Making Moves From Online to Physical Retail with Leap's Amish Tolia

Our final episode recorded live in the MarketDial booth at the National Retail Federation's "Big Show" features Amish Tolia, co-CEO and co-founder of Leap, the innovative platform that enables digitally native brands to open physical stores more quickly and with lower risk than they could do on their own..

In a wide-ranging discussion we learn about the inspiration for the concept, how it works and why brands like Naadam, Third Love, GoodLife, and Mack Weldon have chosen to partner with Leap.

But first we discuss the latest retail news, including what Steve calls "vexing" reports on the macro-economic front: overall sales are growing in line with inflation, which remains high, as the job market remains amazingly strong. Then it turns out it's not Yeezy come, Yeezy go for Adidas, nor is the string of bad news for Bed, Bath & Beyond ending. But in happier news store openings exceeded strong closings for the first time since 2016. We also touch on how work from home causes major shifts in retail spending, before wrapping with a discussion of the challenges finding CEO's that meet the evolving demands of retailers.

Benedict Evans presentation.

Hal Lawton episode.

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About Amish

Amish Tolia is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Leap, a Platform that develops and operates retail stores for modern brands. Amish has grown Leap into an omnichannel platform that powers retail for great brands. Leap is today powering 60 brands across nearly 100 stores in markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Southern Florida, Dallas, Austin, Scottsdale, San Francisco, Boston, Columbus, Greenwich, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Prior to Leap, Amish co-founded two other companies and successfully exited both of them in the last 10 years. He graduated from Indiana University and is originally from Detroit, Michigan.

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 eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. 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!

We're headed to Las Vegas in March for another edition of Shoptalk. Retailers and brands can get a Shoptalk ticket for a reduced rate of just $1950 rate here using our special discount code RBREMARK1950.

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.