Walmart’s Trend-to-Product AI, Sam’s Club’s Expansion & Ulta’s Pregnant Pause At Target

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Today is April 16, 2025.

I'm one of your hosts, Sand Mazanga.

And I'm one of your other hosts.

Chris Walton and we are here once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week Making waves in the world of Omni Channel retailing.

Chris, we have two very important pieces of news to highlight today.

First, we'd like to welcome one of our new sponsors.

Clear Demand is now a part of.

The Omnich retail family.

Welcome Clear Demand.

Let's give them a round of applause, Chris.

Yes.

And Woohoo.

Yes.

Thank you, Clear man, for signing up with us and sponsoring our weekly podcast.

We're excited to have them and excited to produce some content with them as well.

Yes, definitely check them out.

And then second, we have to give a quick shout out to our good friend and another Amitak Retail Fast5 sponsor, Ocampo Capital, and our friend, Carl Bracken.

Carl, congratulations on closing the fund.

Chris, another round of applause.

I know, right?

It's crazy.

Yes, another round of applause.

Yes.

I mean, I think, you know, not many funds are closing, but Carl closes fund, his first ever fund at Ocampo Capital.

So huge news for him and can't wait to see what he does.

I.

I think that guy's going to kill it, man.

That guy's just so smart.

He's like, I told you, he's the smartest guy ever knew.

Knew at Target, working with.

So I can't wait to see what he does.

And I actually think we have a third announcement to make too, because for those watching on YouTube, you'll also notice our cool new headphones provided by Bose and our friend Carrie Craig.

So thanks to Carrie and our friends at Bose for making me look stylish.

These super white headphones.

No one can miss you, Chris.

It's good for you because when you're running in the middle of the night or at dusk, no one will be missing you.

And those bright white headphones that are on your head right now.

Absolutely not.

I'm.

Yeah, we got on the Zoom and you're like mad, those are white.

I'm like, yeah, they are.

And we got a flight to Toronto today too.

And so like, I'm going to be like, put these on and.

And cancel the noise.

And I'm going to be canceling the noise.

That's right.

But before I could get on that plate and cancel that noise, we got a heck of a lot of noise to talk about in retail.

So in today's Fast 5, we've got news on Walmart's new AI tool to speed up product development.

Sam's club's expansion plans.

Always love what I can do.

Two apostrophe S's right side by side.

It's very tough on the diction and DoorDash's AI tools for restaurant owners.

Hy Vee's plans to close most of its in store bars and to eliminate full service dining.

But we begin today with big news out of Ulta and Target.

Ann?

Yes, Chris, Headline number one, couldn't miss it.

Last week, Ulta has announced that it's pausing its stop shop and shop, not stop and shop, which you could also do.

But it's pausing its shop and shop expansion plans with Target.

According to retail dive.

Ulta Beauty's new CEO Keisha Steelman told an audience at JP Morgan's annual retail roundup conference last week that the beauty retailer would hold steady at its roughly 610 Target shop and shops this year.

The news comes after the two retailers opened 101 Ulta Beauty at Target locations in 2024 and that back in Q2 last year.

Stillman said that Ulta was still on track at that point to meet their 800 store commitment with Target.

Chris, I have to know, what do you think here about Alta's decision to pause this expansion at Target?

And what does this tell you about that relationship?

Ooh.

Oh man.

And yes, we're starting off a little spicy.

Starting off.

Yeah, why not?

April 16 podcast off Spicy.

It's after tax day, so why not let's get a little hot under the collar to start out?

Well, my big take here is that something definitely feels amiss.

You know, I think that's without a doubt.

Yeah.

Because I look, and here's why I look back at Target's earnings call.

Because I was kind of like, I thought they talked about beauty performing pretty well and they did.

Here was a direct quote from Target CEO Brian Cornell right out of the get go in that earnings call.

And I counted it, folks, in the sixth paragraph of his 24 paragraph, opening prepared remarks.

That's how early it was.

He said, quote, we had an outstanding year in beauty.

We saw nearly 7% sales growth and share gains.

End quote.

I'm like, say what?

Like, and Ulta's pausing.

So how does, how does that jive?

And like, I just don't get it.

I'm dying to hear what you think too, but it does make me wonder.

It makes me wonder a few things.

So first of all, how was that sales performance that he quoted weighted against the front end of last year versus the back end?

Because targets back end has not been that great.

Number two, the numbers I've seen from our friends at Placer AI recently show targets traffic.

Just.

Sorry.

Targets traffic.

Traffic.

What the hell is traffic at Targets traffic falling off an absolute cliff in February.

Now, I haven't seen the March numbers yet, but you know, that's particularly, you know, it's correlated with their DEI stance.

And so God knows what Ulta is seeing from a traffic perspective.

