Magazine Issues

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November/December 2018 Issue

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Editor’s Letter -- Redefining what it means to be “a store.”
Growth and Business Development -- The Fresh Market lives up to its name.
Merchandising and Marketing -- Cannabidiol is the next big thing in the health and wellness world.
Human Capital -- Retailers embrace the gig economy with tech investments, automation and crowdsourced labor.
Retail Pulse -- IRI looks at what’s next for wellness.
Cover Story -- Sam’s Club CEO John Furner talks tech, innovation and being a digital first warehouse club.
Technology and Innovation -- How technology driven innovation will have an even greater impact on the retail industry in 2019.
What’s Next -- A new era of healthcare has arrived and retail has a major role to play.

September/October 2018 Issue

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EDITOR'S LETTER: Solving big problems and inspiring bold ideas matters now more than ever.
BRAND REPORT: Shoppers face abundant choices in an evolving brand landscape, and brand value is being redefined.
GROWTH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Beth Neumann, CEO and President of Starboard Cruise Services, is overcoming operational challenges to win in one of retail’s hottest sectors.
COVER STORY: Retailers talk about differentiation and offering a distinct value proposition, but few bring it to life like Smart & Final.
STRATEGY: The competitive dynamics of the retail industry have changed dramatically and so too have regulators’ approach to assessing antitrust risk.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The leader of the Plant Based Foods Association talks about the new dynamics in the food industry and the definition of milk.
FINANCE AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: A new financial reporting requirement takes effect soon that will have a huge impact on retailers.
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION: New items drive sales, but onboarding products quickly is increasingly challenging. A new startup aims to fix that.
MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING: Category management is on the cusp of one of the biggest changes in its 25-year history thanks to the combination of innovative technologies that have given shoppers even more power.
RL RESEARCH REPORT: A complete view of the market is required to develop effective growth strategies.
WHAT'S NEXT: New GMA CEO Geoff Freeman outlines the priorities to create a high-performing trade association.

July/August 2018 Issue

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EDITOR'S LETTER: Companies looking to leverage data effectively have to balance their desire for customer intimacy with customers’ desire for anonymity.
SUPPLY CHAIN: Digital technologies are elevating shopper expectations while retail supply chains look to keep pace with customer expectations.
HUMAN CAPITAL: In a strong economy, retailers are challenged to hire and retain quality employees just as they are needed most.
SPECIAL REPORT: Responsible data stewardship has become a C-level priority with the potential to drive growth or destroy consumer trust.
COVER STORY: CEO Jack Sinclair is intent on transforming perceptions of the company and accelerating growth.
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION: Meet Dr. Pallab Chatterjee. His company, Symphony RetailAI, is helping retail and CPG transform.
STRATEGY: NCR executives weigh in on the company’s evolution, the future of retail and what’s next for self-checkout.
MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING: How retailers can win with experience and personalization initiatives.
RETAIL PULSE: IRI’s food and beverage New Product Pacesetters show how top CPG brands have captured consumers’ hard-earned dollars.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: How retailers can win with experience and personalization initiatives.
WHAT'S NEXT: An increase in self-care among all age groups is creating a new retail health care reality.

Summer 2018 Issue

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EDITOR'S LETTER. Labels the retail industry uses to categorize formats, channels and shopping centers never mattered to consumers and they shouldn’t concern retailers either.
FINANCE AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. Malls and neighborhood shopping centers are going to look and feel a lot different in the future. Here’s how.
COVER STORY. The RL100 industry ranking and disruption forecast.
SPECIAL REPORT: Meet the women changing the (retail) world.
HUMAN CAPITAL. Walmart increased a robust veterans’ hiring commitment earlier this year and expanded support for a unique organization focused on an issue few knew existed.
SUPPLY CHAIN. Girish Rishi, the CEO of JDA Software Group, speaks to Retail Leader about the autonomous, self-learning and prescriptive supply chain — and the role of humans.
MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING. Making sense of MAP policies in the age of Amazon.
GROWTH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. Raley’s unconventional approach and extreme measures allowed it to leapfrog natural and organic competitors to set a new natural standard.
WHAT'S NEXT. RILA President Sandy Kennedy on what it means to “Be Better,” on gender diversity.

