Sprouts’ New CEO, Costco Exits Its Marketplace & Ulta Is Told To Get The Flock Out | Fast Five

Hello, I am Chris Waltner, and welcome to this Week's Omnitalk Retail Fast 5, brought to you exclusively by the Omnitalk Retail Podcast network.

This week, guest host Shelley Huff joins me and we get into a little bit of everything.

Amazon, Costco, and even social media.

Telling Ulta to get the flock out of here.

Producer Ella let's cue the highlights.

A retailer should not deploy technology like this unless they can actually explain it.

Detection and prevention are two really different things.

I ultimately think it's defensive for them.

Yeah, survival of the fittest, no doubt.

This is an example of really bad external and internal comms.

Yeah.

Costco does everything with conviction.

I don't know that consumers are really going to be bothered by this.

At the end of the day, do.

You think any club should have a marketplace?

The next generation of great brands won't just have customers, they'll have communities.

Shelly Hoff, former Certus Simmons CEO and Walmart executive, and now CEO and co founder of the Interval.

How have you been?

Fantastic, Chris.

I had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, got a lot accomplished, cleaned out my entire closet, went shopping and saw Zach Brian Live in Phoenix, which was fantastic.

Oh, wow.

That sounds like the absolute trifecta of a great Labor Day weekend.

A little chores, a little shopping and a little concert going.

Well done.

It was perfect.

So how are things going with the Interval?

Let's start there.

Like, you know, what's the four one, one on that?

Where are things at?

Yeah, so the Interval.

We're gearing up to throw a lot host a lot of in person and online events all the way through the fall.

So for those of you who don't know, the Interval is a community for C Suite executives and founders who are taking an intentional pause to design what's next.

And it's a really great peer to peer community and you can find it attheintercommunity.com.

The other exciting announcement we have is that we're launching our first six week experience called Design youn Next Chapter, which is led by two fantastic transition experts that we've partnered with to launch this coursework.

So we're excited for that to kick off in the fall too.

Oh, that's really it.

Tell us more about that.

So when you say transition experts, so like, what does that mean?

What do you, what do you all get with that course?

Yeah, so there we couldn't find anything that we really loved that was transition coursework directed at senior executives.

So we used all the insights we've garnered from C Suite executives and founders over the last Two years and partnered with two excellent facilitator facilitators who have spent their life's work in transition.

And we've designed a proprietary product for the interval members that we have.

And it essentially takes everyone through the arc of this transition.

And by the end, you have a really good plan of what you think your next chapter is going to look like.

Wow.

And so if people are listening and are like, wow, I want to learn more about that.

Where do they go, Shelley?

How do they find out more theintervalcommunity.com experiences and you can learn more there or reach out to me directly.

Okay.

Wow.

Yeah, I imagine there's a lot of listeners that are going to be interested in that, especially with everything going on in retail right now.

And to that point, Shelby, you know this is, we were joking before the show.

This is your like 4th time co hosting with me.

So I'm curious, like, you're close to the Five Timers jacket, the proverbial five Timers jacket.

What's your approach for preparing for this show?

Because I know it's early for you too because it's west coast time, you know where you are.

So it's like 7:30 when we're recording this.

So what's your approach?

Well, I love coming on.

So thanks for having me again.

My fourth time, lots of coffee, early wake time, lots of coffee.

And you know, I have to prepare for this and know that I'm going to defend all my points against you, a well known retail veteran.

So I have, I've learned to evolve and like adapt as I'm prepared for each point.

Yeah.

And these headlines are pretty interesting this week.

Do you have a favorite, you know, going in?

Like, is there one that really caught your eye here before we get to it, before I give the full read down and rundown?

Yeah, I really like the Sephora headline this week.

I think it's interesting, I think it's future looking and I think it's thought provoking and it touches on multiple customer interaction points.

So I'm excited to get to that one.

Yeah, I think that's a really interesting one too.

All right, Shelly, well, let's get to this week's Fast 5, which is of course brought to you with the help and support of the A and M consumer and retail group, Miracle Corso, Ocampo Capital, Veloc and RNS Logistics.

In this week's Fast5, we've got news on Ulta getting dragged online this week over its use of controversial license plate surveillance technology.

Costco quietly Shutting down its Costco Next Marketplace.

Sephora piloting monthly drop storefronts on TikTok shop.