And Ulta is probably looking at this as well as all the other macro economic factors that are playing into things and saying, like, I, we just, we just don't want to make investments right now in this.

And, and, and sorry, Target, like, you're just not showing us what we need to see from you to say, hey, we want to invest in 200 more stores roughly with you.

So, so that can't be good for Target because that means some of the comp sales that they were counting on from this rollout is not going to happen.

And you know, Target, as we talked about on the show, growth and comp, has been hard to come by, so.

And it's.

Sorry, the best analogy that I can make.

I think you're going to love this.

Remember the movie Can't Buy Me Wait?

You remember or Can't Hardly Wait?

Remember the Can't.

Can't Hardly Wait?

Yes.

Can't Hardly Wait.

Not Can't Buy Me Love.

Can't Hardly Wait.

You remember that movie Mike?

You remember Mike Dexter?

Mike Dexter was like the cool guy.

And then Jennifer Love Hewitt dumps him.

He's like the bees knees.

He's dating her.

And then he's left for the entire movie just wandering around the party looking absolutely pathetic.

And I feel like Target is becoming the Mike Dexter of retail now, potentially saying, like, you know, we're not going to go with you.

They're going, Dexter Spade, which is kind.

Of like a Kate Spade, is kind of like, yeah, okay, whatever.

You know, they've got the pea catchers on the aisle.

Like, what's going on?

Like, I don't want Target to be the Mike Dexter of retail.

But anyway, what do you think?

And so I told you I was going to start off hot.

I did.

I tried to bring the analogy.

What do you think?

You brought it all.

And how I'm going to tie this together is still a mystery to me.

So stick with us, folks.

I.

Look, I'm not too surprised.

I mean, just given what you said in traffic alone.

I mean, Ulta and Sephora are neck and neck trying to gain share in as many locations as they possibly can right now.

Now.

And I think for me, it's really looking at Keisha Steelman.

She just took the reins as CEO a few months ago, and she's A tried and true ops leader.

I mean, she also worked at Target herself before, you know, coming into role at.

At Ulta.

And so I trust that she's making a move here that's looking out for what's best for Ulta and the operations that they're doing inside those Target stores.

And my guess is it's just, you know, it's a perfect storm of, of things happening all at once.

I think it's an uncertain economy, lower foot fall.

And also, you know, maybe she just wants to give a little more germination time to some of these concepts too.

Like they just rolled out a bunch more in 2024.

Like, this is, this is a big.

Right, right.

And so I think that maybe it's just like, let's pause, let's not invest a bunch of money right now and just keep, keep it on going and then dealing with the issues that may be arising positive and negative out of this and let's just be really strategic and it.

And I think the last part that I'll add, especially in a beauty category, Chris, I wondering how much the impact of a brand that's not doing well in popular culture right now and among some audiences that are big beauty supporters and big beauty spenders.

I'm wondering, where are you going with this?

Wow.

I'm wondering, I'm wondering what's happening in terms of, you know, I mean, I, I look at just the posts that have been or the comments that have been made on our Target posts alone, and I can only imagine what's happening to Target and right now and what, what feedback they're getting from people.

And maybe it's just Ulta saying like, hey, let's like, let some of this settle before we start going big and we wrap our brands together so closely.

So I, those are just a few things that I think could be swirling around in the background.

Ultimately, I think it's, it's its traffic to the stores and whether or not this is really going to continue to make an investment for Ulta.

But I think that some of those other things are also playing a factor.

Wow.

Wow.

Okay, so a couple, A couple, A couple of questions for you in Tort.

So you interviewed Keisha Steelman at Shop Talk for.

Right.

Last year on stage?

Yes.

Yep.

Yep.

Right before she took the CEO role.

Yes.

I can't remember, was she in charge or did she oversee the Target rollout?

She did.

She did.

Right?

Yeah.

Okay, so this is a big deal because she's, it's not like she's the new CEO.

Saying, I want to reevaluate this.

You know, I'm going to come in, you know, carte blanche, stop everything till I get a sense of what's going on.

No, she's been intimately connected with this rollout for a long time.

So that makes this news even bigger to me when you read between the headlines.

Right, I agree.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Especially like I said, given her background, like, I think she's.

Everyone that I've talked to that's worked for her said that she's, you know, a no BS kind of person.

Like, either it's working or it's not.

And we course correct immediately if it's not.

And so that's, that's where I think, like you're, you're really looking at some, some big calls here from Kesha about where the direction of the company is going and what's best for Ulta.

So.

And, and the other.

Yeah, no, and the other question I wanted to ask you too and was, can you ever remember a time in the history of Target with its brand and its brand cachet where someone has announced a rollout and then said, we're going to pull back and not go forward with this?

