00:00:00 Chris
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Exactly the type of technology we like here at Omnitalk. They unite proprietary software with right size automation to make same day delivery profitable. To learn more visit veloq.com that’s Veloq.com you are listening to Omni Talk’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. 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. It is 1-28-2026. I am Chris Walden. Anne is on vacation and joining me this week in her first monthly appearance as our resident talent expert in is Jen Hahn.
And Jen is here to help bring you all the top retail headlines making waves in the world of omnichannel retail. What can I say about Jenn? Well for starters, Jenn Hahn is the Forbes featured Founder and CEO of Jay Recruiting Services, a national recruiting firm partnering with leading retail, manufacturing and distribution companies across the U.S. jen has also been named a Top woman in Grocery by Progressive Groceries and featured in top media outlets like Forbes and Yahoo Finance. She hosts an industry podcast called Candid with Candidates. Ooh, sounds spicy. That focuses on sharing the career journey of top industry execs. And she also spells her name with two ends. Jen, welcome to omnitalk. I’m so excited to get this going with you.
00:03:15 Jenn
Awesome. Thank you for that intro. I really like the two ends part that you added. I feel like that’s necessary, right? Because there’s one engines and then there’s two N gens.
00:03:25 Chris
I don’t know about you, Jen, but I’m always curious. I always love hearing the origin of how people decide on their names. So, like, what is the storey? Were you, like, sitting in elementary school and you’re, like, doodling. You’re like, you know, I think it’d be cool to have two ends in, Jen. Like, what’s the storey there?
00:03:38 Jenn
Yeah, good question. I really don’t remember when the second N came about. I do remember being in elementary school. My maiden name is Johnson, so I was Jennifer Johnson. So There were like 37 of me in any room that I was in. Very common name. So there were Jen’s, there were Jennies, and I knew I wasn’t a Jenny, so I became a Gen. I think the second end came about in high school because I was trying to be cool, had some swagger, you know, it’s. It stuck around.
00:04:06 Chris
Wow.
00:04:06 Jenn
So.
00:04:06 Chris
So it started in high school, potentially. You’re not exactly sure of when the origin happened?
00:04:11 Jenn
I think so, because my family, like, my direct family, like my parents, my grandparents and stuff, they still use one N, like, on my cards, there’s one N. I’m like, I don’t know this girl, but I’ll take her birthday card.
00:04:22 Chris
Okay. Wow. All right. I love the. I love how you were like, I’m not a Jenny either. Like, I’m not a Christopher. No one, no one wants to call me Christopher. It’s not good for anyone to call me that, particularly the people calling me that. It just sounds weird.
00:04:33 Jenn
But now it’s fun. Honestly, Chris, because people’s attention to detail in how they address you in an email or any situation, right? Like, if there’s not that second end, I’m like, I don’t know. We’re going to have to look further into your attention to detail here.
00:04:46 Chris
I made that mistake for the audience. I made that mistake, when we were starting to talk about this and I quickly covered it, I was like, oh my God, I forgot the 2nd ed. So anyway, yeah, that’s, that’s so funny. I’m glad you reminded me of that. Well, it’s great to have you. I can tell already that you’re going to fit right in with our vibe and how we do the show every week, which is why I’ve been so interested in bringing you on. And particularly I’m excited because I think you’re going to bring an HR lens to the conversation that we have each and every week. And given all the changes that are happening with AI, and we even saw it this week in the headlines, that’s going to become a more important topic as we go here, and particularly for the executive in our audience. So. Well, the other reason I’m excited is because we are going to ask you to help us hand out our Omni Star each month, which I love, because like I said again, you’re closer to the ground also in terms of knowing which retail executives are really making the grade at their organisations.
Like we meet people at conferences and things, but you’re actually talking to the organisations about who’s doing their job well in terms of who you’re sourcing and hiring for them. So, so, so with that said, for those news new to the podcast, the Omnistar Award, for those that maybe have tuning in for the first time to hear Jen, is the award that we give out each month in partnership with Corso to recognise the top omnichannel operators out there. Not the pundits, not the so called experts, but the real life retail operators making a difference in their organisations. And for those unfamiliar, Corso’s AI copilot coaches retail leaders to optimise store performance at every level, transform retail operations from data overload and into data powered. So, Jen, without further ado, who is this month’s Omnitalk Omnistar?
00:06:26 Jenn
All right, can I get a drum roll please? The Omnistar for January goes to Tricia Snyder. So Tricia is a divisional VP of Dollar General’s Northeast and New England division. She’s a fan of the show. She’s someone that I have personally had the pleasure of working with in multiple capacities in her long tenure inside of retail. Different organisations. She loves the the business. She is a die hard ops girl. She’s a force to be reckoned with when it comes to staying committed to those frontline teams and exceptional at turning that complex executive strategy that you need at the VP level. But Turning it into day to day actionable steps for the stores. I’ve seen her in action, I’ve worked with her teams. They all speak really highly of her. You know, you meet those people and they’re ops people. She’s actually stepped out of ops and into larger scale roles in the past and had larger scopes and it’s just like she has that ops heart. So she’s thriving in at Dollar General.
00:07:28 Chris
That’s great. And I could tell she’s definitely like in our, in our Omni Talk vibe too because I reached out to her last week and she was like, oh, I love you guys. It’s so great to hear from you talking to Jen. And so this is going to be a huge surprise for her too, hopefully when it arrives in her social media feed here in the next 24 hours as well. So I’m excited for it. So congratulations to Tricia from all of us at omnitalk. All right, Jen, are you ready? Are you ready to get into your First OmniTalk Retail Fast 5?
00:07:55 Jenn
I am ready.
00:07:56 Chris
All right. Well, this week we’ve got news on Dollar General. Oh, interesting. Dollar General coincidentally taking on Amazon with rural same day delivery. Amazon planning thousands of more job cuts within the next week and they actually just announced that number this morning. Traditional grocers winning the lunch rush battle against quick service restaurants. And American Eagle shuttering its quiet logistics business after a $360 million bet gone wrong. But we begin today with some major executive shuffling at the world’s largest retailer. Headline number one, Walmart announces sweeping leadership changes as incoming President and CEO John Furner reorganises the company to focus on AI driven retail transformation. According to a Walmart press release, the board of directors has elected new leaders to Walmart Inc. S Executive council with all changes effective February 1, 2026.
