Shownotes
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, Chris and Anne discussed:
- Amazon and Target’s major layoffs affecting thousands of corporate employees (Source)
- DoorDash launching an Emergency Food Response program for SNAP recipients (Source)
- Walmart and Avery Dennison partnering to track fresh food with breakthrough RFID technology (Source)
- Lululemon venturing into its first licensing deal with the NFL (Source)
- Amazon unveiling smart glasses for its delivery drivers (Source)
And AWS’s Daniele Stroppa also dropped by to help us hand out this month’s Retail Tech Startup of the Month award.
There’s all that, plus Stranger Things movie theater premieres, Target’s weirdly hot Santa returning for year two, and whether Red Bull really gives you wings.
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#RetailNews #AmazonLayoffs #TargetLayoffs #DoorDash #WalmartRFID #LululemonNFL #AmazonAIGlasses #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #RetailTech #RetailInnovation
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Transcripts
This episode of the OMNITALK Retail Fast 5 is brought to you by the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.
Speaker A:The A and M Consumer and Retail Group is a management consulting firm that tackles the most complex challenges and advances its clients, people and communities towards their maximum potential.
Speaker A:CRG brings the experience, tools and operator like pragmatism to help retailers and consumer products companies be on the bright side of disruption and Miracle, the catalyst of Commerce.
Speaker A:Over 450 retailers are opening new revenue streams with marketplaces, dropship and retail media and succeeding.
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Speaker A:What's holding you back?
Speaker A:Visit Miracle.com to learn more.
Speaker A:That's M I R A K L.com and Corso.
Speaker A:Your stores are full of data, but are your teams acting on it?
Speaker A:Corso turns retail data into personalized daily to dos that drive sales, reduce waste and improve execution.
Speaker A:No fluff, just action.
Speaker A:Help your managers focus on what matters most.
Speaker A:Visit corso.com to see Intelligent management in motion and Infios.
Speaker A:At Infios, they unite warehousing, transportation and order management into a seamless, adaptable network.
Speaker A:Infios helps you stay ahead from promise to delivery and every step in between.
Speaker A:To learn more, visit infios.com and finally, Ocampo Capital.
Speaker A:Ocampo Capital is a venture capital firm founded by retail executives with the aim of helping early stage consumer businesses succeed through investment and operational support.
Speaker A:Learn more@ocampo capital.com hello, you are listening to Omnitalk's Retail Fast Five, ranked in the top 10% of all podcasts globally and currently the only retail podcast ranked in the top 100 of all business podcasts on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker A:The Retail Fast five is the podcast that we hope makes you feel a little smarter, but most importantly, a little happier each week too.
Speaker A:And the Fast 5 is just one of the many great podcasts you can find from the Omnitalk Retail Podcast Network alongside our Retail Daily Minute, which brings you a curated selection of the most important retail headlines every morning and our Retail Technology Spotlight series, which goes deep each week on the latest retail technology trends.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:I'm one of your hosts, Anne Bazinga.
Speaker B:And I'm one of your other hosts, Chris Walton.
Speaker A:And we are here once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making waves in the world of omnichannel retailing.
Speaker A:And Chris, it's almost Halloween here upon us, which I know is one of your favorite seasons of all time.
Speaker A:What are you dressing up as this weekend?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's actually funny.
Speaker B:Like, I actually don't like Halloween that much.
Speaker B:I think we've talked about that on the show.
Speaker B:Like, but I do.
Speaker B:I do like dressing up.
Speaker B:So I'm gonna dress up as Dart.
Speaker B:I'm gonna go back to Darth Vader.
Speaker B:I haven't put the Darth Vader costume on in quite a while, and so I'm gonna.
Speaker B:I'm gonna be donning that.
Speaker B:We're having a little Halloween party with the kiddos and their families and friends, and my wife's getting all into that.
Speaker B:She's making mummy hot dogs and crazy, like, pizza names, which I don't even know.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But what are you doing?
Speaker B:You got.
Speaker B:You got some things going on in your household, right?
Speaker B:Don't you have your.
Speaker B:Your son's first official Halloween high school party?
Speaker B:How's it.
Speaker A:How's that making you feel?
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:I. I am very confused.
Speaker A:So if any parents have advice out there.
Speaker A:I don't know, like, it didn't even dawn on me that we haven't established a curfew.
Speaker A:This is how transportation.
Speaker A:Like, I don't want to stay up until midnight to pick him up from a party.
Speaker A:I don't want to send him in an Uber.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I'm just very.
Speaker A:There's a lot of logistics, planning that was much more involved this Halloween than was prepared for.
Speaker A:I will say that much.
Speaker A:So high school parents send me your advice.
Speaker A:I will take it for forever.
Speaker A:For the next eight years.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:No, that.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:I'm a couple years off of that now.
Speaker B:Now that you're saying I'm like, oh, my God, yeah, I have to stay up till midnight to go pick up the kids from parties now.
Speaker B:You know, that's what our parents did, you know, back in the day, or they.