I cannot.

Not that I can think about the top of my head My entire 20.

Year history of being intimately involved with that brand.

Yeah, I mean, this is a huge undertaking as well.

I mean, we're talking about complete remodels of stores and things to support this.

So I think, you know, this is really a unique case, but I think.

That I have all the time.

That's all the time.

I think the remodel level.

Not to the level, particularly if the Ulta and location.

Not for Ulta.

No, not for Ulta.

And the cost for Ulta too.

But.

Yeah, but people are coming in and remodeling those stores all the time and paying for the remodels all the time.

But to your point.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

Ulta just doesn't see the value in it.

So crazy.

Wow.

Yeah.

Wow.

Either way, not good news for Target right now on top of everything else they're dealing with, not the news that you want to be going out at this time.

So hopefully something turns around.

So net net, this story is more about Target 2 than it is about Ulta.

Do you think that's because of our Minneapolis bias or do you think that's really the case?

I think it's actually really the case.

I do.

We try not to be biased on this show as much as possible.

Yeah, I would say it's more about what's happening with Target than I think you're right.

I think it's more about what's happening with Target and Alta's response to it.

Yeah.

Wow.

Fascinating, Fascinating discussion.

God, it's going to be fun to watch this year play out all right.

For lots of reasons.

Headline number two.

Walmart has a new trend sensing design tool that uses AI and generative AI to bring on trend affordable items to the retailer faster than ever before and without compromising quality.

And if that sounded like it was grabbed from a press release, that's because it was.

According to a Walmart press release, the new tool, dubbed Quote Trend to Product uses AI and generative AI to analyze and synthesize global data and trends, pulling information from the Internet and tastemakers to power the Walmart fashion team in creating on trend high quality items with greater speed.

It takes the research and design phase from weeks to minutes and then uses generative AI to create mood boards replete with collection names, colors, textures and ideas.

Extra points for dropping replete into your press release, Walmart.

From there, the designer and merchants refine the mood boards, look at, sell through data and lean on their own experience to create the final pieces that will form the collection.

Then as the final step, Trend to Product generates a fashion tech pack for the collection which instructs suppliers on exactly how to make each item.

All told, Walmart claims the Trend to Product claims that Trend to Product shortens the traditional production timeline for Walmart fashion by as much as 18 weeks.

Sounds like it's mostly on the front end of the process.

And are you buying or selling Walmart's new Trend to product gen AI tool?

I'm, I'm buying for two reasons.

The first reason is that when I was at Target we, I worked on a lot of the teams that were kind of coming up with some of these new products and then we're helping kind of figure out the marketing plans as, as Target was growing new brands like Pillow Fort for example.

And just the.

I love this because I think it's a great use case here for where AI can step in and help cut down a process that was very manual and very tedious.

And so I love this for the points of putting those mood boards together.

Like there were five different creative directors that each had their own Pinterest boards that were like sharing these.

It was all like a very, a very manual process.

And I think that this will help consolidate those trends that each one of those creative directors are seeing and really start to get things rolling more quickly and give them A quicker like swipe left or swipe right if this is kind of the trend that we're all leaning towards.

So I love that part of it.

But second, I also think that this is a great way for Walmart to be able to start to kind of break off from the, the like affordable apparel that they're providing for all, you know, for the rest of the country that, that like dependable, low price, good quality basics product that they're putting out there.

But it also allows them to start to test in some smaller ways more on trend items that maybe will specifically roll out to certain locations of Walmar.

We're seeing them do with the scoop line right now to really like double down on getting appealing fashion product for that new higher income shopper that is now drawing into Walmart and is doing, placing their, their grocery order on Walmart.

Plus I think this is a place where they can get that trendier product to market faster to kind of capture someone in that moment who may not have been planning on buying that like spring dress, but probably will now when they see the price point and just how, how trend forward Walmart is when they, they least expected it.

But what do you think?

Are you buying?

Are you selling?

Where are you?

Yeah, I buy, I'm buying the idea and the tool itself.

But I'm cautious, I'm a little more cautious on it than you are.

Okay, I agree.

What are you thinking?

I agree with you on the first part, but the second part of a little more cautious.

So.

And I think we have to be very clear on the use case too.

So this is basically a tool for idea generation to speed up the process for merchants to design and collaborate on the line development.

So it's all the front end.

It doesn't speed up anything on the production side.

So is that needed?

Yes, 100% like you said.

Yeah.

And being in home and merchandising for many, many years, I sat in many of those meetings where concepting was done and it's just, it's just a, it's just a really laborious process and, but still this could be adjustment for people to get used to, particularly on the design side because they're having to like, you know, figure out how to use this and change their processes.

Some people are going to gravitate towards it, some people are not.