Seth DeLaire is elevated to Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for Walmart Inc. Overseeing global enterprise platforms including Walmart Connect, Walmart plus Walmart Data Ventures, Vizio and a global marketplace platform. David Gugina, currently EVP and Chief E Commerce Officer for Walmart US becomes President and CEO of Walmart us. Under his leadership, Walmart built industry leading delivery capabilities serving 95% of U.S. households in under three hours. And and Chris Nicholas moves from President and CEO of Sam’s Club to President and CEO of Walmart International succeeding Kath McLay while Latrice Watkins becomes the new President and CEO of Sam’s Club U.S. furnish stated quote, as AI rapidly reshapes retail, we are centralising our platforms to accelerate shared capabilities, freeing up our operating segments to be more focused on and closer to our customers and members. End quote.
That was a big read for me to start out the day. Yeah, we’re going to put you on the spot straight away too, which is typical on this show. It feels like the A&M consumer and retail group is liking to start us off each week with their questions. So here it is, the put you on the spot question of the week from A M. With these changes, John appears to be organising for continued push and disruption in the digital space in Walmart’s next era, stepping back for organisations both large and small, they they’re hitting your HR expertise with what is your take on the proliferating Chief Growth Officer role across retail and cpg and what must be true for it to successfully add incremental value alongside executive decision makers like business unit presidents, CMOs and heads of sale. Better you than me, my friend. The floor is yours.
00:10:30 Jenn
Yeah, that is a long question of the week. My favourite part of this headline is actually the part that says they’re freeing up our operating segments to be more focused on and closer to the customer. That’s the part that stands out to me. I don’t think any of these promotions necessarily, the people that were promoted to different roles, I don’t think all of that is totally surprising. Walmart has a strong bench. They have for a while. Obviously these are people that are really qualified to take on these new initiatives. I think the change in Seth’s role to Chief Growth Officer, I think previously he was Chief Revenue Officer, it almost feels like a natural progression to me.
So I hate to say it’s not huge news, but that feels like, okay, that’s the next step. Step for them to have someone that’s truly focused on the expansion and the growth opportunities inside of the new platforms. We’ll say, you know, there’s so many initiatives in today’s retail that it’s easy to get caught up in those expanded offers because they are, they offer huge margins, they’re a really smart play, they’re doing wonderful things for the industry. Right. But a move like this to me says that staying focused on those initiatives and the expanded platforms cannot come at the expense of understanding the customer, the focus and the clarity that the operators need to take care of their customers. So that’s why that’s the part of the headline that stands out. Now, to really answer A and M’s.
00:11:55 Chris
Question.
00:11:57 Jenn
His decision to add the title of Chief Growth Officer, again, that doesn’t feel totally new and It’s a new title, but to me it’s just saying, like, hey, we want someone focused in how we expand these platforms, but we do not want it to fall on operations. We want operations to stay focused on executing execution here. Right. I think there are more opportunities to grow the business day by day. And without that dedicated function, without that dedicated title and accountability, I think there’s an option for this to turn into chasing shiny objects and seeing what sticks rather than real strategy and, and direction. Again, this was a long question, so my answer is going to be long too. I’m like, how do I hit all of these? Right.
00:12:39 Chris
So yeah, no, you’re doing great though. And I’ve got a tonne of follow up questions for you, so keep on going.
00:12:43 Jenn
I see you nod and your facial expressions changing, so I can’t wait to hear them. So for this role to really make a difference, what needs to be true for it to successfully add incremental value alongside executive decision makers? Right. That was the question that was asked. I hate to say, I hate for this to be such a simple answer, but I really think it comes down to clarity and accountability. Right. It just feels like if we’re going to add this chief Growth Officer and if this is a huge focus, is it actually going to take a lift from the operator or is it going to be another person and team sitting in the meeting? Right. Is it going to allow them to like, who owns the P and L, who owns the execution? Who gets to make the decision at the end of the day for all of these platforms, is this totally lifted off of operations or how do they collaborate together? And I mean, time will tell, but if I had to guess, Walmart has a good plan here and we’ll see those new initiatives continue to grow and expand with, with this title.
00:13:43 Chris
That’s really interesting to me, Jen. Like, you know, I think your point about operations versus new growth initiatives is really, is really a good one too. And when I look at like what’s under his purview, the only one where I feel like the, the murky landscape hierarchically gets a little clouded is with Marketplace. But Marketplace, for the most part, they’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that self contained and coordinating the effort across the organisation. So that doesn’t scare me. But the other ones, those feel really separate to me. Like, you know, like he’s probably in charge of, I’m guessing, you know, the, the Walmart1, the one pay platform which I think just last week they said is worth $4 billion, which is which is astronomical when you think about that from a valuation perspective against other retailers. Like, that’s more than some retailers that are out there. So I think it makes sense that they’re doing this. I think it’s a smart move by Walmart. The question that I had for you, though, is, do you think, should other retailers do this too, or is this unique to Walmart and Amazon and maybe just a few others?
00:14:40 Jenn
I think retailers that are looking forward and seriously committed to investing in these growth platforms, alternative growth platforms. Right, right. I think it’s. I don’t think it’s a bad idea. I do think right now there are probably a select few and it’s the larger players, like you’re talking about, the Walmarts, the Amazons, a few others that I can think of that could be investing in this if they’re. If they’re ready to truly become. I mean, there’s, there’s like two organisations going on here, right there, the store footprint and then there’s all of the platforms you’re talking about. So I think the answer is yes, they should, if they’re ready to play in that space, but no, they don’t need to add it if they’re simply dabbling in retail media. Right. That’s very different.