May/June 2018 Issue

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HOW COME I CAN’T…? So many things in our daily lives are faster, cheaper and better. But those attributes are never used to describe health care.
ALDI ACCELERATES GROWTH. The German grocer’s onward march continues, and with few visible weaknesses competitors should be concerned.
GETTING COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE. Nothing short of business continuity is at stake for retailers and suppliers who fail to achieve diversity – fast.
SPONSORED AUTHENTICTY. New standards of accountability and expectations of performance are transforming the growing field of influencer marketing.
SKIPPING THE TRIP. Promotion of home delivery will impact store traffic, but the alternative is losing share to competitors.
A FRICTIONLESS FUTURE. Computer vision and machine learning solve the challenge of who took what and receipt accuracy at the Amazon Go store.
MAGIC MAKER. Lolli & Pops’ formula of experiential stores, cutting edge technology and delightful service is a sweet lesson for retailers.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STORE IN AMERICA. After opening a supermarket that helped revitalize downtown Cleveland the Heinen brothers are moving fast to leverage data and serve shoppers in new ways.
PROFITING FROM TRUST. Taking a stand on social issues is fraught with risk, but it is also essential to avoid, “no brand’s land.”
THINKING LIKE A STARTUP. Philosophy applies to trade associations too, says NACDS CEO Steven Anderson.

MARCH/APRIL 2018 Issue

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MORE WITH LESS. Retailers can improve customer service and grow sales by cutting jobs. It’s not as crazy as it sounds.
GOING VERTICAL. CVS Health’s pending acquisition of Aetna shows how to execute a business model transformation.
ON-DEMAND RETAIL. Online retailer Indochino went the clicks-to-bricks route years early and is now opening stores at a record pace.
RETAIL PULSE. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
BATTLE OF THE RETAIL BOTS. The Rise of chatbots and conversational AI are ushering in a new era of digitally enabled commerce.
MAKING SENSE OF 5G. Prepare now to reap the benefits of a faster, more efficient future enabled by the blinding speed of the next generation wireless network.
GROCERY DELIVERED. Retail Leader spoke with Nilam Ganenthiran, Chief Business Officer at Instacart, and Chris Bryson, Founder and CEO of Unata, about the future of food retailing.
HUNGRY FOR GROWTH. Consumer goods companies coping with shifting industry dynamics are on the hunt for emerging brands eager to scale.
MARKETERS BEWARE. Retailers and brands should pay attention to five key areas to avoid getting burned by federal and state regulators.
9 TRENDS AFFECTING YOUR FUTURE. We detail the most significant trends affecting future shoppers and the industry.
LIGHTING THE WAY. How Walmart reduced energy costs by $100 million and fueled sales growth in the process.
PRACTICAL INNOVATION. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is well underway, requiring every organization to move with an acute sense of urgency to execute an innovation agenda.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 Issue

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RISE OF THE ANKLE-BITERS. Move faster or be eaten alive by a new breed of competitor swarming at your feet.
RADICAL THINKING REQUIRED. Quotient CEO Mir Aamir wants retailers and CPGs to think bigger.
THE FUTURE OF MEAT. Plant-based meat alternatives are on the rise, and investors, CPGs and retailers are paying close attention.
RETAIL’S DATA DRIVEN FUTURE. Dunnhumby CEO Guillaume Bacuvier explains the data science company’s evolving business model.
18 LEADERS TO WATCH IN 2018. A look at 18 individuals influencing the retail industry in unconventional and potentially profound ways.
IMAGINING RETAIL'S FUTURE. One on one with Daniel Alegre, President of Retail and Shopping at Google.
WOMEN IN TECH. These are exciting times in the retail and technology world as new opportunities arise for women.
WHOLE FOODS’ SECRET WEAPON. The retailer armed itself with new analytical capabilities by migrating to the cloud five months prior to being acquired by Amazon.
BLOCKCHAIN FOR THE SUPPLY CHAIN. Blockchain technology is quickly finding a home in the supply chain world.
AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE. Retailers use of Jujitsu techniques can help them win in five areas influencing the future of food.

