Nine inspiring quotes from NRF Day Two

Retail’s Big Show speaker sessions and social media landscape have once again been an abundant source of inspiration and debate. Here’s our pick of the soundbites from the show so far.

 

“Customers-first is the number one operating principle.”

Chewy CEO Sumit Singh shared his top priority, before describing how employee empowerment, curiosity, ideas and ‘ownership’ help his team to “serve our customers in the best way possible”.

 

“We’re not a fashion company. We’re in the dreams business.”

Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet summed up why aspirations must underpin the retail metaverse.

 

“We still believe in the role of stores.”

Ralph Lauren’s CEO also weighed in in defense of bricks and mortar – a popular position amongst everyone we’ve spoken to at NRF.

 

“Bring your true self to work, but recognize the impact you have on others.”

Eileen Rizzo, CIO and SVP of plus-size fashion-biz Ashley Stewart, shared her thoughts on how a little awareness and sensitivity can go a long way.

 

“Investments we’ve made have certainly helped us accelerate during the pandemic.”

Target Board Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell discussed how a plan to invest billions of dollars in brands, talent, new stores in urban and college settings and turning stores into fulfilment hubs didn’t immediately win everyone over. But the investments were made, Target delivered double-digit growth and Cornell has since been named “Visionary of the Year’ by NRF. Which just goes to show how forward-thinking, and sensible investment in technology and stores can drive improvements and revenue.

 

“Gen Alpha, currently ages 0-12, will be the first generation to grow up in the metaverse‪. They will prefer digital goods to physical goods.”

With so much talk about Millennials and Gen Z this year, it’s been rare to hear much about Gen Alpha. Cassandra Napoli, Senior Strategist at WGSN, shared her thoughts about the future. Are you prepared?

 

“Because shoppers have so much choice, brands and retailers need to take the idea of connecting with shoppers and connecting on a one-on-one basis to the next level.”

Rachel Dalton, Director of eCommerce and Omnichannel Insights at Kantar, explained why retailers need to think harder about their customer connections. As the foremost provider of Personalized Offers and unifying commerce capabilities, we can’t help but agree.

 

“Every person has a role in DEI.”

Diversity, equity and inclusion have been hot topics throughout the event. This was one of Savage X Fenty co-president Christiane Pendarvis’ contributions, a sentiment echoed by multiple retailers at the event.

 

“This is imperative.”

Zach Freeze, senior director, strategic initiatives-sustainability at Walmart, described his company’s pledge to be zero emissions by 2040. Freeze added: “There is a need for innovation. Ask yourself, ‘What can we do as a company?’ Remember, you can’t be timid. This is an urgent situation. How do we stand out?”

 

++ If you’re a retailer looking to invest in omnichannel to create a brighter, more data-driven, more customer-centric and more purposeful business, speak to Flooid. Our unified commerce platform connects every touchpoint across web and online, and allows brands to create hyper-personalized experiences on any combination of channels for their customers.

Visit our team at Retail’s Big Show booth #6337 today to find out more.