00:15:26 Chris
That’s a really good point. And the reason I asked that question too, because it’s going to come up when we talk about the quiet logistics platform too, here in a few minutes, like, there’s been a lot of starts and stops and that we’re going to sell our technology to other retailers, arena, or to create other business ventures as well. So I think you’re right. Like, I would agree with you too. Like, I think there’s probably fewer, there’s probably a handful of retailers that should probably take this approach because how many of them can actually create new businesses on the size and scale of a Walmart or an Amazon is probably a pretty big question. Yeah, I mean, for me, like, my quick take on the headline, like, I’m not surprised. I think those moves make sense.
The one big. The one thing that sticks out to me just from an organisational perspective is Kath McClay and, and what happens to her. And there was a lot of rumours going on at FMI about where she’s going next, which we’ll wait to see if those play out the way people were telling me. I heard from multiple. Multiple people where she’s going next. So. So I can’t wait to find out. But. But yeah, and then the only other thing I’d say to David Gugina. Yeah, I kind of called it like a friend of mine said, who do you think it’s going to be like a day before? I think she had insight that they were going to make the announcement and I like texted and I was pretty proud that I got that one right to Jen, so.
00:16:29 Jenn
And then with Kath Maclay, I didn’t really think about that aspect of what’s happening there and I wasn’t at fmi, so we’ll have to see if the rumours come to fruition. All right, so let’s move on to headline number two. Dollar General is expanding its proprietary MYDG delivery same day delivery service to more than 17,000 stores, many in rural communities, directly competing with Amazon’s rural delivery expansion. According to Chain Storage, this expansion comes as Amazon invested more than6.4 billion in 2025 to expand its rural US delivery network to speed up delivery for millions of customers in less densely populated areas. Dollar General data indicates that approximately 75% of the US population lives within five miles of one of its stores, which is incredible, positioning the company to support same day delivery in underserved rural communities. Lydia Thatcher, VP of digital commerce at Dollar General, stated MyDG delivery is helping bridge the digital gap by extending same day delivery to rural communities nationwide through Saturday, February 28th. So that’s a month from today. Dollar General is providing customers with free delivery on one MyDG delivery order using their MyDG. You have to say MYDG a lot in this one.
00:17:47 Chris
I know it’s a lot of MyDGs.
00:17:49 Jenn
They’re offering free delivery on MyDG delivery order using their MYDG rewards with the option to expedite orders to one hour or less for an additional $1 fee. Sticking with the Dollar General thing there, Dollar General also provides same day delivery from more than 18,000 stores through DoorDash and more than 17,000 stores through a recently launched collaboration with Uber Eats. Chris, Dollar General versus Amazon in a rural America for same day delivery. Who wins that battle?
00:18:20 Chris
Okay, you’re putting me on the spot now. All right. The tables are turning here. All right, I love that. First of all, I love that question. All right. It’s a really great question. I’m actually going to go a different direction. I don’t think it’s either one of them. I think. Can I say Walmart, Jen? Can I say Walmart?
00:18:34 Jenn
That was not an option, but let’s hear it. Let’s hear it.
00:18:36 Chris
Okay. I mean, I think Walmart’s got the biggest leg up in the, in the race, you know, given, like what I said with like they’re within 95% of the US population in under three hours. Actually, like so very, very quickly. But, but so like, I think, I think I don’t, I think I frame it as, you know, what we got at least talk about Walmart within the conversation. But what I love about the, and I’ll keep playing the acronyms is that dg, DG specifically is trying to create its own network versus relying on third parties. And the reason for that, if you get back to it, is like, why should you do this versus just going through UberEats and DoorDash like we talked about with Kroger on last week’s show when Ann was here.
There’s a couple reasons. One, your service is generally better when you control it yourself because you’re closer to that customer experience in terms of how it all plays out. And the other point is you keep control of your first party data as well, which you’re effectively giving up when you go through the instacarts and the doordashes of the world. So the only real question of why not to do this is economics. But so from my perspective, I think Dollar General or DG has to go this direction to keep pace with both Amazon and Walmart in the long run. So in that respect, to me it’s a table stakes investment. But Jed, I’m going to turn the tables on you because I want to go back to you. I’m curious, how are you hearing retailers approach this last mile question, which I was basically talking about there, in terms of how to do it? How are they approaching it from a talent standpoint? Is it a focus? Or are most retailers resigned to just using Instacart and DoorDash versus building the muscle memory to do it internally themselves? Like what, what’s your take there? What do you see in the marketplace over these last few years?
00:20:14 Jenn
Yeah, when it comes to the last mile, I think it’s a good question. What I’m seeing is many of them are getting creative and they’re testing out where they can own pieces of this. Vers is where it does make sense to outsource, which we’ve seen right to the ships or the instacarts of the world. We’re seeing retailers build those resources internally where possible, specifically around like building the strategy and the tech integrations, the customer service. They want to own that customer service and that customer experience, but they’re really leaning into those external partners for the toughest part, which is staffing the deliveries. Right. So staffing the deliveries and that actual last mile of how does it get to someone’s doorstep? Right. To get it to their doorstep. Right. It’s nuanced, it’s expensive, it can carry inherent risk. I mean, think about taking store employees or distribution associates and putting them out on the road. There’s just, it’s a different model where staffing is already no joke. Right. We all know it’s hard to get in store employees, it’s hard to get D.C. employees right now. So I just don’t think many of the retailers are prepared as much as they may be looking into it. And it’s a great idea to find a way to control that experience in the future. I mean, the manpower isn’t there to.
00:21:22 Chris
Do it today, so there’s the reality of it too. All right, so what about, what about the question you asked me, like, who do you think wins in the battle in the long run? I’m curious your take there too.
00:21:32 Jenn
Who, who wins? Well, I didn’t know Walmart was an option. So. So I’m not say Walmart. Here’s what I will say. I’ll say I really like this. I like this from Dollar General. I think they know their customers. I think they’re not trying to cater the Sol and be the next Amazon. I think they’re just saying in these areas we can compete. If they truly have 75% of the population within five miles from a store, they’re just prepared to compete. So I would say I’m going to go with what might be considered the underdog here and say, I think Dollar General has a strong opportunity to win against an Amazon in those rural communities. I think the. When Amazon announced its plan for rural communities, they said they needed 200 delivery stations. Well, Dollar General has those delivery stations, Right. They’re going to use their store, use their existing footprint. We already talked about how many stores they have and I think if it’s done well, I’m going to give them the win.