But you know, at the end of the day it's good because it gives them more time to read and identify market trends before determining what bets to place either what bets are going to place before rolling out to almost 4,000 plus stores.

Right.

Like that's a really big bet.

But I think as well there's things to be cautious about because you could also use it in the online space like you said, which you could do small batch runs and you could use it for that too.

You could do it for store tests.

But I think you got to be cautious about it because if you run too willy nilly with this, if you just have your design teams and your merchants looking at all this crazy new product, they're going to get distracted by the shiny penny of all the crazy new product in the online space particularly.

And that's going to be, it's going to be distracting.

But the other part about it too is you've got to, you've got to make sure that you're portioning out your time against what's most important in terms of the bigger bets that you're going to place in store.

So you got to make sure Denise and Cadella, who's listening in her team, who listens to our show, you know, you got to make sure that you don't take your eye off the ball in terms of using this and pushing it out in the right way to make sure your bets are placed right.

Because the other part I worry about too is if you get too crazy or too willy nilly, particularly designing for the test, designing for the online space, you're gonna burn people out too.

Like, because AI burnout is real.

I can tell you that firsthand.

You can do so much, so much faster that you're like, oh my God, I have extra time.

I can just keep designing, I can keep designing, I can keep designing, I can keep buying, I can keep buying.

And that's a problem.

So, so that, that's why I caution it I think.

But I think at the end of the day it makes sense.

But you just gotta be smart about how you use it.

Yeah.

100.

I think those are great, great watch outs, especially the burn the burnout part.

Like you are able to process a lot more information.

You're getting a lot more information.

You are getting a lot more information from a lot of those sources online too.

You know, it's not just the one or two outlets, it's you know, all the social platforms too that are coming out and all the people.

Like there's just more content that you can, you can take in too.

So I think that's a really good and very smart watch out for the Walmart team.

And at the end of the day.

You'Re open to buy.

Doesn't change and like you're open to buy, it doesn't change either.

So you've got to be careful about how you're going to use this.

And you got to think about it.

All right, let's go on to headline number three.

Chris Sam's Club is speeding up its expansion plans.

According to CNBC, Walmart owns Sam's Club, plans to open 15 clubs per year and renovate all of its approximately 600 locations in the U.S.

cEO Chris Nicholas said last Wednesday at a recent Investor Day.

With a boost from these new locations, Sam's Club aims to double its membership over the next eight to 10 years.

Nicholas also said in an interview with CNBC, Nicholas said he's confident that demand for Sam's Club will hold up even if the economic backdrop gets worse.

In fact, he said that the warehouse club's focus on saving customers money may gain even more relevance.

Chris, do you share our friend at Sam's Club, Chris Nicholas's optimism about its store expansion plans?

Oh, 100.

100.

I do.

Okay.

I'm.

Yeah.

Why?

I do.

Well, I think there's three reasons, like when I get down to it.

So first, Sam's Club's been on a massive winning streak already.

So in its most recent quarter, Sam's Club delivered a 6.8%.

I looked this up.

And a 6.8% sales comp, which excludes fuel for those that were curious.

And, and that's amid macroeconomic conditions that have not been great.

I mean, let's call it like it is.

So yeah, so that's one.

Second point.

Sam's Club has also seen explosive growth both online and in store.

E commerce sales were up 24% in the same quarter.

And the use of its Scan and go shopping app, which we've talked about a lot on this show, hit an all time high during the same period.

As we've talked about with many executives, one in three shoppers at Sam's Club regularly use scan and go.

That's one in three.

So I'm going to go out on a limb here and, but I'm guessing that Costco's mobile app usage in store is nowhere near that high.

Like I've, I've never even seen anyone personally using the Costco app in store.

There's no reason to, there's nothing in there that makes sense to use.

I mean there's no, like, it's not couponing.

Like it's just, it's, it's showing.

It's more of a prep for the Costco shopping trip than it is if.

You'Re even using it for that.

Right.

So like, and so those are my first two points.

But the third point is Sam's Club is also winning with young people.

So is Costco too.

But Sam's Club has reported record highs in membership numbers and renewal rates, with particularly strong growth among gen Z at 63% growth over the last two years and millennials at 14% over the last two years.

So the combination I think of digital first, of a digital first shopping experience and a growing percentage of younger people shopping at stores means that Sam's Club is positioned to create the most one to one personalized shopping experience out there.

Yeah.

So from a retail media perspective, Sam's Club by way of its Scan and Go app, has basically a virtual menu board to serve up advertisements to one third of its shoppers.

And that number's only going to grow because they're only getting younger.

And so yes, I'm buying into this because Costco can't touch that.

You know, it's MC Hammer Costco.

You can't touch this.

So, you know, so I'm by, I'm also buy whatever Chris Nicholas is throwing down.