We know Shelly's excited about that one.

And sprouts farmers market naming a new CEO just as its comps turn negative.

But we begin today with Amazon rolling out a one off grocery storefront this time for Labor Day.

Headline number one is of course brought to you with the help and support of the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.

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 toward their maximum potential.

CRG brings the experience, tools and operator like pragmatism to help retailers and consumer products companies be on the right side of disruption.

All right Shelly, let's get this party started.

Headline number one.

Amazon is running a limited time digital storefront.

Top customers stock up for Labor Day, the latest in a growing string of its smaller occasion based online sales events.

According to chainsaw age, Amazon ran a limited time online storefront offering discounts on select food items via a dedicated Labor Day grocery store timed to the federal holiday on an Monday, September not Sebastian deal categories included cookout essentials starting at $2.

Think things like hot dogs and hamburger buns, summer produce under $4 and of course grilling proteins, all under $10.

Every eligible item was backed by Amazon's freshness guarantee and prime members can get free same day delivery on eligible orders.

This continues a pattern of smaller Amazon sales activations beyond its marquee events.

Think prime day, big deal days, Black Friday week, including my personal favorite Shelley Pet days in May.

So my question for you is Amazon keeps adding these smaller occasion based grocery storefronts to its calendar.

Do you think these are smart, low cost, incremental share building moves in grocery or is it a gimmick that ultimately will not move the needle?

Well, I think that this is ultimately defensive on Amazon's part.

I think when they probably look, I think it's defensive and I'll share why?

Okay, if they probably look at their market share, my hypothesis is if they look at their market share every week of the year, that they probably lose share during key holiday events like Labor Day.

And that's because Walmart, Target, Kroger do it so well.

When you walk into those stores, you see everything stacked out in bulk.

Chips, meat, you know, beverages, all of these things.

They actually remind you of everything you need to have a Labor Day gathering when you walk into these stores.

And so I actually think during that time Amazon probably sees a dip in market share.

This is defensive for them to try to get some of that back or not lose as much.

And retail, more than ever, grocery, retail is becoming a share fight again.

So you see Greg Faran is at the helm of Kroger just since he started.

You see how many price drops I was in a Fry's three or four days ago.

And you see how many price drops already are in the market putting a ton of pricing pressure on Walmart and Target and others.

And then you've got Amazon, who doesn't have as much sharing grocery, and they're trying to fight for share during these key time frames.

And so I ultimately think it's defensive for them.

Wow.

Okay.

I didn't.

I didn't even think about that angle.

So defensive.

Okay, let me ask you this.

Can something be defensive and offensive at the same time?

Not offensive, but offensive at the same time?

I think that they would hope that's the case, that they would really have somebody new shopping them who hasn't before.

That's.

That enjoys the experience and may come back to them again.

But ultimately, I think that they have a lot of work to do to build the awareness and the confidence that customers have to think of them for those key events.

So I think they'll learn a lot and maybe they'll try something like this again.

But I think that that's probably their.

Their hope.

Chris.

Yeah, right.

Right.

Yeah.

No, this is really.

Oh, God.

This is a really interesting conversation to start the show.

I agree with you 100%.

I don't think I can disagree with anything you said.

I also think it is a little bit of an offensive move.

So it's defensive and offensive.

Like as I was answering the question myself, I think it's a floor wax and a dessert topic.

If you remember that old 70s Saturday Night Live sketch, you know, with Dan aykroyd, because it's 100% a silly gimmick.

Let's just call it what it is too.

But, but the other part about it that makes it offensive in addition to defensive in the short run, in the long run, Amazon is playing the long game here.

We've talked on the show a lot, probably even with you, Shelly, at times like Death by a Thousand Cuts.

That's the strategy Amazon's taking here.

And every time they can bait the hook, you even said it yourself, and they get somebody to bite, they end up triggering a grocery purchase and grocery recall around seasonal events, which are absolutely essential in grocery because of what you're basically alluding to is the basket size around these events.

People go into the store and they get a lot of stuff.

And so Amazon, if it keeps doing this, is going to slowly chip away at that and make it harder and harder for the average grocer to compete in the long run.

So, and I think, you know, that's a good trick when you're talking about converting people to become more loyal to Amazon for grocery shopping.

Of course, with that said, the part we didn't, neither one of us talked about too, Shelly.