00:22:32 Chris
Yeah, well, yeah, I think you’re right. I mean, I think you’re on something that we can’t overlook too, which is that there is a local factor to where people choose to shop. And so Dollar General is that local factor for a lot of the American population. And so, so Amazon is not that. Now Amazon can try to continue to fortify its E commerce position with the marketplace, which it’s done very well and will continue to do well in that regard. But I think there’s a point that you’re making Here, which is, you know, again, it goes to Walmart too, to some degree. But Dollar General and Walmart both have that local perception of the place you shop and there’s an affinity to that that is hard to break. Ultimately over time, I think the challenge.
00:23:06 Jenn
Will be how do you get shoppers to change their behaviour when they’re ordering something? Because that’s never been shopper behaviour in the past. Right. But how is Dollar General getting in front of them with announcements like this, offering this, this dollar delivery? I think that will be the challenge. Like, am I going to go to my phone and open up my DG app, myDG, which is the new acronym we’re using. Right, right. And, and that will be the challenge. But I do think there are some very loyal in those rural communities, people that love their Dollar General, it’s the closest store to them. So I, I would say that’s the biggest challenge.
00:23:41 Chris
Yeah. And also like how much assortment you can provide via this method too. Like, you know, is it, is it, is it going to give people what they want consistently? I also think it gets potentially into like a membership aspect too, like with Dollar General. So it gives them potentially another income source in the long run as they’re testing this out and understand how valuable it is to different people. So. All right, well, great discussion. God, this is so much fun. All right, headline number three. Amazon is planning a second round. This one’s going to be huge. I can’t wait. It’s so, so timely that Amazon makes this announcement today and have you on the show.
So Amazon is planning a second round of corporate job cuts this week as part of its broader goal of trimming approximately 30,000 white collar workers, with CEO Andy Jassy attributing the cuts to bureaucracy and culture rather than AI or financial pressures. According to Reuters, Amazon cut approximately 14,000 corporate jobs in October and is planning to cut roughly the same number this week and actually just came out this morning before we went to print that that number is roughly 16,000, I believe, potentially beginning like they said as early as today. The layoffs will affect Amazon Web Services, retail, prime video and human resources units, though the full scope does still remain unclear. CEO Andy Jassy told analysts during the company’s Q3 earnings call that the reduction was, quote, not really financially driven and it’s not even really a I driven.
Rather, it’s culture, end quote. Explaining that you, quote, end up with a lot more people than you had before and you end up with a lot more layers. Oh my God, this is going to be a field day for you, Jen. End quote. The 30,000 total job cuts would represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, but only a small portion of the company’s 1.58 million total employees. I had no idea they had that many employees. With the majority working of course in fulfilment centres and warehouses. This would be the largest layoff in Amazon’s three decade history, surpassing the approximately 27,000 jobs trimmed in 2022. Jen, Andy Jassy says this is all about culture and bureaucracy and not AI or finances. Do you buy that explanation? And also here’s the second question. How should the broader industry examine this plan and what action should they be thinking about taking?
00:25:58 Jenn
Okay, so first of all, I think between the two cuts since October, there’s 30,000 jobs. Ish. Right. So I just take a minute and say that’s never to be taken lightly. I feel for those affected, that’s really hard stuff. Right. We’re seeing these headlines every single day, corporate layoffs. So I want to just take a moment and play on the human aspect of it. Like that is very hard. Now to answer your question, am I buying the explanation here? I can only hope that Andy honestly sees bureaucracy and these quote unquote layers that have been created as a real issue. Because I do, I believe that is a huge issue. And I think anyone in corporate retail at a leadership level feels frustrated by this like additional bureaucracy. 17 layers of approval. I’m at a senior director role, VP level role. We talk to these executives every day on our team and they feel like they still don’t get to own their business like they used to. Right. Like business has changed. Right. And it sounds like you were there. Right.
00:27:01 Chris
So I’ll never go back for that reason actually, because I have a lot more autonomy in what I do now.
00:27:06 Jenn
Yeah. And I think we see, and this is sort of a side note and then I’ll get back to answering your question. But we see we also work with manufacturing and distribution that is private equity backed. So they’re like the small to mid size growing when PE steps in. And I know not everybody loves private equity, but when PE steps in, they do trim the fat, they minimise the layers and they say you own your business and here’s how we grow. And some of the leaders that step out of corporate retail and into those more PE backed environments, they thrive because of the autonomy. There’s pressure, but there’s autonomy.
00:27:38 Chris
I’ve never thought about that actually. Jen, that’s really, that’s really interesting. The dichotomy between private equity. Which makes sense. Yeah. Cause they’re going to trim everybody out and you just got to own it and get it done. And if you don’t, you’re out probably.
00:27:47 Jenn
Right, right. And then. But if you are owning it and you’re getting results, they give you even more ownership. Like, great, just send me a text before that approval. Instead of in today’s retail corporate America, you have to make 17 slideshows and change the borders six times right. Before you can get that approved. So anyways, to go back to this, am I buying the explanation? I mean, look, I think both can be true. I think hopefully again, I very much hope that he sees this as an issue and he’s like, look, let’s try to minimise the layers and bureaucracy and let our team do their work. But at the same time, of course there’s a financial impact here. I mean, when you trim 16,000 jobs, there’s definitely a financial impact. And of course AI, when done right, allows strategic talent to do so much more with less headcount. So I think AI enables some of them, some of these jobs to be cut and the work to go on. Would I. Here’s the second part of your question. Would I suggest that the broader industry take note? I don’t know if people are going to like my answer here, Chris, but we’re going to be honest here on the Omni Talk.
00:28:56 Chris
Yeah, we 100% are going to be frank.