I like Chris Nicholas.

He seems like a really smart dude, really shrewd dude.

So yeah, I'm all in.

What about you though?

You're probably all in too because you love.

Yeah, I mean, I think I love Sam's Club.

I still think that Sam's Club has an awareness problem and I think that's where they need to focus because they need to start drawing customers away from Costco.

I think you ask the average millennial right now in the US or, or Gen X individual in the US right now and I think that they lean towards Costco because it's, you know, it's what they know it.

They are seeing more things on their social feeds and Sam's Club is working on doing this and I think that it's a great way, these remodels are a great way to help them gain relevance with that audience.

I think it's a matter of getting people in the door and once they get somebody in the door, they use the Scan and Go app.

They see how much simpler and more convenient and better laid out that Sam's Club shopping experiences.

I think that they'll be hooked.

It's just going to be getting people into those stores.

So for me it's less about, you know, whether I'm in on the remodels.

I think that's a great, a great move.

But I just think it's going to be focusing again on some of those other components of how you get people to, to kind of convert and walk through the door.

And one reason I think that that could help them is tapping into their partnership and their relationship with Walmart plus and with Walmart, because I think that once you start to get more of those shoppers from these demographics into the Walmart universe and you start to see like, oh my, I get fuel discounts at Sam's Club, like, you start to pull people into that.

And then I think it's all boats under the Walmart umbrella rise.

And I think Sam's Club increases and Walmart plus increases as a result.

So I think there's a lot of good to come from this.

It's, it's not just going to be in the remodels.

I think there's a lot of other outside work to do.

But I think Sam's Club is in a really great position to just leapfrog over Costco in the coming years.

Yeah, 100%.

Yeah.

And you know, I've been a long a proponent of that idea of for sure merging those two membership programs.

And you know, I'm curious to see if they ever pull the trigger on that.

But yeah, and I forgot too, they have the whole like automated checkout process too where you go through the, the whatever, what, the archway, you know, like.

So yeah, yeah, they got a lot of cool things going and I, you know, 15 stores, I think.

Yeah, let's be bullish about that.

So.

Yeah.

All right.

And headline number four.

Yes.

DoorDash has rolled out new AI promotional tools to its Quick service restaurant partners.

According to chain storage, DoorDash is launching its new AI tools for delivery orders placed through its E commerce site and app, as well as orders placed via its partner's own digital touchpoints.

The solutions include an item description generator, AI equipped camera, instant photo approvals, and background enhanced menu photos.

For example, the item description generator takes inputs such as item names and existing photos to generate menu descriptions in seconds.

And the AI equipped camera utilizes AI camera vision to enable users to take professional quality food photos in seconds with real time feedback on framing, smart lighting, background enhancements and intuitive cropping tools.

Something that I actually probably could use for this podcast.

And what do you like and not like about DoorDash's new AI tool enhancements for its quick service partners?

I, I love this because I think it's finally democratizing how all the restaurants on DoorDash's platform show up.

And it's great for some of these independent restaurant Owners.

I just went to a new restaurant last night.

I.

It's been on DoorDash for a while, but I haven't pulled the trigger on it.

I like the pictures are just okay, they don't have a lot of photography.

The descriptions, this particular Labo Dega Taco Shop, it's amazing.

But they, they are like not native English speakers.

So even the, some of the like descriptions of the items, like you just don't really know what you're going to get and when that's up against, you know, a larger chain or another larger restaurant, it's, it's hard for them to compete even though their food was far superior.

So I love this idea because I think it really starts to give these restaurant operators the tools that they just until they're expanding to four locations and they built up a business, it's really hard for them to make these investments in things like food photography or even, you know, just the platforming to like get their menu up and running in DoorDash in a way that, that really allows them to compete.

So I think that's a great thing that this is doing.

Plus it gives DoorDash better access to some of those independent food retailers.

That is who everyone wants.

Like they would, I would much rather go to La Bodega Taco Shop than I would, you know, a larger taco chain and order that on DoorDash.

And now I think you're letting them truly compete.

Now the thing that I do worry about, Chris, there is there is a couple watch outs here.

I think that you still have to make sure that you have somebody on quality control, which I think could be an issue for some of the, especially some of the, like startup restaurants.

You have to make sure that, you know, I don't, I haven't seen this AI generator, but I have to make sure that the picture that I'm taking that's being touched up by AI still resembles something that's going to show up at your customer's door.

And so that those are the things that I'm curious about.

Like, are there, is there going to be a discrepancy there?

And can that leave a bad taste in someone's mouth literally when they get an order from the store and they're expecting it to look like something else?

And then I think also making sure that, you know, you're paying really close attention to like expediting orders, the people that are putting these orders together to make sure that, you know, all of these things are lining up with like, you know, does it come with salsa in the picture, Because I thought that'd be a good addition.

