Hello Omni Talk Fans! Anne was on vacation this week, so I brought in some big guns to help me shoulder the podcast load.
Jenn Hahn, the Forbes-featured Founder and CEO of J Recruiting Services, joined me to discuss all the week’s top headlines. Jenn recruits top executives for leading retail, manufacturing, and distribution companies across the U.S., which means she has her finger on the pulse of what’s really happening inside these organizations.
Jenn will be joining us each month as our “Resident Talent Expert.”
Here’s what the two of us tackled in Jenn’s Fast Five debut:
- Walmart’s massive leadership shake-up — New CEO John Furner just reorganized the entire company around AI, creating a new Chief Growth Officer role and moving heavy hitters into new positions. Jenn breaks down what this really means for retail talent strategy and whether other companies should follow suit.
- Dollar General vs. Amazon in rural America — DG is expanding same-day delivery to 17,000+ stores in rural communities. Can they actually beat Amazon at their own game? Jenn and I debate who wins this battle (spoiler: I went off the grid and said Walmart).
- Amazon’s 30,000 job cuts — CEO Andy Jassy claims it’s about “culture” and bureaucracy, not AI or finances. Jenn gives her unfiltered take on whether that explanation holds water and what the broader industry should learn from this in what could end up being the segment of the year.
- Grocers stealing lunch from McDonald’s and Chipotle — Traditional supermarkets are winning the lunch rush, and Jenn explains how grocers should staff differently and invest in this high-margin opportunity.
- American Eagle’s $360 million logistics disaster — Why did their Quiet Logistics “anti-Amazon” platform fail so spectacularly? Jenn’s advice: “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”
There’s all that, plus we also hand out this month’s OmniStar award (in partnership with Quorso) to Tricia Snider, Divisional VP at Dollar General, and Jenn reveals her Netflix binge-watching habits, her stance on rotisserie chicken subscriptions, and whether she’s evolved beyond black coffee.
Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast
Be careful out there,
— Chris, Anne, and the entire Omni Talk team
P.S. Why did the cowboy get a dachshund?
Someone told him to get a long little doggie.
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.