Speaker B:Or they got a ride with friends home, you know, but, yeah, that happened a lot.
Speaker B:That's crazy.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Not too keen.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Not too keen on the.
Speaker A:The friend's brother, sister, friend of a friend yet.
Speaker A:That I don't know.
Speaker A:Especially freshman year, because you don't know all the friends yet.
Speaker A:Don't want them driving home on Halloween night.
Speaker A:My child, you know, at midnight just seems like, bad, bad idea.
Speaker A:But the other.
Speaker B:Again, the other image that comes in my head and is like, Teen Wolf when.
Speaker B:When.
Speaker B:When Michael J.
Speaker B:Fox goes into the closet with Booth.
Speaker B:Do you remember that scene?
Speaker B:Like, so you know what's going on at these Halloween high school parties?
Speaker B:That's the other question that I've got.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:I guess we out, I guess.
Speaker A:And they're not drinking.
Speaker A:They're not drinking, apparently.
Speaker A:Like, that's not a thing.
Speaker A:Drinking is not a drink for a lot of kids.
Speaker A:No, no.
Speaker B:At least that's what they tell me.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:So I guess maybe like even that was a weird place to start.
Speaker A:Like, he's probably like, you old lady, if we don't drink anymore in high school.
Speaker A:Like, that was your old things that you crazy old people do.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I'll report back, though.
Speaker A:I'll report back next week and let you know if we all survived this weekend.
Speaker B:All right, well, let's get to the headlines.
Speaker B:And for all those with all those parents out there with kids, instead of five headlines today, we have six or seven highlight headlines.
Speaker B:And you know that six or seven.
Speaker A:Joke, oh my God, it's banned in our house.
Speaker A:That is banned.
Speaker B:It's driving me freaking crazy.
Speaker B:But anyway, we've got our usual five headlines.
Speaker B:And in this week's Fast Five, we've got news on DoorDash's food emergency response program.
Speaker B:Walmart and Avery Denison partnering to track fresh food.
Speaker B:Lululemon venturing into its first licensing deal ever with the NFL.
Speaker B:Amazon unveiling smart glasses for its delivery drivers.
Speaker B:And AWS's Danielle Estropa stops by once again to hand out this month's Retail Tech Startup of the Month award.
Speaker B:But we begin today with, you know what is quite frankly, very sad and somewhat distressing news on the layoff front this week.
Speaker B:Anne?
Speaker A:Yes, for those of you who are somehow unaware of the news that we've talked, we've heard about the last several especially Amazon and Target have executed sizable layoffs.
Speaker A:Yesterday, chain Storage reported that Amazon eliminated approximately 14,000 of its roughly 350,000 person corporate workforce, the largest workforce reduction in Amazon company history, and in an effort to, quote, operate like the world's largest startup, end quote.
Speaker A: o said that it planned to cut: Speaker A:End quote.
Speaker A:Chris, what words of wisdom do you have in the wake of all of this layoff news?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Well, it's hard to know where to start.
Speaker B:I mean, first of all, you know my.
Speaker B:I want to express my sympathy for anyone that was impacted and pretty much anyone at these companies, too.
Speaker B: ecause I went through this in: Speaker B:And, you know, my boss at the time said, you know, for a lot of these people, for a lot of the workers, you know, at Target particularly, and, and, you know, I think this is true of any company, particularly if you work in a, in a, in a regional city like we do in Minneapolis.
Speaker B:You know, a lot of times it's like being asked to leave your church.
Speaker B:And so it's, it can be very hard and very trying for a lot of people.
Speaker B:So my heart goes out to them.
Speaker B:When I step back from it and try to make sense of it all, I think it brings up a lot of questions for me.
Speaker B:Is it coincidental that these announcements happen on the same day?
Speaker B:Yeah, probably.
Speaker B:But could it be a sign that there's more to come throughout the industry, especially as you look at macroeconomics and the AI factors that are at play?
Speaker B:Yeah, potentially.
Speaker B:I think that's the real reality here.
Speaker B:And then the other point I'd bring up is it makes me look at how are these announcements communicated.
Speaker B:And it's two very different approaches.
Speaker B:Amazon being very transparent and saying AI is a factor.
Speaker B:Not having worked there, I can't really comment on what that means for the culture there or how their employees are going to take it.
Speaker B:But I look at that in contrast to what Target CEO said and what you did.
Speaker B:And the big question I have there is just now, how can you come out and say that when you were the CFO and the CEO who was in charge of basically financing and green lighting that organizational structure throughout the organization, and yet you and the former CEO are still around and still leading the company.
Speaker B:So that just doesn't ring true to me very well.
Speaker B:And I wonder if the culture honestly can ever recover from that when you get down to it.
Speaker B:But I don't know.
Speaker B:I hope he, I hope he takes feedback well and I hope he brings in some people then that can help him to rejuvenate the culture and can get the spirit of Target alive again.
Speaker B:But I think it's a.
Speaker B:It's going to be a.
Speaker B:It's going to be a tough road ahead, for sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, the first thing I would say is please reach out Target, Amazon people.