So I'm curious to get your last your thoughts here and give you the last word is Amazon's got to make good on the delivery, too.

Like the product quality and the freshness has got to be there.

Absolutely.

And I think Amazon's gotten a lot better at that.

And I think consumers, you know, tend to expect that from them at this point.

So, yeah, if they can deliver on the promise, I think that they not only can maintain their market share, but chip away at some others.

But I think it's going to be an interesting next 12 to 18 months in grocery in general to see where market share goes.

Yeah, survival of the fittest, no doubt.

All right, headline number two.

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All right, headline number two.

Ulta Beauty is facing a social media backlash this week after an activist campaign went viral criticizing the retailer's use of Flock Safety's automated license plate reader technology at a small number of its stores.

According to Retail Dive, social media users flooded Ulta's Instagram post this this week after a campaign by activist group Ultraviolet Cool Name went viral criticizing Ulta's relationship with surveillance tech provider Flock.

The technology is deployed at fewer than 1% 1% of Alta's roughly 1500 store fleet nationwide, and a source told Retail Dive the cameras do not use facial recognition.

Flock has faced growing public criticism and vandalism of its license plate readers in recent months, with some state and local governments reconsidering the technology's use.

Flack's website also lists organized retail crime as a use case, and Ulta's director of organized retail crime has said the retailer sought the technology to help bridge the gap, end quote, with law enforcement after a rise in store violence following the pandemic.

Neither Ulta nor Flack, however, responded to Retail Dive's detailed Questions about the relationship.

Shelly Alta is framing this internally as an organized retail crime tool, but the online reaction is treating it as surveillance overreach.

Is the viral backlash appropriate, or is ULTA just an easy target amid the broader anti surveillance movement?

Well, this is an interesting topic today, and I'll probably say this very directly.

Yeah, A retailer should not deploy technology like this unless they can actually explain it.

And I think this is an example of really bad external and internal comms where there should have been a strategy around how to talk to consumers about this.

And so what is even more interesting is they had an opportunity to start that discussion with Retail Dive, and then they refused to comment as well.

So this is kind of leaving it very opaque for everybody to understand exactly what's happening.

But a retailer does have a responsibility to protect not only the people that work at its retail locations, but also customers.

And when we talk about surveillance, and I'd be curious about your perspective, Chris, is like, where do we draw the line?

Because we've had cameras outside of malls during holiday times forever in order to protect people against theft.

And so for me, this is not like a safety privacy question.

It's what is being captured, what data is being captured, for how long?

And how do you explain to your consumers and people shopping at your stores what is happening?

And so, yeah, I think it's interesting because I think it's more of a communication problem than I think it is a surveillance problem.

Yeah, and it's also.

It's also.

It's a tough communications problem too.

Right, Shelly?

Like, it's a hard one to know how to get out in front of from a communication standpoint, too.

So my field goes out to the PR teams as well, because it's hard to know how to couch this.

Like, I think of.

We had a similar conversation.

Ben Miller, on Grocery Talk, he talked about Sainsbury's use of facial recognition, which is going, you know, a step beyond because Flock doesn't apparently use facial recognition.

It's just reading license plates.

But, you know, Ben, you know, Ben was all for it for the reasons you said, because it was, you know, designed to help keep employees safer.

But yet then they had a false positive where they accused somebody of shoplifting, and then social media blew up on it.

And it was like one of those things where I was like, yeah, I personally, I don't know if I'd be.

I'd be touching this.

But then I come back on the flip side of it and go, yeah, but at the end of the day, I need to Protect my store employees.

Like I need to do that.

So I've got to figure out a way to do it.

And so I think if you're going to deploy this type of tech, you either one, have to know your communication strategy to your point, or you've got to stand your ground and be ready for the backlash and give the rationale for why are you using it.

But I think you have to tread cautiously still and dip your toe into it, which is my hunch.

My hunch is that all these technologies are being deployed in this way.

The question I have too is, are they really moving the needle and are they worth art?

Is the juice, worth the squeeze on them?

In terms of the social media backlash and the distraction for the comms teams internally in your organizations, I think those are the questions you have to ask because detection and prevention are two really different things.

And I'm still not sure I've seen a silver bullet on how do you actually prevent versus how do you just detect?

But I don't know.

What do you think, Shelley?

I think that's right.

