Inside Retail

Thanks to social media, new trends are emerging on a daily basis – so how do you avoid falling into the trap of looking like everyone else? This week, Grace Hill sits down with foresight researcher and strategist Elodie Marteu to unpack why she claims trends are bu*!$h*&! Elodie explains the difference between trends and fads, methods brands can employ to maintain uniqueness, and why micro trends might be fuelling a Gen Z identity crisis. For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com

This year’s Cyber Weekend race has already begun, but is Black Friday still the biggest annual retail event? This year presents some major changes and challenges requiring your strategy to be sharper than ever.In this episode, Steve Madden’s Vice President of E-Commerce, Colleen Waters joins Grace to share expert knowledge on how retail professionals can survive and thrive during this year’s event.As a seasoned e-commerce leader, Colleen shares how to strike the balance between sharing promotions early and keeping customers engaged. She also sheds light on how customer expectations have changed with the evolution of Black Friday and how to stand out in a fiercely competitive market. Plus, Colleen shares her thoughts on the death of the homepage, how Gen-Z has broken the marketing funnel, and how to manage different customer segments to ensure they want to shop with you more than anyone else!For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com

Have you ever wondered about the impact of “return-to-store” on a retail store or its staff? Or, wondered how store staff feel when the head office descends on their store? As retail head offices devise ways to get customers back in-store, they often ignore the people who actually know customers best: the frontline staff who interact with them day in and day out.In this eye-opening episode, Grace Hill sits down with Timothy and Jasmine, co-hosts of the chart-topping podcast, The Shop Flaw.  As retail store experts, they reveal the shocking reality of the relationships between the head office and store staff, and discuss why so many HQ initiatives miss the mark.Discover why so many brands misunderstand their core customers, and hear how brands can tap into illuminating insights about who actually drives sales by listening to the experts on the ground – their in-store teams.  For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com

In this episode, Never Fully Dressed founder and CEO Lucy Aylen joins Grace Hill to share her take on building a successful partywear collection and a brand rooted in community. Lucy shares who the NFD customer is and how she caters to this diverse group of women. She also explains how she balances staying ahead of trends while remaining true to her brand, and her process for building a collection that stands the test of time.Plus, Lucy reveals the 2024 partywear trends she’s excited about and why she won’t be backing certain microtrends, like Blokecore. Tune in to the full episode to learn Lucy’s process for assessing a trend’s relevance and hear a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the brand’s recent US expansion. For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com

With the Labour Party gaining control in the UK and an impending election in the US, the global political landscape is shifting, and retail is feeling the effects. This week, the CEO of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, joins Grace Hill to shed some much-needed light on what the near future could look like. Helen highlights the current challenges the retail fashion sector is facing.  She breaks down the impact politics can have on our industry, including the UK government’s plan to revitalise the high street and shocking research revealing how much retail is overtaxed compared to other industries. For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com

H&M’s Global Head of External Partnerships and Collaborations, Sylwia Wennberg, joins Grace Hill to explain what exactly makes a brand collaboration successful.In this episode, Sylwia shares the benefits brands can achieve through collaborations, how H&M caters to its broad range of customers, and key lessons learnt from when things don’t go as planned. Plus, she offers her top three pieces of advice for brands seeking to venture into the world of brand collaboration, including exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into famous collaborations with Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli. For more insights, head to our resource section on edited.com