Speaker A:We are so fortunate one in being able to show you that there's, there's life after the corporate jobs, which I think you're hearing a lot right now, probably.
Speaker A:But this could really be the launch pad to something entirely new.
Speaker A:And Amitak retail is 100% an example of that.
Speaker A:But also we've built this network and I'm so ready and here and willing to, to help however we can, you know, write a recommendation.
Speaker A:We've been fortunate to get to know so many of you.
Speaker A:So number one, that, that, that offer stands as long as you need it.
Speaker A:So please reach out.
Speaker A:The second thing that I'll say, Chris, I think in response to what you said is that I think that the real issue is likely that companies are still structured and roles still exist based on pre AI days.
Speaker A:I don't know that we've seen a layoff like this in a long time and it's kind of, to me reminiscent of when E Commerce first came online.
Speaker A:However, in the E Commerce days, that was like starting entirely new groups or, you know, kind of spreading people across.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So I think that what we're really seeing and unfortunately is a reality of AI being so much a core component of how businesses are operating more efficiently.
Speaker A:We're going to see layoffs because there's the ability for automation to replace some jobs that humans were doing.
Speaker A:My hope is that we do start to see opportunities come from this too.
Speaker A:But it will require that, you know, some of us pick up and learn new things or take on, take on new types of roles.
Speaker A:But the, the, I think the most important thing for all those listening who are affected by these layoffs is that you still very much have, have core skills that you've developed that will help you hopefully be agile and learn how to work with big major retailers like targeted Amazon, and that there still will be a place for you.
Speaker A:But I think that to me is the biggest tell, is that, you know, where we have to restructure our businesses to include AI as a part of the workforce and hopefully things unfold that open up new opportunities for people.
Speaker B:Yeah, well said, well said.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And for everyone listening, yes.
Speaker B:Please reach out to Ann.
Speaker B:Please reach out to me.
Speaker B:We're here to help.
Speaker B:You know, that's partly why we started omnitalk was to help people stay informed of how the industry was changing and that so we could be a help, you know, in, in that regard.
Speaker B:And my number one piece of advice, Ann too, whenever I meet with folks in this situation, and we've met you, and I've met with both of them a lot over the years, is like, you know, you know, make your next move where you're trying to move water, you know, you're going with the flow of Water, you know, don't try to go to a company where you're moving, you know, water uphill anymore.
Speaker B:That's always a tricky thing.
Speaker B:So I think, you know, as people are looking at what's next, you know, that's a key, key litmus test, I know, for you and for I, so.
Speaker B:All right, well, let's go to headline number two.
Speaker B:DoorDash has launched an emergency food response program according to chainstore age.
Speaker B:Again, DoorDash is launching an emergency food response program including free delivery for its Project Dash food bank and food pantry partners nationwide.
Speaker B:It will also partner with leading grocers to waive delivery and service fees for an estimated 300,000 orders for snap recipients.
Speaker B:The move comes in response to the ongoing government shutdown, as the U.S. department of Agriculture posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out November 1st.
Speaker B:And the Trump administration has also said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in emergency funds to SNAP benefits funded through the next month.
Speaker B:And this story of DoorDash responding to help SNAP recipients caught your eye this week?
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think, number one, I think it's a real testament to what is possible when you are on the DoorDash platform.
Speaker A:They have built the infrastructure with their grocery partners, with their convenience partners to really support being able to quickly enact something where they're covering the cost of delivery across the board.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, I, I'm hopeful at least that that tells me that the relationships between the third party logistics providers like DoorDash and their retailers are not kind of the money grab that they seem during the pandemic where it was like DoorDash was getting all the money.
Speaker A:The third, the, you know, the retailers weren't getting as much value out of it.
Speaker A:I'm hopeful that this is maybe a sign and maybe this is my road rose colored glasses, but I'm hopeful that this is a sign that they're becoming a more mutually beneficial partnership.
Speaker A:And this is one way that they're really focusing on how they can act quickly in the community to make an impact for their customers who are reliant on this platform.
Speaker A:And I think that's where the third part comes in.
Speaker A:That I think is most important is that they are developing a relationship with their customers right now that I think will stand, stand the test of time.
Speaker A:The fact that, you know, a lot of the people that are on SNAP benefits don't have access to a car and can still get, you know, in their food desert communities, they still have access to nutrient Rich products like produce, like other grocery items, because Doordash and its retail partners are making this still available to them at no cost for delivery.
Speaker A:I think you've got customers for life.
Speaker A:And so I think everyone really benefits in this situation.
Speaker A:But Doordash especially is doing well by doing good here.
Speaker A:And that I think Doordash deserves a ton of kudos for.
Speaker A:How about you, though?
Speaker A:I mean, what, what are your thoughts on this move from Doordash?
Speaker A:Chris?
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I, I don't think I disagree with anything.
Speaker B:I think what I would just do is, is emphasize the points you made, which I think is kudos to Doordash.
Speaker B:You know, at the end of the day, like, it's just good reactive merchandising too.