00:28:59 Jenn
Yeah. So I, I just would truthfully say I think most organisations could cut 10% of their corporate teams and be more effective, more efficient. As long as it’s done really well. I think it’s good business. In some ways we’re not the same business we were 10 years ago. We shouldn’t have the same size teams we had 10 years ago. I think it just makes makes sense. What I’ve seen that has gone wrong is some of these organisations making these types of cuts and saying, hey, AI can help. But instead of actually doing the work to create better budgets, better support, better tech, they’re giving them like half baked tech. Here’s a chat GPT. And now can you do six jobs? Because we just cut the five around you and that’s going to burn out top talent fast. Right. So I think, I mean it has to be done really well. I’m not sitting here saying I’m going to be the expert on how to do that, but I’ve seen it gone wrong when it’s done incorrectly. But overall I, I’m a Fan of trimming the fat at the, on the corporate teams and, and just hiring better A players for the roles that you keep.
00:30:08 Chris
That’s really interesting too. I didn’t expect to go in that direction. It’s funny because it’s timely. I’m having a cop. I’m doing a recording a podcast with Experian Technologies on Monday and that’s one of the questions I’m going to ask them is like, how do you actually, actually implement AI for the purpose of workplace efficiency? And when you put it in the context of like, how do you think about your organisational design? I think that’s, that’s a really great point you’re making, Jen, is like, I would probably experiment with what the right answers are for workplace efficiency before I just go and make cuts on the idea that AI can get me to the place I want to be. And in general there’s probably just as what I heard you say, in general there’s probably just ways to trim the fat in the organisation too. So I’m glad you came back around on that because I was going to, I was going to ask you that. But I mean, for me I, I fundamentally agree with everything you said.
I think the way I’d sum it up from my perspective in my language is like, I think it’s just good business and does it have to do with AI or does it not? Like, I don’t think that question really matters. It’s kind of a, it’s kind of a moot point at the end of the day. And at the end of the day you just always need to get in front of things and get leaner as much as you can. And so whether that’s chewing the, the trimming the fat or employing AI, like it doesn’t really matter. And so like, I think it’s just good business. And I think to your point too, the smart retailers are looking at this announcement and going, huh, do I need to take a hard look at this in my organisation? And my question for you though is like, how many, how many executives you think are doing that versus they’re just like, this is a one off, Like I’m not going to pay attention to it. I’m just going to look at my organisation, keep running it the same way, or do you think most of the leaders generally are trying to look at this type of thing?
00:31:42 Jenn
Every single year, to my knowledge, in our clients and in our network, every single year, we’re looking at workplace efficiency and org charts. What? I don’t know. I know you know Some people put it on hr. Like, hey, is HR working on this? Well, here’s the deal. If we’re talking about it being done well, you have to tell HR what you can and can’t do without and where you could thrive. And hey, we can get rid of two headcount. Because I want to implement this tech to take over. Like there has to be, again, that plan. It’s not just HR makes the decision and OPS has to deal with it, or OPS makes the decision and tells HR there really needs to be a collaboration there for it to be done well.
00:32:25 Chris
Right, and that, that goes back to your point about bureaucracy too, because that becomes difficult as an executive too, because how much of that do you actually own in terms of determining the design and, and creation of your organisational structure underneath you? So it’s kind of like a chicken and the egg thing that you start to get into here if you’re not careful as well.
00:32:42 Jenn
For sure. I mean, in my ideal situation, and unfortunately, they don’t always call me Chris. I don’t know why they don’t always call me either.
00:32:50 Chris
Listen to me.
00:32:52 Jenn
But in my ideal situation, you leave it up to the business leader, right? As much as possible, you say, hey, here’s what we need to hit. Here’s the margins we need to be at, here’s the revenue, here’s the, here’s the plan, right? Everyone has a budget. We’re in retail, we watch every dollar in that, let them figure out how to get there. But then it’s on them if they don’t, right? If you decide to headcount is what you needed. But now you’re not hitting plan, you know, bad plan, figure it out, go fix it. That’s what I think.
00:33:23 Chris
Yeah. And the other thing I’ve been thinking a lot about too. Sorry, I’m gonna go long here because I think this is a really important conversation. I think it’s really important for all the executives out there to hear it too. Is, you know, with AI, like, I’m almost, I’m almost of the opinion that if I was leading a retail company, I would be going to my executives and saying, okay, you come back and tell me, because you’ve been around and exposed to AI for the last two years, where do you think it’s applicable in your organisation and how much efficiency do you think you can get? And I do that for two reasons. One, because the exercise is going to be beneficial just in general to decide where and how you could strip things out. And then two, the other point for me as the leader, it tells me who’s really equipped in having that conversation and who really understands what AI can do. For me now, as a CEO, I might need help to bring in to understand, engage that acumen, but that’s the conversation. I don’t know. What do you think of that approach, Jen? Because I think that that is something I would be thinking very hard about doing.
00:34:19 Jenn
100% we say all leaders in this industry are now tech leaders. I mean, we cannot have really strong operators that just like, oh, I don’t dabble with that. It’s just not, not. It’s not the way you run business anymore. Right. So I would say 100 the best leaders in this industry and even things that our clients are looking for is, are they forward thinking, are they going to bring us tech solutions? Are they going to do the work? Right. Because there’s not this one IT team that can assess every single AI solution for every single team. It’s just too complex. Right. It doesn’t. And to be honest, if I’m owning the business, if I’m owning marketing, I don’t want the IT team to tell me what I should explore. I want to go out there, explore the options and then bring back like, hey, IT team. I’ve heard about these three options that I’m really interested in. I’ve done these demos. I understand what they could do for us. Can you now explore? Right. I think there’s. I guess I would just say I agree with you, 100 and clients are definitely looking for that in leadership today. Yeah.
00:35:22 Chris
Yeah. And here’s the goal that I’m putting to my work ultimately that we’re all driving to and holding hands to get to. I think that’s the important thing. You’ve got to put your feet to the fire as a leader to say like, at some point, like, here’s what I’m going to get, here’s what I’m going to get back for the organisation. And it’s going to take a lot of tough conversations as well along the way too. Both for. With the deciding the tech and ultimately the layout, the, the impact downstream to the workforce too, over the years.