I think technology is going to be deployed at a faster rate than ever in the past in retail.

So the point is be transparent about it and have a plan.

In the age that we're living in now, we can't just deploy things and not communicate them and not be transparent about them because there's too many of our consumer bases that are now in communities talking to each other, picking up on things.

And so if you don't create your own narrative, the basics, right?

If you don't create your own narrative, somebody else is going to create it for you.

So I think the punchline here is the technology could be great.

It needs to be tested more.

There have been misuses of it.

It's great that they're trying it out in 1% of their stores.

They need to get more data on it, but they didn't have a plan.

And so I think that's the big lesson here for other retailers that may follow suit in deploying similar types of surveillance technology.

But Shelly, at the same time, as a former CEO, I'm curious because I don't know the answer to this question either that I'm about to ask you is like, what does that mean for pilot implementations?

Like, this is in 1% of stores.

Like, the comps team's gotta be very dialed in on what the innovation teams or the tech teams are trying to learn by executing small tests in stores too, because it sounds like, you know, if you get that wrong, it can blow up.

So are.

So are you saying then that you know, the comps team's got to get more involved in innovation?

I think one of the more most strategic roles that companies have to have now is communications and I think that those roles are starting to report directly to CEOs for that reason.

Because you have two things kind of happening at once.

You have a more rapid iteration of customer experiences which I think this falls into.

Consumers are obviously experiencing this surveillance when they come into the parking lot.

And then you also have a need for increased communication with your associates.

So both internal and external comms have become so much more strategic, the need for those in recent years.

And so I think that that role is so strategic, more and more reporting to the CEO and I think they absolutely have to be involved in every facet of the business and understand what's launching and if it's visible to a consumer, there should be a plan around it.

That's a really good point too.

Like for those listening too, especially people gravitated with like what's next in my career with the dawn of AI, that seems like in some ways an AI proof job too.

And a job that would require more knowledge of the hands on operations of how the retailer works day in and day out.

So it actually may be a good way to transition for a career too as you're thinking about it.

Like, you know, hey, do I start going into comms if I've been in merchandising at some point, you know, because I, I have the chops that help me understand what's actually being talked about here.

That, that's, that's a really interesting insight, Shelly.

All right.

Wow.

We are cooking with gas today.

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Headline number three.

Costco has quietly shut down Costco Next, its member only online marketplace without any advance notice to shoppers.

Costco Next lets members buy products never or let, I should say Costco Next used to let members buy products never stocked in warehouses directly from vetted third party suppliers including brands like Priority Bicycles and Viking Culinary at exclusive member pricing with vendors handling shipping and returns.

The program launched in 2017 and expanded over the years to dozens of partner brands as an asset.

Light way for Costco to broaden its assortment without holding inventory.

Costco's customer service page now displays a notice that access to Costco Next storefronts is no longer available, directing members to individual vendors for eligible returns and warranty inquiries.

The shutdown reportedly came without warning.

Regional outlets first reported the closure around September 1, and many members say they only learned the service existed as it was disappearing.

Shelley, how should we read the tea leaves around Costco shutting down its online marketplace?

Costco Next.

Well, I think this is interesting, and it was a natural step for Costco to try a marketplace, because everyone was.

And a lot of retailers thought marketplace is the future, and it still might be.

And so it was natural for Costco to step into this space, and they did it relatively early.

If you look back, I think it was.

That's a good point.

2017.

Yeah, 2017.

At this point, they've captured a lot of data around it.

And so Costco has one of the strongest trust relationships in retail.

So this actually introduced a level of complexity and that relationship, and it may not have had the incremental improvement that they or assortment that they actually needed.

And so online, Costco already has a broader first party assortment than they do in stores.

So they're already capturing and trying different items in addition to, you know, their store assortment.

But when you look at marketplace, somebody still has to vet all the suppliers, maintain quality standards.

There's another what layer of, you know, customer service?

You created a whole different ecosystem.

And then even though the vendor, you know, marketplaces can be efficient because they own fulfillment and returns, you know, it still might not be efficient when you look at the entire Costco ecosystem because of all of those other things we just discussed before.

So I think this is something Costco tried.

It was probably like, if we delete it, who cares?

And Costco is incredibly trusted and does what they do in a really excellent way.

So I don't know that consumers are really going to be bothered by this at the end of the day.

Yeah, Costco does everything with conviction.