Speaker B:Like, that's the, the key thing here, you know, which we talk a lot about on this show and probably don't single out enough, honestly.
Speaker B:But it's just, it's just a smart move.
Speaker B:It's a smart merchandising move.
Speaker B:You're moving on the trends that are going to be important to the bottom line of your business.
Speaker B:But, but, you know, beyond that, I think Doordash just keeps making moves that I think are really hard to disagree with.
Speaker B:You know, we constantly are talking about them on the show and constantly lauding them and, and for that reason, that's why they're going to keep getting my personal dollar too.
Speaker B:And it is, it is definitely going to continue in my rotation as my number one most used retail app, which it is now.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm probably using it more so than any other app in, on my iPhone.
Speaker B:You know, quite honestly, in the marketplace.
Speaker B:You know, I know you like Walmart plus too, but, but, you know, like, that's just the way I think about it.
Speaker B:And the reason for that is just like, I just, I just like how they do business and I think that's an important factor to consider right now.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Doordash will keep up to speed on this.
Speaker A:I know there's a lot that is in the works right now with this November 1st deadline coming up, so we will stay on top of it.
Speaker A:And again, thank you, Doordash, for doing this service for your customers in our communities.
Speaker A:All right, let's go on to headline number three.
Speaker A:Walmart and Avery Denison have formed a new RFID partnership to provide visibility across fresh groceries.
Speaker A:According to Progressive Grocer, Avery Dennison has developed breakthrough RFID sensor technology capable of functioning in high moisture cold environments and such as meat cases, an innovation that was long considered impossible.
Speaker A:Avery Denison's intelligent labeling solution is being used across Walmart's meat, deli and bakery departments, giving every item its own digital identity for real time freshness and expiration data.
Speaker A:The partnership represents a potential step change in how retailers can balance freshness, sustainability and labor efficiency issues that have become mission critical across the food retail landscape.
Speaker A:Chris, this is Also A&M's put you on the spot question.
Speaker A:Yes, A and M would like to know.
Speaker A:Anytime a new to market technology is dubbed as long considered impossible, you tend to take notice.
Speaker B:Well said guys.
Speaker B:Well said.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Here it feels like the first domino to drop with many downstream benefits to retailers to come.
Speaker A:If you agree with that sentiment, what dominoes can Avery Denison and Walmart topple next with this unique RFID solution?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Interesting.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:How do I attack that?
Speaker B:There's so many angles to that question too.
Speaker B:You know, I think in direct response to that question, I think, you know, I think this is the first, this is another domino yet in what Walmart has, I think pretty much, you know, given us a clear indication that they're trying to do, which is to create kind of the smart store of the future.
Speaker B:Like they want to have an understanding of how the items and people and products are moving through the store at any given time in real time, similar to how you would on an e commerce website.
Speaker B:I think, I think that's where this ultimately goes.
Speaker B:And the reason this story is very important is that previously perishables and fresh food were a black hole in terms of inventory, visibility.
Speaker B:I mean this and metal products potentially.
Speaker B:Although I know our good friends JP and Marshall might, you know, might have different thoughts on this, but, and much better thoughts than I do.
Speaker B:But, but, you know, this is the holy grail of, of, of RFID in the grocery setting, particularly by virtue of the fact that waste and spoilage are the number one areas that eat into a grocer's profit.
Speaker B:So, so Walmart's again, they're out in front of things.
Speaker B:We talked a couple of weeks ago on the show even about how they're using Wiliot and, and deploying Bluetooth sensors.
Speaker B:But as we learned in a, in a podcast that we're gonna debut very soon with you all in our Spotlight series, that's at the pallet level too.
Speaker B:That's, you know, that's more on the transportation side of things and making sure, you know, you know, where things are, that they're stored.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And they're stored in temperature.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And so this is taking it down to an even greater level and so it's a, it's a step change really here.
Speaker B:And so, you know, when, when Walmart moves, the other point I'd make.
Speaker B:And when Walmart moves, so does the industry.
Speaker B:And I think part of this is also in response to the legislation around food safety that's coming.
Speaker B:You know my favorite acronym, bisma.
Speaker B:And so yeah, so Walmart is, you know, in front of that and then they're still in front of the overall smart store design of the future too, which is going to pay so much dividends for them in the long run just because of the fact that they're just so much further along on the experimentation side of this.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And I think that that brings up a really good point because I think not only now is Walmart able to deploy RFID in their center stor their apparel categories.
Speaker A:Even like Marshall K brought up, you know, they're putting these on crayons around back to school time.
Speaker A:Like now they're able to add more into RFID product like the products that they're putting these products on which gives them like greater visibility across the store which I think really tends to improve things like you know, online and Bopus or grocery orders too.
Speaker A:Like a meat is a main component for a lot of people's dinners and stuff.
Speaker A:And if you're placing an order for delivery or you're for pickup and that meat isn't there because you don't have the inventory visibility on products like this and like deli, you know, that makes a big difference that impacts the entire trip.
