Hello Omni Talk Fans! This week’s Fast Five was recorded from my ridiculously, comically tiny Paris hotel room, where I was parked across the street from NRF Europe’s retail convention trying not to knock anything over every time I turned around.
Joining me in the guest hosting spot too was Josh Hahn from J Recruiting, and let me tell you, Josh came in HOT this week. Like, “I don’t like this at all” hot. Right out of the gate.
About what? You might ask.
Walmart.
Generally, those would be fighting words to me of late, but Josh made some really strong points that got me rethinking my thinking.
Here’s the full rundown of everything we discussed on this week’s podcast:
- Walmart teaming up with Papa John’s for delivery — This is Walmart’s first national restaurant brand delivered entirely from locations outside its own stores, following its Subway and Dunkin’ moves. Josh thought Walmart is stretching itself into territory that isn’t its niche, while I am ordering a pizza and a regular coffee as soon as I get back home.
- Macy’s fifth straight quarter of comp sales growth — I’ll admit, five straight quarters of growth is nothing to sneeze at. But I also walked into a Macy’s this weekend and left completely uninspired. So, is the wound cauterized, or is the bleeding just slower?
- Amazon making Prime Video fully shoppable — Shop the Show just went from 1,300 titles to over 8,000, plus a new Shop the Scene feature so you can snap a photo of an outfit on screen and buy it. Josh sees the retail media upside. I just want to watch my movies in peace.
- SKIMS partnering with DoorDash for on-demand delivery — Yes, you read that right. Underwear, in under an hour. Josh and I both agree: delivery is like the airline business. Nobody cares how it gets there, as long as it’s reliable and cheap.
- Kroger trimming its full-year sales outlook — A cyclospora outbreak and pharmacy pricing pressure knocked down Kroger’s guidance this quarter, even as e-commerce and retail media put up their best numbers in years. Josh and I dug into whether that’s actually good news or an even bigger warning sign.
There’s all that, plus we also handed out this month’s OmniStar Award, in partnership with Quorso, to Meredith Klausner, SVP of Retail and Services at Best Buy, and I also made a case for federally outlawing taking your socks off on a plane, while Josh shared his ironclad devotion to Jersey Mike’s.
Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast
Be careful out there,
— Chris and the entire Omni Talk team
P.S. Why do the French make omelets with only one egg?
Because in France one egg is un oeuf.
Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.