November/December 2017 Issue

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THE LANGUAGE OF RETAIL. The jargon-filled technology world outdid itself in 2017.
WINNING WITH EXPERIENCE. Eataly offers retailers timely lessons in the power of presentation.
THE DATA DIFFERENCE. Market Track CEO Dennis Moore and InfoScout CEO Jared Schrieber talk about what’s next for retail.
A NEW BREED OF CIO. Heightened expectations of CIOs mean some may not be re-hired if they applied for their current position today.
TOP TECH TRENDS FOR 2018. Retailers should get ready to learn about digital twins, mixed reality and blockchain.
THE NEXT BEST THING. We are at the leading edge of an era in which tech will change the way retailers and brands engage with consumers.
WHAT IS A MEAL KIT ANYWAY? 2018 promises to be a shakeout year for the meal kit category.
CAPTAIN AMERICA! Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen's plan to become America's grocer.
DELIVERING AUTOMATION. UPS has big ideas about how it wants to be regarded as an innovative technology company focused on disruption.
PLATFORM FOR PROGRESS. Salesforce Founder CEO Marc Benioff has unconventional advice for retailers and CPG companies on their transformation journey.
DIGITAL’S PROMISE. Leveraging data and insights to achieve personalization and growth at Kroger.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 Issue

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WINNING WITH STRUCTURE. As autumn arrives, the season of change is at hand for the retail industry.
A COMMON ENEMY. The battle against climate change is providing retailers with a competitive advantage.
FRESH GROWTH. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market has the backing of Meijer and new capacity in place to drive growth.
GOING GLOBAL AND LOCAL. Multiculturalism has changed the American palate and created growth potential for retailers.
LIDL GETS PHYSICAL. The German chain is looking to disrupt retail with a brick-and-mortar approach.
COVER STORY. Shell EVP István Kapitány’s bold plan to transform a global network of 43,000 locations.
THE AUTONOMOUS ASSOCIATE. A robot revolution is coming to retail.
CYBER SECRET WEAPON. Retailers are better equipped than ever to defend themselves against digital bad actors.
CARGO IS KING. Retail supply chains in the central U.S. will be reshaped by a new intermodal facility in Louisiana.
CAGE-FREE CONUNDRUM. Retailers’ commitments represent the ultimate chicken or egg scenario.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 Issue

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WHAT’S WRONG WITH STORES? Operators of physical stores only have themselves to blame for new attacks from retail’s disruptor class.
THE NEW BEAUTY LEADERS. The beauty category is hot and three companies are leading the way. RL profiles Ulta, Sephora and Bluemercury.
HOW TO BE A CEO. A landmark study highlights the essential traits required of senior executives with corner office aspirations.
OMNICHANNEL APPREHENSION. Executing an omnichannel strategy is costly, challenging and mission critical — and no one has perfected the process.
ENABLING THE FUTURE OF FULFILLMENT. Retailers and suppliers have new allies in innovative packaging.
MAXIMIZING VALUE. The breakneck pace of change is creating an M&A dynamic.
DISRUPTING THE DINOSAURS. Two CPG startups with unconventional business models show why retailers and big brands have more to worry about than Amazon and Lidl.
ALIBABA’s JACK MA. Alibaba founder Jack Ma is a brand builder and free trade advocate eager to help U.S. retailers and suppliers grow.
WINNING THE STORE. AB InBev has a new JBP process and category management approach to help retailers win with beer.
BEYOND CATEGORY MANAGEMENT. Positioning your organization for the shopper of the future.