Speaker A:Like if that's the main thing that I'm coming to get when I'm making my chili and you don't have ground beef, like that's, I have to go to another place now and I may be, I may be circumventing Walmart and going to another retailer in that case.
Speaker A:So I think, you know, those two things are the biggest things for me.
Speaker A:More visibility across more products in your entire store.
Speaker A:And then the, the fallout there of, you know, what does that mean then for more accurate online orders, better, better fulfillment metrics and, and satisfaction with your customers too.
Speaker A:So I think that is, that is a huge move here from Walmart and I do think A and M's right, we'll continue to see this, this I'm sure in many more retailers to come.
Speaker B:So yes, there you have it.
Speaker B:We have the Venn diagram for you and of Walmart plus RFID and chili making.
Speaker B:That's, that's, that's the key takeaway here from this headline.
Speaker B:That's Fantastic.
Speaker A:Don't stop me from making my chili.
Speaker A:That's the, that's the key thing here, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, but I bet people want to stop me from eating it.
Speaker B:All right, let's move on.
Speaker B:Let's bring Dan Nellie onto the show to share this month's October's Retail text Startup of the Month.
Speaker B:All right, let's give a big Omni Talk welcome back to AWS's Danele Stropa because Danelle is here once again to hand out this month's Retail Tech Startup of the Month award.
Speaker B:Danielle, for those who may not remember or or who are new to our show, is the worldwide technical lead for AWS Partners in Retail at Amazon Web Services where he drives the technical strategy for AWS Partners in Digital Commerce, Customer Engagement and Generative AI.
Speaker B:Daniela, it's great to have you back.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:Ed, we need a drum roll here.
Speaker A:I know I don't, I don't have a drum roll like little cue for the, I don't have a sound effect yet but I know we need to.
Speaker B:Get this sound effect.
Speaker A:Drumroll, drum roll, drum roll is what we'll have to say.
Speaker B:That's good.
Speaker B:Drumroll, drum roll, drumroll.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I love that ad.
Speaker B:All right, so Daniel, without further ad, who is October's Retail Tech Startup of the Month?
Speaker C:This month Retail Tech Startup of the month is Ryter and that's W R I T E R and they are a full stack Generative AI platform that's really transforming the way that retailers and brands are automating process and generating content across their whole organization.
Speaker A:Okay, so Danelli, tell us a little bit more like what's differentiating Rytr compared to some other players in the space and why is it so important for retailers and brands listening to kind of know about what they do?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think what's what makes them particularly interesting is their end to end approach and solution.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:They've built their own large language model which are some of the top scoring large language model out there.
Speaker C:They have their own knowledge graph based solution.
Speaker C:They have built in guardrails to ensure consistency and compliance with the content that is being generated.
Speaker C:They really provide a full package, a full solution.
Speaker C:On top of that they also have pre built, pre vetted agent and workflows that consumers, customers can take.
Speaker C:They can test them out, plug them into their system, test them out and then move on to production with these ready workflows.
Speaker C:So what that really means is that they are really accelerating the way that brands, retailers can go to production with these predefined pre tested solutions in a much faster way.
Speaker B:So Danielle, I'm curious too, and this is a question I've never thought about until you just brought that up.
Speaker B:So we always know the big four, right?
Speaker B:The Geminis of the world, the chatgpt, perplexity, anthropic, we hear about those all the time.
Speaker B:But now you're saying there's this other option that does something different.
Speaker B:So if I'm a retail executive, how put rider in that context of how it sits alongside those other options?
Speaker B:And why am I choosing rider to do my work versus one of them?
Speaker C:Yeah, so when we look at the large language model landscape now, or generative AI landscape, right, There is models that are good at a bit of everything and then there's models that are fine tuned, they are tweaked, they are a bit more specific for certain type of.
Speaker C:For certain tasks.
Speaker C:This is what Writer has done.
Speaker C:They have models that are more specific for certain tasks.
Speaker C:And as I said, on top of that, they have these pre built solutions, pre built templates that are specific for an industry.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So they have agents specific for retail and consumer goods.
Speaker C:They have other industries there as well.
Speaker C:But this really means that this is specialized, specific solution for this industry.
Speaker C:They are pre vetted and they are pre tested.
Speaker C:So it's really almost as a plug and play solution that an organization can take and utilize like that.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker B:So if I'm an executive, what I'm taking from that is that it should enable the.
Speaker B:Specialization is the key word there.
Speaker B:And it should enable me to go faster and with more certainty or accuracy in the result I'm trying to ultimately get from using their solution.
Speaker C:Correct?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker B:Well, you heard it here first, folks.
Speaker B:The October start of the month.
Speaker B:Ryder, thanks, Danielle.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Headline number four.
Speaker B:Lululemon is partnering with the NFL to release apparel for all 32 of its teams.
Speaker B:According to CNBC, this marks the first time the retailer has offered officially licensed products for the NFL or any of its franchises.
Speaker B:The collection, set to launch Tuesday, will include both men's and women's apparel and accessories with NFL team symbols.