Like, are you making sure that that's what it is actually going out the door?

So there's things like that that I think are going to provide, could, could provide some challenges here.

But all in all, I think that the benefits still outweigh the risks here.

But what do you think about this?

Are you, Are you pro?

Are you con?

Where does AI?

I'm definitely pro.

I'm pro for anything that makes, you know, small businesses more efficient, I think at the end of the day.

And I particularly, I think the camera side is more intriguing to me, like the photography side, because I think that is easier to keep oversight on.

I didn't think about the idea of like, you know, you take a picture of something that doesn't look like that, but I think you can.

I think, you know, that is a visual is the language of everyone.

Right?

They always say that, you know, and so I think that's easier to do.

My watch out actually is on, on the description side, like the menu descriptions.

Because the one thing I don't like about AI is that everything starts to sound the same.

So all that, like, you see it with all the content out there, like everybody's revolutionizing everything or everything's a game changer, you know, like.

And that's going to happen with like burritos too, because how many ways can you describe a burrito or a taco?

And so, like, I think you need to have somebody, you know, like you said on quality control with that.

And so that's still going to be, that's still going to be difficult.

So then does that matter in food that much?

You think, like, are you, do you care in a food description as long as it's accurate?

That was my last point.

I don't know if it does.

I don't know if it does, but.

I can see content for sure.

You're 100% right in like an article about the burrito.

But yeah, as far as not even.

Sure it matters in content either, I'm not honestly sure.

I have no idea.

But like, but yeah, but like, that's just something I, I think we have to understand that better.

Yes, is my question.

But I think you're, I think as you're, as you're questioning me, I think you're right.

Like, the key thing is getting the photography right because that is what is going to, you know, make the palette salivate and get interested and then you just want the basic description of what the hell it is.

You're getting and it's correct and right to your point, it's accurate.

So.

So, yeah, so.

So, yeah.

So maybe there aren't as many watch outs with this as I initially thought.

I mean, as long as you get the burrito to me and it's not soggy, Chris, I'm, I'm gonna be pretty happy with that.

That's soggy.

It's not a loose fold.

You know, it doesn't have too much salad in it.

It's amazing how many times Mexican food comes into this podcast on.

It does too.

And it's definitely reference cuisine, I think.

Yes, anyway, absolutely.

All right, well, let's go to headline number five, Chris.

Hy Vee plans to shutter most in store bars and to eliminate full service dining in some locations.

According to Supermarket News, Hy Vee is shutting down all but a few of its in store bars while making further changes to its Market Grill dining facilities.

Additionally, some Market Grill locations were full service, but now all will be limited service with all orders placed at the counter.

The changes are designed to ensure consistency across the brand.

Hy Vee spokesperson Tina Patoff said the changes come about three months after the midwestern grocery chain said that it would close all 79 Wahlburgers locations, its stores, replacing them with its Market Grill concept.

Chris, two parter question for you here.

First, what do you think the Hyvee decisions to shut down its bars and shutter its full service restaurants says about the quote, experiential retail trend?

And part two, this is our A and M put you on the spot question.

Oh, they would like to know.

We haven't had that yet.

Is this, is this a high V issue or a bar restaurant within a grocery store concept issue more broadly.

Okay, wow.

Okay.

Two responses required.

Okay, well, I actually think my answer is the same for both, I think actually.

Oh, all right.

I think it, it's, it's, it's definitely a, it's a, you know, bar and restaurant inside of a grocery store issue.

I think, I don't think this is the issue at all because Hybe is more equipped than anyone to be able to make this work or as equipped as anyone to make this work.

And to that point, I think it's really an indictment on the experiential retail trend in general, which is something I've railed about on this show a lot.

I remember talking about yoga studios down out in the east coast in stores or wellness centers in grocery stores because I think for me, experiential as a term or A phrase is the most blowhard, overused phrase in our industry.

I can't stand.

Stand.

When I hear someone say it, I absolutely hate it.

Yeah, it just drives me crazy.

Like, experiential, meaning what I mean, so vague.

Like, does it mean it is?

Does it mean put a bar in it?

Does it mean display my product a certain way?

Like, what.

What are you really trying to say?

And when people say it, I'm kind of like, what are you.

How much do you even know?

Like, because it just doesn't mean anything.

So at the end of the day, you have to.

And here's why I get back to the.

To the question now.

At the end of the day, you have to answer why?

As in, why come to the store and do the things that the store offers?

And kudos to Hyvee, because they're realizing that most people don't want a full service restaurant experience while they shop for groceries.

They just don't, you know, and they don't want to go there for a drink.

Like, they don't want to.