I'm curious, Shelley, I have an opinion on this, but I'm going to ask you first.

Do you think any club should have a marketplace?

When you look at the club business model, it doesn't necessarily make sense for them.

And that.

And so that's.

If an item's big enough to be meaningful, it'll end up in a club anyway.

I actually think the websites with broader assortment are great testing ground for what should be put in clubs.

And so I think the business model doesn't necessarily yield itself to that being effective.

For any club.

I 100% agree with you.

100% Agree with you.

Yes, I agree.

I think the club business model is just different.

And I say that, and I say that.

Everybody listening.

Like, I'm an advisor for Miracle.

Miracle is a sponsor of this podcast.

Their business is Marketplace.

And Shelley, to your point, E Commerce overall, globally, is a marketplace business.

Like, it's the bulk of the volume, it's the bulk of where growth is coming from.

But I don't like marketplaces for clubs.

I think if clubs want to, quote, unquote, extend the aisle, they should do it themselves by sourcing the same great value deals they would put into their stores, but just don't have the room to do so.

And the big reason being, for me, is what you said, Shelley, it keeps the customer relationship start to finish because unlike other retailers, the trust that comes when I'm paying a membership fee to shop with that retailer is important.

It puts a premium on the service and quality that I expect.

Which, this is the other point I'd make sure.

And I'm curious what you think on this.

That psychological bond is different to me than a delivery membership like prime or Walmart.

Plus, with those, I'm not paying for the privilege to shop like I am in a club.

So while I generally espouse every vertical to have a marketplace strategy, I don't think clubs should look at it.

I 100% agree with you.

And I would also add, because I called on a lot of different retailers when I was a manufacturer and a supplier, I think Costco has the best, most customer focused merchants in the business and they do not make any decisions haphazardly.

And every decision they make is to provide more value to consumers and to their members.

And so I think that they're just world class in how they look at things like this and how they make those decisions.

And I think trust is, you know, one of the highest in retail as a result of that.

So I completely agree with you.

Yeah, it's amazing how much benefit of the doubt we give the reputation of the retailer when talking about these headlines every week.

But, you know, Costco, rightfully so, is, deserves that benefit of the doubt at the end of the day.

So.

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All right, Shelley, this is the one you were excited about.

Headline number four.

Sephora is set to launch a pilot storefront on TikTok shop later this month featuring exclusive monthly product drops built around live stream shopping events.

According to Chain Storage, Sephora will begin piloting a Sephora Drop shop storefront on TikTok shop in the US starting Saturday, September 19, offering exclusive monthly drops curated from Sephora brand partners.

Producer Ella will crack up in the background knowing that TikTok shop is the hardest thing for me to say.

Every week on this podcast.

Each drop will include teasers, interactive experiences and creator led content building to an official TikTok live shopping event featuring a celebrity host, brand founders and creators unveiling products in real time.

Sephora has partnered with TikTok since 2023 through the Sephora and TikTok Incubator Program and has continued layering on digital and social commerce bets including My Sephora Storefront which is an infrastructure influencer affiliate program that launched in fall of 2025 and a pilot inside chat GPT that began in March of 2026.

Shelley why do you think brands are so much more open to experimenting with TikTok shop as opposed to Amazon?

Is it because it's a social media platform?

Is it the live shopping element?

Because both at the end of the day are marketplaces, are they not?

They are technically both marketplaces, but I would argue incredibly different marketplaces.

Amazon captures demand, whereas TikTok can actually create it.

And so this is why I love this and I think there's something even bigger happening here than social commerce.

My prediction is the next generation of great brands won't just have customers, they'll have communities.

And TikTok is amazing at creating communities.

Consumers actually have dialogue, interact in chats, get to know the creators, learn about products, and those are all things that are so powerful, particularly in beauty.

And TikTok has always over indexed in beauty so people aren't just scrolling past an ad, they're actually engaging.

And I think that that's what is really powerful and I think Sephora is going to learn a ton from consumers as they start doing this.

Sephora is actually just putting on a show here that happens to have a buy button which is quite different than how you would engage with an experience on Amazon.

And so I think that again this is going to be a lesson in demand generation.

I think that brands that aren't investing in community building are not going to have the outsized growth that brands that are investing in community building.

And so I think that this is just a really great example of the future of brand building and potentially the future of the beauty category and how folks are engaging with it.

