Retail Pride Hits The Road with Special Guest Ron Thurston

Our special guest this week is Ron Thurston, fellow Rethink Retail top influencer, best-selling author of Retail Pride: The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, and deeply experienced retail executive, having done stings at Intermix, YSL, Bonobos, Tory Burch, Apple and more.

Ron joins us from his Airsteam just a couple of months into his "Retail In America" tour, which will literally take him from sea to shining sea. He's on a journey to discover everyday retail heroes and we find him just outside of Memphis eager to talk about all that he is learning. It's a wide-ranging discussion of what it's really like on the ground, away from the often narrow views from the fashion hubs of New York and LA. But just to keep it a wee bit glam, we also learn about Ron's recent chat with none other than Sarah Jessica Parker.

But first we we dive into the big retail news of the week, which starts of with how recent earnings highlight the continuing bifurcation of retail that is being exacerbated by inflation and rebalancing to pre-COVID spending patterns. We also discuss, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon's revised weather forecast, get additional proof that everything Eddie Lampert touches dies. We then conclude with Missguided's "named to fail" strategy and former Neiman Marcus CEO Karen Katz's move to become the new CEO of Intermix.

About Ron

Ron Thurston is a highly accomplished retail leadership Executive, Board Advisor, and Amazon Bestselling Author with extensive experience leading retail operations for America’s most prominent brands. He is adept at turning around underperforming businesses, developing and implementing innovative growth strategies, architecting improved training programs, building high-performing and dedicated teams, launching new brands, expanding brands into new markets, and ensuring customer growth and satisfaction.

In 2021 and 2022, Ron was named one of the top 100 Retail Influencers globally, is a board member of GOODWILL NY/NJ, and currently sits on the advisory boards of several emerging retail technology brands, including Reflex Careers, Job Pixel, and IMMERSS.

In 2022 Ron is launching his audio and video platforms for a year-long tour called “Retail In America,” live from an Airstream trailer to discover the real retail heroes all across the country.

About Us

Steve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his website. The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel here.

Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Talks , The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext! You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.

Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue, his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.