Like, I don't want to go to a bar to have a drink at a grocery store.

You know, like, that's just.

It's not a.

This is not appealing.

I think it's not appealing for most people, and operationally it's probably not appealing for.

For Hyvee either.

So.

And then the second point too, and this is where I want to get a little personal.

The other point about this, when I read the headline too, is I think there's a point about consistency here.

Stuff just gets really hard to manage the more variations there are that are out there.

And I'm gonna tell an anecdote.

When I was at the Gap, I had a boss.

His name was Jess Wilson.

Jess Wilson.

And I remember coming to him one day and I was like, super geeked up.

And I was like, hey, my.

I was a.

I was an inventory ass at the time.

And.

And my.

My buyer for denim was like, he was going to create all these, like, different variations of denim jeans and washes.

He's gonna have white jeans and, you know, like, you know, rip G.

I don't remember what it was, but, like, rip, Jeez, you go with the idea.

He's like, you're have all these different store groups.

I need you to create all these segments of groups.

We're going to send these jeans.

And I walked into his office, super excited about.

And he crapped on it.

He's like, dude, Chris, like, how are you gonna manage that?

How are you gonna tell the stores what products they have, you know, and.

And how are you going to keep that all straight?

How are they going to know what to display where, you know, across all these different groups of stores?

And so I always think about that because there is a lot of talk about segmentation in the industry.

And isn't the idea really, at the end of the day to scale one business model that works over and over again?

And so that's why I wonder if Hyvee's getting at here, because you start to get it when you start to get into situations where every store looks different, it calls into question the idea of real scalability.

At least it does to me.

And anyway.

Yeah, but yet we hear executives all the time.

I can think about some of them who probably are even listening to this podcast, who talk about making every single one of their stores different as a key piece of their strategy.

And I just worry that that is fool's gold at the end of the day.

So there are two parts of this one, I think bars and restaurants, full service restaurants don't work in grocery.

But also worried about, you get too segmented with your stores here.

They become really hard to manage and stay on top of.

Yeah, no, I think that you hit on a really good point, Chris.

I think if you look at the, the players that are winning in the grocery space right now, it's Sprouts, it's Aldi, and what are they doing?

They're focusing on, you know, Aldi.

We talked to their head of store construction, like, a few years ago at retail spaces.

And like, they have multiple formats.

They're doing everything they can to keep the formats as consistent as possible so that their customers know exactly what to expect when they come in and they can maximize each of their.

Their store spaces.

You look at sprouts, Sprouts is.

They don't even have windows.

They are maximizing every square foot of that store and trying to do, see, we have stuff for sale so that they can bring new inventory in and that they can have the freshest inventory, the most consistent inventory, and just maximize the sales they can get out of that box.

So I think what Hyvee is doing here, when you look at the amount of space that, that, that those concepts are taking up, I think it makes a lot of sense that they're kind of reverting back to, like, what's the.

What do people really need?

And that gets to your other point of like, do I need a full bar?

Like, do I need to take up all of this Space with a full bar here, or will people still come?

Is it just the grab and go food that they want?

Is that how I can fulfill this need of like, walk up to the corner or walk up to the counter, order my food if it's ready to go, will I go grab my milk and my eggs and I'm ready to go?

Like that serves a purpose.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't love our own, you know, Jerry's food store to sell, you know, beer and wine and cocktails in addition to breakfast, but is it going to stop me from going there?

Absolutely not.

Like, this is still a place that I'm going to go that serves a need for me.

And I think that you're right on that.

Hy Vee is just, just looking at what's the minimum viable product we need to give our consumers to still make this a relevant shopping experience for them.

And how can we take this floor space and really use that to maximize what we can sell from a grocery assortment standpoint?

So I think that's where this is really change the game.

Now, the experiential point, I don't know that I, I agree that this is like experience experiential as much.

I think it's more about like the amount of sales that they could be doing in that footprint over like an experiential concept.

But I do agree with you that it, the term is vague.

I wouldn't throw experiential, the baby out with the bathwater here.

I still think that experiential is a term that can apply to good retail experiences.

But for me, it's more about like, what are the memories that you have or what was good about that experience and how do you do that?

And I think in this way, Hy Vee is really trying to just say we're just, we're going to make it convenient for you to get a meal to go.

That's all we need to do here.

We don't need to like, provide a full restaurant environment.

We're just going to give you that high quality and that convenience.

But I'll give you the last word here.

No, I think my, well, my one retort would be like, just name one of those experiences that's actually worked and rolled out.

Like, I, I still, we've had this discussion before and I can't really.

But then I think the other point I make is your point about all these really good too, because especially from a prototype standpoint, I think it bolsters the case of, you know, they they went into that agreement with Southeastern Grocers, I think.

Right.