00:35:47 Jenn
That’s right. The other thing I just want to. Because I could get on a soapbox about this. I just want to share is the time is now to make sure you are bringing in the most strategic talent. If you have doers, and we have a lot of doers and leadership se needs. It’s just the way the industry has worked. Right. And they’re probably fantastic at doing. But you can’t run an organisation or a successful team with AI if you are not strategic and truly strategic in the way you’re going to use that AI because you do need to ask follow up questions. You do need to make sure it’s not hallucinating. You do need to. There’s just the way you drive AI. I would say matters and if you put a C player in a seat with AI, you’re going to get F results. That’s my, that’s my opinion. If you put an A player in a seat with the right AI, you’re going to get tremendous results and you’re going to see all of the benefits. But it doesn’t replace people. It means your people should be more better, honestly, because you can do more with less in that way. Does that make sense?
00:36:51 Chris
Yeah, it does. It’s like we said on the show many times, it’s a management tool first and foremost for better efficiency and re engineering processes and getting to places you never could as an organisation too. That’s the other inherent thing that I learned and have been thinking about ever since nrf. All right Jen, great discussion. Oh my God. I hope everyone listens to that last however many minutes it was. But let’s keep rolling. Let’s go to headline four.
00:37:15 Jenn
All right, don’t bring a recruiter on if you don’t want to talk talent and AI, Chris. That’s what happens. But all right, moving on to a happier headline, hopefully than talking about a bunch of layoffs offs. Headline number four Traditional grocers are benefiting from an increased share of short midday store visits as consumers increasingly view supermarkets as convenient lunch destinations, claiming market share from quick serve restaurants. So this is fun. According to Placer AI data reported by Grocery Dive, between 2024 and 2025, grocery stores gained an increasing share of short midday visits, typically less than 10 minutes, occurring between 11am and 3pm over quick service restaurants, traditional grocers saw their relative share of convenient lunch destinations. Destination visits, there we go. Grow from 15.9% to 16.6% year over year, representing the largest increase among grocery formats. Placer noted these metrics underscore the strong demand for on the go meal options and single serve of shelf stable products that both grocery stores and CPG companies can provide. Chris, how should grocers react to this change in customer behaviour? They’re going to grocery stores for lunch.
00:38:35 Chris
Oh man. I mean I’ve been, I’ve been on this trend for a while. I think I wrote about this for Placer a Couple of months ago, actually. And I, you know, I think what I would say, Jen, is like any good merchant, I would react very quickly and go all in on it. I would overtly merchandise to it. You know, that’s what I would tell you, Jen, is I’d overtly merchandise to it. And by that I mean I would actually have a hook every single day of the week. And I would also, and here’s what I want to get your take on it too. I would also craft my operational model and my investments around those hooks too, because you probably got to staff this differently in store and you also have to invest in new tech that smooths out the operations. And so things that come to mind for me are like ESLs, because if you use ESLs, you can actually do intraday pricing on your food service bar, which I think is something that is an untapped opportunity when you think about it, especially given this proclivity in behaviour. And I even think of things like Piccadilly Salad Bar. I sat next to them all week long last week at FMI Midwinter or even digimarks barcodes that you can use on the salad bar to then help you control your waste and improve your revenue. So, so those are the things I would say. So I’m all in on this. Go for it. And, you know, my thing for you is again, like, how would you as a grocer operationally approach this newfound data stream?
00:39:49 Jenn
Yeah, I mean, I’m thinking of it from the people perspective, because that’s my lens. Right. But yeah, I don’t even have to think about how I would advise them to or how I would if I were them, because I’ve already seen them leaning in. Like you said, you’ve been on it for a few months, but we have seen such an increase in clients looking for category leaders when it comes to this ready to eat category.
00:40:09 Chris
Interesting.
00:40:10 Jenn
Building or expanding in their central kitchens that they own, they’re building or expanding in their commissary, whatever you call it. Right. But they’re looking for people that understand this category, that understand the opportunity and the margins and sort of the experience you can create with this category. And even when it’s not a merchant that they’re looking for that would own this category. If we’re, if we’re hiring food safety leaders, if we’re hiring manufacturing distribution leaders, this topic is coming up in our conversations. Like, we want someone that understands this category. We want someone that understands opportunity and will work with our. They’re calling it all different categories, right? But our Ready to Eat category, we’ll call it, it’s. There’s just such a big opportunity here. So operationally, I would say lean in, get the right talent, focus on it, make sure your stores are ready for it. I think the way you lay out your store and can people sit, can they not? Right. There’s the Whole Foods and then there’s, there’s the stores that you can’t go in and actually grab lunch and have an enjoyable experience. That’s a longer term play. But I think overall, Chris, I really agree with you. You and I agree a lot today. We’ll see what happens if we get.
00:41:21 Chris
To a disagreement as we go forward every month.
00:41:23 Jenn
Yeah, yeah, this is crazy. But honestly, I just think as much as E Com and digital and all the things that we just talked about in the Walmart headline are very important, this is really important. Your opportunity to use your brick and mortar, your, you know, people walking into the store and create an experience. And that younger generation we know loves an experience. Like what’s their Instagram picture going to be when they stop for your salad bar or your, your ready to eat options hashtag girl lunch. I don’t know. That’s a thing. Maybe it’s not. I’m not really a cool millennial. I’m like working on it. They’re probably on TikTok, not Instagram, but anyway, that’s, that’s my take.
00:42:02 Chris
Yeah. And so what, and I read between the lines and what you say there and like, this is why I think it’s, you’re a great addition to the show. Every month is like, you are a leading indicator for where people are going competitively for all you executives listening out there. So like, if you are in the grocery business and you are not doing what Jen is saying, you are going to be behind in terms of capitalising on this trend. So. All right, well, headline number five. American Eagle Outfitters is shuttering its Quiet Logistics business after the third party logistics provider provider struggled to gain customer interest following the retailer’s 2021 acquisition for approximately $360 million. Just $360 million. No big deal. BFD.
According to supply Chain Dive, American Eagle confirmed in an email that Quiet Logistics will discontinue services in the coming months and end operations at fulfilment centres in Boston and Dallas. American Eagle acquired quiet logistics in December 2021 for approximately the amount of said before in cash, combining it with delivery startup Afterra in attempt to build an anti Amazon logistics platform. As of last year, Quiet primarily Served as a regionalized fulfilment centre network for American Eagle with excess capacity servicing third party clients. But the third party business failed to meet expectations. In 2024, American Eagle took a $98.3 million impairment charge related to quiet platforms as it quotes, quote, refocused operations. Question, Jen, what does this say? What does this headline say to you about retailers trying to build out and sell their own technological solutions? And if someone were to come to you and ask your help in finding the talent to do that, what would you tell them?
