fulfillment centers.

They explore the challenges retailers face with labor and the need for dyn...

Retailers recognize the need to transform, but most are missing the crucial first step. In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Parker Avery’s Dan Wittner joins Snowflake’s Freddy Guard for a candid discussion about one of the most underestimated barriers to retail innovation: disconnected, messy, and misgoverned retail data.

Whether it’s launching AI initiatives, reshaping supply chains, or reimagining omnichannel e...

As retailers gear up for the critical back-to-school and holiday seasons, new tariffs on Chinese imports—some as high as 145%—are causing significant disruptions in global supply chains. In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Parker Avery’s CEO, Clay Parnell, is joined by the firm’s Chief Consulting Officer, Amanda Astrologo, and industry thought leader Walt Holbrook to discuss the current chaos driven by tariffs and how retailers c...

In this episode of The Parker Avery Group's "Talk Retail to Me" podcast, retail experts Marty Anderson and Mike Johnson delve into how our firm collaborated with a major theme park retailer to untangle the complexities of managing over 300 unique stores. From hyper-localized assortments to razor-thin inventory margins, these consultants detail how data, analytics, and a clear roadmap contributed to balancing customer satisfaction w...

In this dynamic roundtable, host Sam Iosevich monitors a panel of pricing experts as they discuss how to tackle the complexities of modern retail pricing. From inflation and AI to organizational alignment and price wars, this episode delivers sharp insights and practical guidance.

• Robert McGuire, Retail Pricing Leader
• Jeffrey Kittell, VP, Pricing & Strategy, SpartanNash
• Eddy Salas, SVP Retail Strate...

In this episode, Tricia Gustin is joined by Sam Iosevich from Parker Avery and Dilip Popat from Novulis Consulting to discuss how AI-driven demand signals transform retail and CPG industries.

The conversation explores the power of the Enterprise Intelligence Hypercube, an advanced platform that integrates data across all organizational functions to provide real-time, actionable insights. Sam and Dilip share how AI enables retailer...

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, we dive into a transformation at one of America's largest family-owned luxury retailers. What started as a straightforward client project to clarify roles became a journey of rebuilding trust, transforming leadership behaviors, and healing a deeply fractured organization. Join Parker Avery CEO Robert Kaufman, Principal Kathi Toll, and host Tricia Gustin as the team unpacks how authentic leaders...

In this episode of Parker Avery's "Talk Retail to Me" podcast, Clay Parnell (president and managing partner) and Marty Anderson (principal) discuss a recently completed project for a $7 billion jewelry retailer. The two retail experts share valuable insights from the project which entailed developing a comprehensive, actionable roadmap to address business and technology challenges resulting from significant growth and acquisitions.

In this episode of the 'Talk Retail to Me' podcast by The Parker Avery Group, Tricia Gustin, senior director Carrie Habel, and senior manager Dustin Wright discuss a recent store operations improvement project. They detail their innovative approach, including a capsized train-the-trainer strategy and deep store collaboration, to identify inefficiencies such as laborious administrative tasks and ineffective training practices. The p...

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Parker Avery’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kaufman shares his insights about the changing role of the retail chief supply chain officer.

Answering questions from a recent interview with media outlet, Modern Retail, Robert discusses how changes in consumer shopping behaviors, combined with global macroeconomic events and disturbances have added great complexity, challenges, and risks to the ...

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Senior Director and omnichannel expert Rob Oglesby shares his insights into how big box retailers are handling the in-store fulfillment of omnichannel orders. Answering questions from a recent interview with media outlet Modern Retail, Rob outlines the implications, challenges, and risks, even as this capability becomes critical to many retailers’ success.

Rob answers the following questions ab...

Hosted by retail demand planning experts, Sam Iosevich, Marty Anderson, and Steve Gordon, Parker Avery's recent Talk Retail to Me Transformation Happy Hour covered integrated business planning as a key strategic focus area for leading retailers and consumer brands. The trio outlined key enablers around technology, business process, and organization that help companies unleash collaboration and efficiencies with integrated business...

This episode of Parker Avery's Talk Retail to Me podcast focuses on business process transformation. Featuring two of our retail leaders, Clay Parnell and Deanna Emsley, we take a deep dive into what it means to transform business processes. We cover what areas are focus points for our clients, how Parker Avery helps retailers and consumer brands prioritize and navigate these process transformations, and what success looks like. 

M...

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Parker Avery consultants and retail veterans Marty Anderson, Deanna Emsley, and Mike Johnson take a deep dive into the world of retail hierarchies. Senior Director of Marketing, Tricia Gustin, hosts the discussion, during which the experts discuss:

• What are retail hierarchies and what roles are involved?
• Why they are so often mismanaged or poorly executed?
• What are best practices when it c...

In this episode of Talk Retail to Me, Parker Avery consultants take a deep dive into allocation and replenishment. Coming off the heels of Shoptalk 2023, where so many people are still reaching for the shiny tech, we are focused on ensuring the basics of retail are securely and optimally in place so those customer-facing innovations work well and deliver a great customer experience.

Allocation and replenishment is one area with its...

Organizational change management and retail experts Kathi Toll and Carrie Habel discuss transformational leadership and why this competency is critically important. They outline how it differs from change management and specific tactics retailers and brands must take to evolve their organizations and people into transformational leaders.

• Meet Kathi Toll: https://parkeravery.com/kathi-toll/
• Meet Carrie Habel: https://parkerav...