Summer 2017 Issue

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COVER STORY: The RL100. Top companies and trends transforming commerce.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: INNOVATION OBSESSION.
POWERED BY PRODUCE. Sprouts’ aggressive expansion plans
READY TO REBOUND. A host of factors are forecast to restore private brand growth.
A MULTICULTURAL MOMENT. How ethnic supermarkets are winning
WHO PAYS BEST. A new study from researchers at Rutgers
PERCEPTION AND REALITY. Headlines about the demise of physical retail have become common, but the 37,000 people who gathered in Las Vegas in May see things differently.
BEYOND THE SMARTPHONE. Tech industry innovators are reimagining mobile and envisioning a hands-free future.
DYNAMIC PRICING DE-MYSTIFIED. Controversial and misunderstood, dynamic pricing is here to stay and guess what? Shoppers don’t mind.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DIVERSITY SCORECARD. Target, Kroger and Walmart outperform peers, while Costco, Amazon and Albertsons lag.
STRATEGY: CATMAN 2025: VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE. The category management framework that revolutionized retail two decades ago is adjusting to new marketplace dynamics and huge increases in data volumes.
WHAT’S NEXT: CANNABIS BECOMES A CATEGORY

May/June 2017 Issue

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COVER STORY DOLLAR GENERAL. CEO Todd Vasos’ formula for growth.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR DAY 1 FOR CPG RETAILERS. Good ideas can be found in any corner of the business world, but two companies stand out as sources of inspiration.
IN FOCUS: BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB. The retailer has positioned itself for growth with the backing of private equity owners and the leadership of CEO Chris Baldwin.
WORKPLACE IMPROVEMENTS. Retailers are giving an inch to get a lot in return from happier workers.
SOLVING THE PHYSICAL/DIGITAL RIDDLE. Nielsen President Chris Morley discusses global trends, changes in the U.S. retail landscape and how to make sense of it all.
THE NEW TRADE MARKETING MODEL. Changing shopper behaviors and a challenging growth environment have ushered in a new era for trade marketing.
SURVIVING TRUMP. America’s retailers are no fans of regulations, like the president, except when it comes to food safety and their reputation.
EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED. Retail Leader gathered industry executives in Washington, D.C., for a first-of-its-kind roundtable luncheon around President Trump’s 100th day in office.
IBM’S ANSWER MAN. Darin Archer talks innovation, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and what’s new with IBM’s Watson.
THE DIGITAL FIRST FUTURE. Two technology trends will revolutionize grocery shopping during the next five years.

March/April 2017

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COVER STORY: TARGET’S BIG BET Brian Cornell’s $7 billion plan to reinvent the retailer.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: THE R-TECH ERA BEGINS There’s a new tech in town. Retailers embrace (R)Tech.
YEAR OF THE MEGA-DEAL With three big deals in the books, 2017 is setting up to be a record breaker.
DIGITAL DONE RIGHT Ample rewards await brands able to navigate complexities of the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
FINDING A WAY FORWARD E-commerce angst is pervasive among retailers who know they should be doing more, but aren’t sure what.
TOP WOMEN IN RETAIL: WOMEN TO WATCH Our annual look at top industry executives from the retailer, supplier and service provider worlds.
ISLAND OF OPPORTUNITY What retailers need to know about Cuba.
CLICK & COLLECT The new normal for retailers.
RISE OF THE CHATBOTS Retailers embrace conversational commerce.
NOT IF, BUT WHEN Declining consumption and emerging technologies ready to rock food retailing.

Older Issues

January/February 2017: Browse Issue Online
November/December 2016: Browse Issue Online
September/October 2016: Browse Issue Online
July/August 2016: Browse Issue Online
May/June 2016: Browse Issue Online
March/April 2016: Browse Issue Online
January/February 2016: Browse Issue Online