An off-schedule podcast discussion with Darryl Julott, Managing Lead of Digital Main Street. Craig and Darryl discuss the challenges small retailer and other businesses are facing in Canada, what’s being done and what the future might hold.

An off-schedule podcast touring the Oakridge Shopping Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, in September 2020, prior to its shutdown for an incredible redevelopment. Craig and Lee discuss what’s happening at Oakridge in a tour showcasing what’s open and what has closed recently in preparation for the construction.

This week Craig & Lee talk about Gucci opening a standalone store in West Edmonton Mall and HBC’s The Room shifting strategy by adding menswear in the Vancouver location.

An off-schedule podcast touring the Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver, British Columbia, in September 2020. Craig and Lee discuss what’s happening at Park Royal in a tour showcasing what’s open and what has closed recently.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with Jose Ribau from EVP Digital & Innovation at Cadillac Fairview. Mr. Ribau discusses Ravel by CF and the technology initiatives underway, including the LiVE by CF app and CF’s recent CF Guest List offering.

This week Craig & Lee break exclusive details on the Oakridge Shopping Centre retail transformation in Vancouver, British Columbia. The discussion touches upon tenant closures, accelerated construction schedule and what the final community will look like for Vancouver. Some history about the centre is also discussed, including the enclosure of the mall in 1984 which saw Woodward’s relocate its flagship to Oakridge, as well as Canada’s first Abercrombie & Fitch as it once was in decades past.

This week Craig & Lee talk about brands opening stores including Dyson and Canada Goose, why experiential retail is needed for physical stores to survive, as well as filings and store closures for Ann Taylor, Mendocino and Swimco.

This week Craig & Lee talk about the latest retail casualties which have begun closing stores as a result of COVID-19 or exacerbated by it. The discussion flows through Canadian, nationwide retailers and then international retailers that have been affected.

This week Craig & Lee talk about the opening of the massively renovated Holt Renfrew Ogilvy luxury department store in Montreal. The discussion flows through the building from main floor luxury brand concession hall through to footwear, jewellery and upstairs to the personal shopping and Tudor Hall on the fifth floor.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with John Porter, Founder & CEO of BarterPay. Mr. Porter discusses the BarterPay community which chooses to leverage under-performing assets in the BarterPay network for products & services that offset real cash costs.

This week Craig & Lee talk about the new CHANEL boutique in Calgary. The discussion touches upon the history of CHANEL boutiques over the past decades, Holt Renfrew’s positioning of the concession and the strategy involved by the luxury retailer.

This week Craig & Lee talk about the recent bankruptcy protection filing announcements and Canada Goose’s latest announcement. The discussion touches upon Bestseller, Comark, and SAIL’s latest filings for bankruptcy protection as well as Canada Goose’s continued shift to direct-to-consumer sales.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with Lynda Murray, the Chief Marketing Officer at ShipperBee. Ms. Murray explains how ShipperBee transforms parcel delivery without changing consumer behaviour while improving or customers business results, customer experience and our environment.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with Ramesh Venkat and Mark Innes from David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services. Mr. Venkat and Mr. Innes discuss the latest research for Canadian retailer responses to COVID-19 and the Rise Again Retail virtual executive education program at the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services.

This week Craig & Lee talk about the COVID-19 re-opening retail announcements as well as the closure announcements. Reopenings included IKEA, Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew while the closures ranged from Victoria Secret (L Brands), Reitmans, Stokes and Nando’s.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with Dr. Rahul Kushwah, the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at PredictMedix Inc, an artificial intelligence (AI) company. Dr. Kushwah discusses the retail uses PredictMedix AI could bring to retailers for screening for COVID-19 and social distance enforcement.

This week Craig & Lee review the COVID-19 articles and HBC’s closure of their downtown Edmonton store.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with Charles de Brabant, the Executive Director at Bensadoun School of Retail Management at McGill University. Mr. de Brabant discusses the long road ahead to a recovery in the Canadian retail industry amid weak consumer confidence, as well as what the future may hold as we begin to settle into a ‘new normal’.

An off-schedule podcast discussion with George Minakakis, the Chief Executive Officer at Inception Retail Group Inc. Mr. Minakakis discusses the lead up to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) shutdowns, the current view of Canadian retail and overseas retail perspective on COVID-19 behaviors.

An off-schedule podcast panel discussion with Carl Boutet, the Chief Strategist and Board Advisor for Studio RX for retail strategies. Mr. Boutet discusses how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) shutdowns are having a profound effect on the Canadian retail industry, including the demise of struggling chains as well as an acceleration of innovations that were already in the works.