And they ended up selling them back because they're like, these ones aren't going to work for us.

Yep.

You know, and that's a really smart way to think about things.

And.

And that's what business is about.

It's about finding a model that scales everywhere.

So if you.

If you It.

So strategically, that's where I just get my head.

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around, like, the idea of making every store different.

Is that really what you want to do?

Even if technology, in theory, allows you to do it right, is that really what you want to do?

Because that's going to be really hard to come back from if it doesn't work and you make a mistake.

So.

Right.

Maybe focusing more on assortment like can.

Is that what makes your store more unique?

Like, do you skew a little bit higher in one product versus another or something based on the demographics in and around your store?

But yeah, from an infrastructure standpoint, I think.

I think those days are infrastructure 100%.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Okay, Chris, let's go to the lightning round.

Question number one.

Starbucks has announced that they're updating their dress code, requiring that all baristas don black tops in order to highlight their green Starbucks apron.

If you were to create an omnitok uniform for us, Chris, what would it consist of?

You crack me up with your questions because, you know, I've done research on this and you know I have, and unfortunately, it's too.

It's too expensive to run a batch for.

For just you and I.

But.

But, you know, for me, it's a trucker hat with a logo.

Trucker hat and a half zip.

That's.

That's what I want.

Trucker hat.

Yeah, trucker hat logo.

Trucker hat with a half zip.

That's what I want.

But, you know, maybe if our Omnitoc fans will go in on it with us, maybe we'll.

Maybe I'll plug down the money and.

And procure some for all of us.

I think we need the Walmart planning tool to source us us some new inspiration for that before we go all in on the half zip and the.

And the trucker hat.

But.

Okay, okay.

Jeff Bezos and Face Planted while rushing to open the door of the capsule that housed the all female Blue Origin space crew this week.

And as someone who has done many a face plan on our travels together.

And by that, I mean you, not me, just walking down the sidewalk.

For those listening, I'm curious What is your most memorable face plant?

I don't actually know the answer to this.

I was curious.

Oh, I would say probably the great fall of Lisbon in 2022.

I think that was probably the worst one, because those.

So I was there.

You were there?

Yeah.

When we were walking to go and Dan Fun and I.

The.

The little cobblestones get slick with water.

I dented my water bottle.

Got a pretty solid bruise on my hand.

That one stuck with me.

I was not ready to take on the hike that we had that day at.

So I would say that that stands out as probably the most memorable, most damage to personal belongings and spirit.

I'm very proud that I was there to see that.

So down goes Mazanga.

That's all that kept going through my head.

Down goes Mazanga.

Yes.

All right, question number three.

Singer Jewel is suing Kroger for cutting her out of the partnership that they developed together to create the Kroger Annual Wellness Festival.

Chris, it's been a little while since I asked you this question, so I'm curious if anything's changed, knowing how much you love Christina Aguilera and some others that we've discussed on this podcast in the last few weeks, but which three acts, dead or alive, would headline your own Chrysapalooza Festival?

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

I mean, God, this was, like, the first question you asked me the very first day I met you.

Actually, for those listening, I think my answer's changed somewhat, and I think I'm gonna go.

I'm not gonna put these in any order either, but I think I'd go Elvis.

Okay.

And this one is really unique to me.

The Jackson 5.

Not Michael Jackson.

Jackson 5.

Could Michael sing his own.

Could Michael, like, take it on and, like, sing as a few of his own songs?

Like man in the Mirror?

Like, no, I want to.

Thriller, back in the day.

Like this.

No, I want to see that.

Yeah, I want to.

I want to.

No, I'm gonna say no.

So the catalog would stick to Jackson 5 exclusively?

Interesting.

I think so.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right.

I just love that.

I just love listening to that.

That's just.

He's.

He was so talented, so young.

All right, anyway.

Silicon Valley crosswalks are recently hacked to display the voices of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.

If you could hack the Spotlight, the.

The Spotlight, the Stoplight near us on 50th in France, what voice would you choose and what did you have it say?

If you have not listened to these, do yourself a favor, take a work break and go online and listen to some of these.

They are hilarious.

For our little shopping district up the road.

There's, there's some hoity toity people up there.

I would love to hear little John just start singing like, you know, like you hit the button and it's like.

Walk, the walk sign is on.

And then just have them be like, oh, skeet skeet, skeet, skeet.

And then like, okay, it's time to cross the sidewalk.

Like, just having him come in and throw some things in here would crack me up.

I would love it so much.

That was pretty good, my friend.

That was pretty good.

Nicely done.

Nicely done.

All right, well, that concludes today's show.

Happy birthday today to Anna, Taylor, Joy, Sadie, Sink, and to the God of the skyhook himself, the great Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

And remember, if you can 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 US retailer.

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