Speaker B:Some of Lululemon's most notable products, including its steady state men's franchise and women's styles such as Define, Scuba and Align, and you might have to tell me what the hell those even are, are all part of the collection.
Speaker B:And I'm curious, do you think Lululemon's partnership with the NFL ads or.
Speaker B:Or detracts from its brand cachet?
Speaker A:I. I don't think it I don't think it detracts from it.
Speaker A:I actually don't hate this idea.
Speaker A:I think as long as they keep it online, I think if we start to see more penetration in stores, I think that's going to actually be an issue.
Speaker B:Oh God, I didn't even think about that.
Speaker A:They've, they've already done this like they more they'd done this for custom apparel for gyms and corporations.
Speaker A:Like they have that arm of the business.
Speaker A:So I think yes.
Speaker A:Is this a potential growth opportunity in a very lucrative area team where 100%.
Speaker A:I think that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker A:I also think that, you know, the, the categories that they're talking about here align the men's study.
Speaker A:Like these are very commonly purchased products across their portfolio.
Speaker A:And so people know how these products fit on them.
Speaker A:They, they're, they're some of their best selling products.
Speaker A:And so I think to, you know, as a woman buying any kind of fan gear like this has always been problematic.
Speaker A:Yes, they, you know, they're making like a woman's cut jersey or something like that.
Speaker A:But it's, it's very limiting in the types of materials that you can use and really how the fit is.
Speaker A:So as somebody who knows that I really like the fit of the align leggings or tank tops or whatever it might be, I like that I know with a good degree of certainty that when I order this for my team, you know, this align top with my team logo on it, that it's going to fit and I'm going to like the way it feels in the materials.
Speaker A:And the same goes for men's I would assume too, you know, given, given their, their popularity with that particular line.
Speaker A:But what I'm actually surprised that they to see here is that they didn't go for the college teams first.
Speaker A:Like NFL is fine, but I think given the, the demographics that are interested and that are purchasing and are like at the top of Lululemon's customer funnel right now.
Speaker A:I think that doing this for more college athletics would bet would have been better than starting right away with NFL teams.
Speaker A:But you've already hinted you're not a fan.
Speaker A:So what, what should we all know about this, this Lululemon move?
Speaker B:No, I'm not, I'm not, not a fan of this at all.
Speaker B:Yeah, the coaching is interesting.
Speaker B:I mean the college is just way more complicated, you know, versus 32 cities versus all those other cities.
Speaker B:But that's the, you know, having had some exposure to the fan business at Target.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't, I Don't.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I don't like this move at all.
Speaker B:And I never had thought about the fact that I could walk into the Lululemon down the street from me and see Minnesota Vikings gear in it, which just, just, oh, makes me want to ralph.
Speaker B:Like, I just don't like that idea at all.
Speaker B:And then you know what?
Speaker B:I. I happened, I happened to catch the Joe Montana and his family ad on my Facebook feed this morning as I got up and I was like, I can't even tell that's Lululemon stuff.
Speaker B:It just looks like garden variety, like NFL apparel.
Speaker B:And I was like, like, why do I care that Joe Montana, his wife and his two kids are in Lululemon gear?
Speaker B:Like, I just, I don't get that.
Speaker B:But so anyway, that aside, I just think it cheapens the brand.
Speaker B:I mean the.
Speaker B:You put the NFL logo on everything and down the road, like, yeah, sure, the short term revenue gain, it might be nice, but the NFL is going to force you to compete at some point with the business of some other athleisure company down the road.
Speaker B:And so they're either going to take the business from you or squeeze you in terms of what you're expecting here in the future.
Speaker B:So I think it's a really short term move.
Speaker B:I think it's, I think it's short term designed to juice the revenue.
Speaker B:And I think it's further indication to me that Lululemon has kind of have an identity crisis right now in terms of what it wants to be.
Speaker B:And I think once you grab that cachet position, you got to do everything you can to maintain it.
Speaker B:And I think an NFL broad based partnership just doesn't make sense to me.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker A:I think it's a good, I think it's a, it's worth the test for sure.
Speaker A:And hopefully Lululemon's team is, is in a position to move quickly should this not pan out the way that they, they think it will.
Speaker A:But, but I don't know.
Speaker A:I like the option.
Speaker A:I think I would push it forward and well, let's check back in in a few months and see like what happened and how they do in fourth quarter, especially around gifting season, because that's another thing too.
Speaker A:Like I think maybe, maybe the holiday season, this is like an extra, a fun thing to, to gift somebody.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But will it last?
Speaker B:So Viking yoga pants on this show.
Speaker B:And that's what you're saying.
Speaker B:Viking yoga pants on this show.
Speaker B:Not a scarlet has been thrown.
Speaker A:I'm not buying Anything.
Speaker A:NFL.
Speaker B:NFL.
Speaker A:Okay, I know, but I'm just.
Speaker A:That's why I'm saying, like, I'm, I would not, I don't just.
Speaker B:You might try it.
Speaker A:No, I'm saying, like, I would try it for other.