00:43:45 Jenn
Well, if they came to us to find the talent, my answer would be, happy to help. We can find that for you. So again, as mentioned, they’re not always coming to us until they have the plan. If they already had the plan and the spot open, listen, we’d find them that person. But I think your question is saying if they did come and say, we’re thinking about filling this role, Jen, or we could invest these dollars elsewhere. I would suggest investing the dollars elsewhere. I would, I would. I don’t know all the details on how or why this purchase came about for $360 million in 2021 and in the first place, but I just inherently think they should focus on, on their clear mission a little bit more than selling technology. Right. Like American Eagle, I think of jeans. I don’t think of tech and not that there wasn’t an opportunity there, but again, I don’t know all the details.
I think this could be a case of just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I think you want to stay close to your core mission and, and your core audience is too far outside of their wheelhouse to make that big of an investment and to create a quote unquote anti Amazon platform. I mean, that’s a huge lift like you’re talking about. You might as well go start a different organisation and partner with American Eagle. It feels, it feels like a little much on my end. I mean, here’s the thing. Go sell more jeans. Right? Like I would if I was working there. If I was leading the charge, I would focus on how can we sell more jeans. I have a real time issue with jeans, Chris. I don’t know if you do because I feel like this is a woman thing, but I mean, are we going like wide leg, this barrel thing? Are skinny jeans okay? Or does that date me? Like, I, there’s so much they could help me with that. I, I’m not in on buying tech solutions. I just want them to help me with my jeans.
00:45:40 Chris
You’re not alone on your jeans. I have the same issue. In fact, I need to re outfit my entire wardrobe. Yes. I, I, I’m down to like two pairs of jeans, Jen. And I gotta, I gotta, I gotta get, I gotta get some new pairs. I feel like we’re on a jean trend cycle again too.
00:45:52 Jenn
So I gotta, I, I just don’t know because I, I pick one and I’m like, yes, this is it. But then it doesn’t go with shoes anymore. Like it’s winter here. How do I put boots with wide legs? I don’t get it. Yeah, I feel like Ella could help me, so I’ll talk to her later.
00:46:07 Chris
But we’ll bring producer Ella into this conversation too before we let, before we end. But, but, yeah, but like, but for me, yeah, I mean, for me. Well, first on the jeans thing, like, yeah. And then plus I’m like almost 50. Like what genes can I actually get away with? You know, that’s the big question for me, John. But no, I mean, I think I agree with you. We kind of talked about this in the first headline too. And I got to eat crow on this because when this news initially broke back in, what was it, 2021, I said in the headline, I was kind of intrigued by it. And I was intrigued by it because of the personality mainly of, of the leader of it at the time. And like, you know, I, I know better than that. And so what I’ve learned from, and this is why I like doing the show personally, is I learned from the things that I talk about and what works and what doesn’t. And so now I know how to scope these types of things better. And so what I would say to people is like, yeah, if you’re Walmart and you can create a differentiating place in the marketplace, you should be taking these approaches.
But if you don’t have a real differentiation point in why your new tech platform or your new strategy is going to stand out, you shouldn’t do it. And so, so, and like, I’ll never forget, like as I, I kind of told people I was intrigued, I met somebody at NRF from FedEx. I won’t name her, but she, if she still listens to the show, she’ll remember this. And she said, but aren’t they just doing a three pl? And I was like, yeah.
And that as soon as she said that then I started becoming like, oh, yeah, you’re right. Like what’s the difference in three PL providers? Like, there’s nothing. So like if, why should I use American Eagle, a competitor against, you know, somebody else. Like, you know, any of the other myriad of three PL providers. So it’s not even close when you look at it from that lens on how to think about this. So, yeah, so that’s, that’s my big takeaway and my big epiphany here as I stand doing the show eight years now. So. All right, Jen, let’s do the lightning round. Are you ready? I’ve. For those listening. I’ve curated all four lightning round questions for Jen if you listen to the show each week. So we’re going to get to get a sense of who Jen really is beyond just how she misspells her name. All right, Jen. Researchers at MIT just, just developed a new AI system that can predict which Netflix shows you’ll binge watch next with an amazing 93 accuracy by analysing how you watch your first episode. What is most likely to show up in your binge watching recommendations.
00:48:19 Jenn
Okay, honestly, Netflix, I’m just, I’m a mom. There’s been snow days so you could see kids shows show up for all I know has been babysitting my kids the last three weeks when we’ve had zero school. But for me it’s probably gonna show. I would those sports reality type shows, right? Like starting live or quarterback or that one can’t remember what it’s called but Jerry Jones and like the Dallas Cowboys history. Yeah, you’re showing me a show shocked face right now.
00:48:51 Chris
Wow, I did not expect you to say that at all.
00:48:54 Jenn
No, I’m all in. I will do like rom coms and things, but I can’t handle any. Anything suspense. So Netflix would not give me like anything scary suspenseful, like I got enough in my life. I don’t need to be worried about that when I watch Netflix.
00:49:08 Chris
Okay, so you don’t like the big scare. You don’t like the big scare. All right, but the second one, like.
00:49:12 Jenn
How that athlete got there and all they went through, it’s just, it’s really cool.
00:49:17 Chris
You’re. You’re a personal interest girl. That’s what you like. You like personal interest storeys? Yeah, that’s cool. All right, nice, nice. All right. All right. Next. What? Boston Market. This is going to be a great one too. Boston Market just announced they’re testing a new rotisserie chicken subscription where you get one chicken per week delivered to your door for $15.99 a month. Are you subscribing?
00:49:38 Jenn
No, no, I’m not subscribing to monthly rotisserie chicken programme. I’M out on this. I think I can order rotisserie chickens, and I do when I want them, but I don’t need them just showing up at my door on a regular basis. What about you? Yeah, are you.