Woo.

Shots fired on that one.

Wow, that was so great.

I 100% agree with you again.

I mean I started saying about God 10 years ago when I started Omnitok.

I think we're going to see a world where the influencers are the new merchants.

And that's, that's kind of what you're getting at here in the online space.

Like the influencers are going to be the merchants, particularly with marketplaces as prevalent as they are and the access to products that they, they, that those influencers have to then promote and get behind.

Right.

Build a community around.

So like TikTok shop enables that you're 100% right too.

Shelley, like to answer my question too, it's, it's all of the above because one begets the other like it's the social media hook.

That's why people are spending hours on hours on TikTok.

They're seeking inspiration.

They're doom scrolling Amazon's Amazon people go there because they, they want to buy something, not because they want to be entertained.

So net net, this is the other point I was thinking about in, in this headline too.

I would expect the conversion on seeing items for the very first time to be astronomically higher on TikTok shop than it ever would be on Amazon.

Like how many times have you ever seen something for, how many times are you even ever seeing something for the first time on Amazon?

I don't think, I don't think that's ever happened in the history of my, my purchasing something on Amazon.

You know, like I'm looking for the category in and of itself when I start on Amazon.

So I, so I think that's inherently what's here.

And yeah, to your point, Shelly, that has ripple effects downstream.

Well, I think what you just said is the really important point here is that you go to Amazon to search for something.

You're not going there to be inspired or learn something.

And that's where TikTok actually, and communities actually really help.

If I want to be inspired or learn about the latest thing or the latest application of something, I go on TikTok because I'm going to, you know, be around a bunch of other people that are inspiring me and teaching me something.

And that's just not the platform that Amazon is.

Yeah.

And meanwhile Amazon will do okay because they'll be fulfilling the orders on the back end for all these TikTok shop brands anyway.

So who knows?

But yeah, but it's great.

It's, it's the first example we have of someone actually closing the line of social commerce to marketplace commerce.

Right?

That TikTok shop can own that relationship end to end.

And the question now will become how do the ChatGPTs of the world, the AI engines of the world, come and insert themselves into that line?

Because you know that, that, that idea didn't exist two or three years ago, but now that's a palpable thing that these companies have to think about.

All right, last one.

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To learn more, visit Veloc.com that's V E L O Q.com Sprouts Farmers Market is turning the page on its leadership, with longtime CEO Jack Sinclair transitioning to executive chairman and president and COO and personal friend of mine, I might add, Nick Conant.

Set to become CEO in January, Sprouts announced that CEO Jack Sinclair, who has led the company since 2019, will step down and become Executive chairman, with President and CEO Nick Conant becoming the CEO effective January 4, the first day of Sprout's 2027 fiscal year.

Conant inherits choppy recent results.

Comparable store sales growth peaked near 12% in the first quarter of 2025, slowed to 1.6% by the fourth quarter and has come in negative over the company's last two quarters, with executives citing underestimated customer softening.

Priorities on Conant's plate include sharpening Sprout's value and affordability messaging, expanding into new markets like the Northeast and Upper Midwest while deepening its Texas presence and growing its self distribution network, including bringing more private label production in house.

Investor reaction to the news, however, was muted.

Sprouts Stock dipped about 2.5% before recovering much of that loss last week.

Shelly, you're down there.

You're really close to the ground here.

With Sprouts being down in Arizona, what do you think Nick Conant's priority should be as he looks to take over as CEO of Sprouts?

Well, I think Sprouts is fantastic.

I'm a Sprouts customer.

I'm in there at least once a week.

Are you okay?

Cool.

I am.

And their assortments are fantastic.

You know, is this as the wellness trend continues to grow and most likely won't go away, Sprouts assortment is directly targeted at all of these fantastic items that, you know, help you stay on track And I think that they do a really great job and they still have a ton of room to grow.

So definitely a loyal Sprouts customer.

I think this is pretty straightforward.

I had the opportunity to work with Jack at Walmart and he's a phenomenal and incredibly planful leader.

So when I look at this transition, I don't think it's about a new strategy.

And so for me, this is, you know, don't confuse a leadership transition with a strategy transition.

And not every CEO needs a new strategy.

And I think you highlighted all the reasons why they still have a ton of expansion opportunity.

They can continue to highlight the value proposition.