Speaker A:Like, I can see why somebody would try this in the sports categories if they made a Timberwolves, if they did NBA.
Speaker A:If there was Timberwolves gear 100, I'd be all over it.
Speaker B:Okay, mark it down, mark it down.
Speaker B:All right, Cool.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:All right, let's go to headline number five.
Speaker A:Amazon unveils AI smart glasses for its delivery drivers.
Speaker A:According to TechCrunch, Amazon announced on Wednesday that it's developing AI powered smart glasses for its delivery drivers.
Speaker A:The idea behind the glasses is to give delivery drivers a hands free experience that reduces the need to keep looking between their phone, the package they're delivering and their surroundings.
Speaker A:The e commerce giant says the glasses will allow delivery drivers to scan packages, follow turn by turn walking directions and capture proof of delivery, all without using their phones.
Speaker A:The glasses use AI powered sensing capabilities and computer vision alongside cameras to create a display that includes things like hazards and delivery tasks.
Speaker A:The retailer is currently trialing the glasses with delivery drivers in North America and plans to refine the technology before a wider rollout.
Speaker A:Chris, are you buying or selling Amazon's AI glasses for delivery drivers?
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker B:You know, the more I think about this, I'm selling this one hard, I mean, and I, I see like a big, I see potentially like a big class action lawsuit down the road.
Speaker A:Like, oh my God, really?
Speaker B:For example.
Speaker B:Yes, 100%.
Speaker B:Like, how do you know?
Speaker B:How do we, how do any of us know the long term implications of wearing glasses like this every day for eight hours a day?
Speaker B:Like, I can't even imagine the waivers that are needing to be signed just to test this.
Speaker B:Because we can't know that, right?
Speaker B:There's no way to know that this technology just now exists.
Speaker B:So, so for that reason I am, I'm actually hopeful.
Speaker B:Usually I throw shade at these types of things, but I'm hopeful that this is more of a tech PR announcement than an actual thing from Amazon and history.
Speaker B:If we look back at Amazon's history, it is littered with stories like this.
Speaker B:You know, the dash button comes to mind.
Speaker B:So, so while the efficiency benefits might be there, I'm hopeful, I'm hopeful that the actual implementation of this idea at scale is a long, long way out.
Speaker B:Because I were like, I posted when this story came out, I posted like, do you remember?
Speaker B:Like hot Shots with the washout from, from Hotshots.
Speaker B:Like, his eyes are like, you know, he couldn't see anything.
Speaker B:Like, I mean, that's, that's what I worry about, that we're gonna have all these, all these people walking around the country who can't see anything anymore.
Speaker B:Like, we have no idea what the implications of this are.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I mean, you have so many people buying the meta glasses now.
Speaker A:Like, they don't want to wear those.
Speaker B:I don't have to wear those.
Speaker A:You can, you can.
Speaker A:But I think, like, I don't know.
Speaker A:I, I think this is the number one thing that I hear right now from retailers and teams working in the field is there are too many devices.
Speaker A:They have way too many things that they have to carry around.
Speaker A:It's become prohibitive to them getting things done.
Speaker A:So I, I think that this is a wearable that I would actually be testing.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:You know, it's not all.
Speaker A:I, I have not tried this.
Speaker A:I'm going off of the geek wire journalist who did a test with this and did a trial simulation with it.
Speaker A:But I mean, to be able to hear in your ear like, this property has a dog.
Speaker A:Watch out for that.
Speaker A:This is like, you know, there's steps here, whatever.
Speaker A:Like just any of those things.
Speaker A:Most of all, to be able to scan the picture of the package with, you know, just being able to tap your eye and then go back.
Speaker A:I think that there's a lot of benefits that this could provide them.
Speaker A:My hope to your point, though, is that they are collecting continuous feedback on this and that this is something that, you know, they're, they're going to be reacting to when they're hearing feedback from drivers of how to make this better.
Speaker A:This is definitely not a technology, given what you just said, that you can just, just put out into the field and, and, and wait to hear feedback versus soliciting continuous feedback from the people that are using this day in and day out.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, from my store manager days, the one thing I remember is, and I don't know if it was the number one cause of workman comp issues, but it was definitely a major cause of worksman's comp issues.
Speaker B:Was like repeatable actions, you know, repeatable actions that your body is taking.
Speaker B:So in this case, you have your eye being asked to repeatedly, repeatedly adjust to the scanning of a package, which.
Speaker B:That's my eye.
Speaker B:Like, I don't want to lose my eye.
Speaker B:You know, I don't want anything.
Speaker A:But I think they're just Taking the picture, right?
Speaker A:Like they're just holding the thing up and they're taking the picture.
Speaker B:I thought it was also to locate packages in the truck.
Speaker B:I thought, oh, yes.
Speaker A:Part of it too, there is.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:That is like a.
Speaker A:Of AR overlay that they're to help them more quickly find things.
Speaker A:So, yes, that part is.
Speaker B:So if my eyes having to repeatedly adjust to an AR overlay, buyer beware or user beware, I think that's what I would say.
Speaker B:I'd be signing.