00:49:56 Chris
Well, actually, I was thinking about, like, 15.99amonth. Getting a rotisserie chicken every week. Like, that’s actually a hell of a deal. Like, what if your local grocer did this? Would you sign up for it then?
00:50:05 Jenn
No, it’s not really. Because that’s like $4 a month. Or. I’m sorry, $4 a week. Right. And I. Yeah, rotisserie chickens are, like, 5.99. So to me, like, when they’re hot and fresh and I know I want to eat it that day, you know?
00:50:19 Chris
Yeah. But the merchant in me goes, okay, maybe I make this a component of my subscription programme. Like, you sign up for my subscription programme and you get discounted chicken delivered to your door on demand as part of a greater fee. That’s where I’m going with this. Yeah. I love rotisserie chicken. I’m all in on the rotisserie chicken. All right, third one. Now we’ll get some music tastes here from you, J. Harry Styles announced the 2026 Madison Square Garden residency a few days ago. Where do you come down on Mr. Harry Styles?
00:50:47 Jenn
I really hate to disappoint you and the audience, but I know nothing about Harry Styles.
00:50:52 Chris
Not disappointing at all, Jed. Not disappointing at all.
00:50:55 Jenn
I think he dated Taylor Swift at one point. That’s, like, the first thing that comes to mind. But if you would like me to cheque out his residency and report back, if Omni Talk wants to, like, send me as the newbie and go cheque it out, I will go and cheque it out.
00:51:10 Chris
Okay, we will think. We will. I will think through that. My wife would love to go with you. I’m sure she loves hairstyles. Oh, my God.
00:51:16 Jenn
Okay.
00:51:16 Chris
Oh, God.
00:51:17 Jenn
Yeah.
00:51:17 Chris
It’s just. Drives me absolutely insane. All right, last one. 80,000. And she’s gonna listen to this show, too. 80,000 curing coffee pots were recalled yesterday on an average day. I’m curious, how many cups of coffee do you drink?
00:51:31 Jenn
Drink again. I feel like I’m the most lame guest ever as I’m answering these questions, but I don’t drink coffee. I used to drink. Yeah, I used to drink a lot of black coffee. Especially back in my ops days. Right? Lots of black coffee that went cold before you could drink it. I don’t know when it changed, but today in My mug, I have mushroom coffee, which I’ve heard mixed reviews on. Some people love it, some people hate it, but I have one cup of rise mushroom coffee every day. And, like, maybe a few times a week I’ll have a latte, but. Yeah, okay. Boring.
00:52:07 Chris
All right. Wow, that is. That. That surprises me, given what you do and how, like, just. You got to be on all the time with the. The clients and everything. Oh, man, I’m already at cup one and a half. I think. Producer Ella, let’s bring you into the show. I think we also need to start a new segment. Like, how many cups of coffee has Chris had today? You know, I think. I think we could. We could do the over and under on two before we start every podcast, but. All right, Ella, so I’m curious. What. What. What should help you on this show? What do you want to comment on? The jeans? We’ll. We’ll just open the floor to you. What headline won the week for you? Producer Ella, I do have a lot.
00:52:41 Ella
To say about the jeans because this is a monthly occurrence for me that I. I also don’t know what to wear.
00:52:46 Jenn
Like, do I wear.
00:52:47 Ella
Are the skinny jeans coming back? I hope not. Not barrel jeans. I tried. I. I don’t think they’re for me. Baggy jeans. You know, that was maybe last year. I have no idea.
00:52:57 Jenn
So what are you doing? Can you send me a picture? Because I just got four pairs of jeans delivered two days ago, and when they were laying out on the bed, my husband’s like, can you figure this jeans thing out? Like, why are there. And I’m like, no, it’s hard. People need to be talking about this.
00:53:13 Ella
Yeah, no idea. Every day.
00:53:15 Jenn
Love that. That. Okay, so we don’t know. Okay.
00:53:17 Ella
And then my answer for the winner of this podcast is very unconventional today because instead of picking a headline winner, I’m going to pick a conversation winner.
00:53:28 Chris
Okay. I was wondering if you’re going to do that.
00:53:30 Ella
Yes. You two had some amazing content and interesting information between the layoffs and the AI and the strategy and the tech. Yeah, it was so fascinating, and I feel like I learned a lot from both of you. You. So, Jen, your point about all leaders need to be tech leaders? Like, snapping my fingers. So good.
00:53:48 Chris
Snapping her fingers. Look at that. Nice. Nice. All right, well, Jen, great show. We gotta sign off with our happy birthdays. Happy birthday today to Elijah Wood, Frank Darabont, and to everyone’s, particularly my mother’s favourite sex symbol from the 1970s, Mr. Alan Alda. Today’s podcast was Purdue. Yeah, right. Ella, wait. I gotta bring you back in. I know Jen knows who Alan Alda is. Do you know who Alan Alda is?
00:54:13 Ella
No idea. I’m so sorry.
00:54:16 Chris
God. Oh, my God. All right. All right. On that note, today’s podcast was produced with the help and support of Ella Sirjord. And remember, if you could only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, make it Omnitok the only retail media outlet run by two former executives from a current top 10 U.S. retailer. Our Fast Five podcast. Podcast is the quickest, fastest rundown of all the week’s top news. And our daily newsletter, the Retail Daily Minute, tells you all you need to know each day to stay on top of your game as a retail executive. It also regularly features special content that is exclusive to us and that Ann and I take a lot of pride in doing just for you. Thanks as always for listening in. Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcast or on YouTube. You can follow us today by simply going to YouTube.com omnitalk retail. Jen, if people want to get in touch with you for any reason after listening to this conversation, what’s the best way for them to do that?
00:55:06 Jenn
Yeah, so being in recruiting, we are very active on LinkedIn. You can find me, Jen, two ends H A H N on LinkedIn and then J Recruiting Services. Our company pages on LinkedIn and our website is jrecruiting services.com.
00:55:21 Chris
All right, awesome. Well, on behalf of Jen, producer, Ella, myself, and he’s on vacation. On behalf of all of us at Omnitok, as always, be careful out there.
Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.