They have a lot of growth and tailwinds, you know, from an industry trend standpoint behind them.

And so I think that this is a very strategic, planful transition.

And kudos to Jack for having a succession plan in place.

And I think when we take a look at this against the larger backdrop of retail transitions that are happening, this is on the heels of Doug McMillan's transition, target transition, their CEO.

Now we've got Sprout's transition, Kroger transition.

And so there's just a lot of change happening in grocery in general.

And we know that the future of grocery looks a lot different and is more complex than it has in the past.

So it's a really great time to have this inflection point of a new leader in place going against this competitive marketplace.

That's a great point too.

I never stepped back and thought about that yet.

Man, we've seen a lot of leadership transition and everyone's handled them a little bit differently, to your point.

And this one was very planned out and very methodical.

I had the chance to interview Jackson Claire at Grocery Shop last year on the main stage.

And yeah, I mean, the guy, the guy is super impressed, is super impressive, super charismatic.

To your point, Shelley knows his stuff.

Nick seems like the right succession option to, you know, when you look at his background at Target, at Petco, before that, a number of years at Sprouts, heading up their operations as they look to expand the marketplace.

So, so my advice for my friend, who there is no one I want to succeed more in his job than Nick is, is kind of like you said, Shelly, it's.

It's to ride out the storm.

You know, they've got the roadmap, they've got the formula.

Sprouts is dramatically under penetrated throughout the U.S. i think 24 states in total as of last year.

If I remember right, Shelly, I think they've potentially expanded in more States this year.

I mean, you go there once a week when.

When somebody with that proclivity doesn't have that, you know, with people that want to have that proclivity, I should say don't have that opportunity nationally.

That smells of opportunity to me.

So stay pragmatic, stay methodical.

Nick.

Focus.

The other thing I'd say, too, is focus.

You know, the consumer.

The consumer health right now is definitely probably impacting the business.

So stay focused on your negotiations.

Get back down to your buyer roots.

You know, keep your.

You know, put your negotiations top of mind with your suppliers so you can humiliate your margin pressures and keep your prices as low as possible so that doesn't get out of control.

And I know they're doing that.

I know they're thinking about that.

So, you know, just build out what you know works.

Basic blocking and tackling.

You've got the plan, so just don't get distracted.

But, Shelly, last word before we get to the lightning round.

Now, these are the CEO roles you want to take, where you're following, right?

Where the business is solid, where you get to continue to grow a wonderful brand.

These are.

These are the CEO roles that you want to come into.

And there's not that many like that right now because almost everything's a turnaround.

So good for Nick.

Right.

I was going to ask you which ones don't you want to take?

But we'll leave that for another conversation, another day.

But, yes, I would 100 agree.

I mean, I think I wrote in Forbes yesterday, like, there is nothing but upside here for sprouts.

But, you know, you say that, though, you just don't want to screw it up either, right?

That's.

That's the big risk.

You never want to screw it up.

All right, well, let's go to the lightning rod.

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With technology that can scale your growing E commerce operations, visit rswarehousingsolutions.com all right, Shelley, I'm so excited about this first question.

I watched Obsession twice over Labor Day weekend.

Once by myself and then a second time with Mrs. Omni Talk.

Have you seen it?

Number one.

And regardless, what wish would you make with the one wish?

Willow.

Yes, I had the opportunity to see this movie, and I don't know if I'd recommend it, but it was an interesting movie to see.

And yeah, you really have to, after watching it, think about your wish.

But so then, okay, so the obvious, like, beauty pageant answer would be world peace.

Right?

But then if I put world peace aside, I think I would want my dog to live as long as I do, but really healthy.

Oh, wow.

Okay.

That's so nice.

That's sort of.

That reminds me of the old Steve Martin.

Saturday live sit.

His Christmas wishes.

I'll have word.

Peace.

All the children of the world singing all that crap about the kids, you know, but yeah.

Oh, my God, that's so.

That's so good.

And you just watch.

I told you I was gonna ask you this question.

And you.

For those listening.

You watched the movie last night, didn't you?

I did.

I was winding down and I was like, I'll watch this movie and it's not a wind down kind of movie, you know what I'm saying?

Kind of sleep with one eye open afterwards.

Yeah, no, I didn't sleep well after watching it.

But I gotta tell you, it's even better the second time.

Like, it's better on the second rewatch.