Speaker B:I'd be taking some big precautions if I'm signed up for that test.
Speaker A:Chris Walton is not going to demo your product, Amazon.
Speaker A:He will not be in that trial group.
Speaker A:All right, let's go to the lightning round.
Speaker A:Netflix is bringing back Stranger Things, but in a new strategic move, the finale will be available in select theaters versus just on streaming devices.
Speaker A:Will you go see the finale on the big screen, Chris?
Speaker A:Ooh.
Speaker B:You know, at first, yes and no.
Speaker B:I think I'll watch it at home first and then I'll go see it on the big screen.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:So double feature.
Speaker A:You want to see both of them in both spots?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker B:And it also depends on how good it is.
Speaker B:So then if I like it, then I can go to the theater.
Speaker B:If I think it sucks, I can save my money.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's my plan.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Weirdly Hot Santa is back for the second year in a row.
Speaker B:My question for you is, is he any more or less hot the second time around?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I feel like he's the same.
Speaker A:I. I saw him and I was like, oh, there's the cute Santa again.
Speaker A:They're doing the cute Santa campaign.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:I don't mind it.
Speaker A:I'm not.
Speaker A:I'm here for it.
Speaker A:That's okay.
Speaker A:Must have done well because they're doing it for the second year in a row.
Speaker A:So I don't know.
Speaker A:Is it the same actor?
Speaker A:I didn't even look at that.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's the same guy.
Speaker A:Yeah, same guy.
Speaker A:Same guy.
Speaker A:So it's just like he's just getting a glow up from year to year.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't even know if he's getting a glow up.
Speaker B:He's just getting a return appearance, you know, and for those watching, those listening and watching, this was our number one YouTube short last year was ad talking about weirdly Hot Santa.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're thinking he's equally hot as he was last year?
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, I stopped.
Speaker A:I stopped to listen to the ad.
Speaker A:So I guess, like, the one of him in the chalet or whatever.
Speaker A:I was like, all right, I'm here.
Speaker A:Let's finish talking about getting ready for.
Speaker A:For the holidays, I guess.
Speaker A:Weirdly Hot Santa making his debut.
Speaker A:Like, great for this guy.
Speaker A:I mean, he was probably like a D list actor before this, and now he's Hot Santa two years in a row.
Speaker B:You're telling our audience you want to ride in Weirdly Hot Santa's sleigh tonight.
Speaker B:That's what you're saying that you would.
Speaker A:I don't know if I want to ride in a sleigh.
Speaker A:I'll keep the space between me and the TV screen glass here.
Speaker A:I don't know that I. I feel.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't know that I'm riding in a sleigh, but I'll.
Speaker A:I'll be here to listen to what he wants to pitch me for Black Friday at Target for sure.
Speaker B:Fair enough.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:All right, Chris, as we mentioned earlier, Lululemon is now licensing product with the NFL.
Speaker A:Does this make you want to change where you're sourcing your Cardinals gear?
Speaker B:No, absolutely not.
Speaker B:And more so because of the Cardinals.
Speaker B:Because the Cardinals are terrible.
Speaker B:They're atrocious.
Speaker B:I'm a lifelong 30 year fan of them and they're terrible and it's so depressing.
Speaker B:So I don't even want to talk about this anymore.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker B: Bull is reportedly dropping a: Speaker B:The Cardinal.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The Cardinal.
Speaker B:The calendar will include 24 cans of various flavors and cost between 45 and $50, reportedly.
Speaker B:When was the last time you had a Red Bull and when you did.
Speaker B:Did give.
Speaker B:Did it give you wings and.
Speaker A:Probably college.
Speaker A:I mean, I just.
Speaker B:No way.
Speaker A:I don't think I've had a Red Bull.
Speaker B:Had a Red Bull since no college.
Speaker A:I don't really.
Speaker A:I mean, not.
Speaker A:I honestly cannot tell you that.
Speaker A:I. I've never been a fan of the taste of it.
Speaker A:It's always been so.
Speaker A:I was never into Red Bull to begin with, so I would much rather do a coffee drink or something else or an espresso Martini.
Speaker A:That would be my go to instead of a Red Bull and vodka or anything like that.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:Not my jam.
Speaker A:Never has been.
Speaker A:Really.
Speaker B:You never had like the late night at the bar and you're like, just struggling to keep up and you're like, I need a Red Bull and vodka.
Speaker A:No, I think I would go for like a soda of some kind, like a Coca Cola or Diet Coke or something.
Speaker A:That would be my go to and I'm dancing usually by that point, so I don't need any more caffeine.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm just using natural endorphins to keep me going at the bar.
Speaker A:So that's if I've made it out that far.
Speaker A:Maybe my son will take on my genetics and he'll be partying until midnight this weekend.
Speaker A:Who knows?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I remember mine vividly.
Speaker B: It was: Speaker B:It was a crazy story, which is a story for another time at another venue.
Speaker B: of the biggest actors of the: Speaker B:Today's podcast was produced with, of course, the help and support of Ella Sirjord.
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