Like, I picked up so much stuff I missed the first time around.

Well, I might wait a couple days and try again, but it's not going to be a today thing.

Don't watch it twice in 24 hours.

Did you watch it on your own or with somebody?

No, I watched it on my own.

Oh, my God.

With my dog.

That I'd like to live as long as I do.

So.

Great.

Okay, so first lightning round question for you is the NFL season starts tomorrow.

You get one completely consequence free prediction.

Who is winning the super bowl this year?

Oh, God.

I know I'm not picky.

I know I'm not picking our shared hometown love of the Arizona Cardinals because they're going to be absolutely terrible this year.

I think I'm going to go with the Rams, though.

Same division.

You know that line with Miles Garrett and Eric Donald, that's going to be unstoppable.

So I think I'm going with the Rams.

Shelly.

Nice.

Nice pick.

Nice pick.

I'm on the fence, but agree.

Not the Cardinals.

Yeah, the Cardinal.

The Cardinals could be so bad this year.

All right, next one.

Barbara Eden of I Dream of Genie fame had to cancel a planned appearance at a festival after falling ill at age 95.

Wow.

I'm curious.

Shelley, this is for all the Gen Xers out there.

Who did you roll with more, Jeannie.

Or Samantha from Bewitched, probably Samantha.

And I don't have.

Me too.

Yeah.

I don't have super strong reasons why, but just like, always really liked her in that.

Yeah, yeah.

If I was, I was always like, ah, Jeannie's on again, but Samantha.

I'll tune in for Samantha.

Yeah.

100.

When I was a kid.

Yeah, I'm with you.

Totally.

Okay, next question for you.

Since it's Adam Sandler's birthday today, if you could only keep one Adam Sandler movie forever, what's your pick?

Oh, man.

You know, I'm not.

This is funny.

This will surprise a lot of people.

I'm not a big Adam Sandler guy.

I just am not.

So, like, God, if I had to think about his movie library, I think you'd go Happy Gilmore for sure.

I actually like uncut gems, too, which is like, a different side of Adam Sandler.

Are you a big Adam Sandler fan?

Are you a Sandlerite or whatever the hell the phrase is?

I definitely am not, but I will watch his movies and I enjoy them, but I'm not one to seek them out.

But if they're on, I'll definitely watch it and laugh.

Yeah, right.

Yeah, it's one of those, like, if you're flipping through, you can watch it and you always get.

You always get some kind of chuckle from them, so.

All right.

Well, what a great show.

This was super fun.

Today's podcast was, of course, produced with the help and support of Ella Siri.

Ella, I want to bring you in here because I want to talk about this new thing we've debuted in our daily newsletter too, called Producer Ella's Product Picks.

Talk about what inspired that.

And also what this week's product pick is that you've got everyone on the Internet all a rage about.

Yeah, no, I'm really excited about this.

I feel like loyal omnitok fans would know I'm a marketer's dream.

I fall for everything.

But I also take a lot of pride in finding good products.

I majored in product design, so finding a good design and something that has a long lifetime is really important to me.

So anyways, I kind of want to leave it up to the viewers to find out what the pick is.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

You want to have them check out our website with our new products pick, Carousel.

Ella, is that what you're telling them for sure.

I mean, it's a pick that you don't think you would need, but once you have it, it's amazing.

Yeah, that's right.

And to give a little hit you should.

Everyone should trolley on over to Omnitalk Blog, scroll down a little bit and see Ella's product picks for this week.

All right, happy birthday today to Hugh Grant and totally coincidentally, Adam Sandler and to the women who made the woman who may just be pound for pound.

And I actually do think, I think this pound for pound, the best actress out there, Michelle Williams.

And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, make it Omnitalk.

Our Fast five podcast is the quickest, fastest rundown of all the week's top news in 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 and also regularly feature special content that is exclusive to us and we take a ton of pride in doing just for you.

And also be sure to check out our new podcast, Grocery Talk, hosted each week by Ben Miller.

Thanks as always for listening and 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 omnitalkretail Shelly, if people want to get in touch with you before we let you go, what's the best way for them to do that.

On LinkedIn, Shelley Huff or at my email S H E L l e y the intervalcommunity.com all right, well, on.

Behalf of Shelley, producer, Ella, myself and all of us at Omnitalk Retail, thanks for listening in and as always, be careful out there.