Interview Through the VC lens Guillaume Echaudemaison: “Seventure is investing in a retail tech company that personalises customer relations on a large scale” Europe Interviews The C.E.O. of Forever 21 was the guest at the latest FrenchFounders meeting in New York. After working at Levi Strauss and LVMH (DFS), and tasked with restructuring the PaperSource stationery group for 6 years, she took over the teen fashion retailer in January 2022, 2 years after the business filed for bankruptcy. She shares her vision with mind Retail on the importance of innovation to win back Generation Z.
Entretien Cédric Rossi, Bryan Garnier & Co: “We should not expect a massive wave of relocation due to U.S. tariffs” Americas Interviews Faced with the threat of tariffs of 25% levied by Donald Trump and 200% on wines and champagne, will European retailers reassess their relocation? Interview with Cédric Rossi, Retail and Luxury Consultant at Bryan Garnier & Co.
Interview Didier Veloso, GS1: “At Decathlon and L’Oréal, the usages’ growth of QR code scanning is very encouraging” Interviews As traditional barcode is reaching its limits, QR codes are proliferating on home-electrical, fashion and food products. Didier Veloso, Executive President of GS1 France, and Diana de Bernardy, Sustainability and Circularity Manager, talked to mind Retail about the next steps for the Digital Product Passport and the GS1 augmented QR code.
data Interview Cécile Margnac, Snowflake: “Data clean room can add great value to retail promotional efficiency” Interviews Marketing campaigns, retail media, assortment, promotions... While Snowflake has managed to shake up offerings of traditional CDP suppliers such as Oracle or Teradata, Cécile Margnac, Senior Sales Engineer Manager Retail, FMCG and Luxury goods, analyses the potential of data clean rooms for retail and e-commerce.
Interview Free Anne-Laure Gayet (Jerome Gayet Foundation): “Few retailers have really made getting people back to work a CSR priority” Interviews The Jérôme Gayet Foundation is unusual in that it is made up of volunteer mentors, mainly from the retail, e-commerce and tech sectors. It will be celebrating a fifth anniversary in 2025. As new projects come on stream, the foundation is preparing to launch a new type of support for start-up entrepreneurs.
Margot Pouliquen, Nature & Découvertes: “In 6 months, the marketplace has grown from 36% to 42% of our digital turnover” Interviews A subsidiary of the Darty group since 2019, Nature & Découvertes explained to mind Retail the three scale up projects for a marketplace operated by Mirakl. These are omnicanality between 3P and stores, he launch of an experiential offering and finally the launch of retail media from 2024. Margot Pouliquen, the company's Marketplace Manager, and Joseph Ascione, Mirakl's Director of Customer Success, present the strategic priorities and key figures for this business, which is celebrating a 10th anniversary this year.
Christopher Hermelin, Nicolas Group: “Advertisers are not investing in the Olympics” Interviews Nicolas Group, a wine cellar retailer with a strong store base in Paris, shared the customer engagement strategy for the Olympics with mind Retail. With 15 million tourists expected to visit Paris, and 75% French-speaking, the retailer opted for a 100% digital contextual targeting system with Paylead, Locala and Google. Christopher Hermelin, the CMO, explains how.
Julie Hamadouche Bottino, Ba&sh: “On each garment, a label details the CO2 generated, energy consumed and freshwater pollution” Interviews Supported by Fairly Made in terms of traceability and involved in a relocation program, Ba&sh has been publishing a voluntary CSR report for 3 years and has just been certified B-Corp. Since January, labels display environmental impact QR codes on products. This is transforming a customer experience, both in store and online. Julie Hamadouche Bottino, Sustainability Manager, revealed the numbers.
Amanda Medina, Etam: “We now have real expertise on Instagram” Interviews With nearly 1.3 million followers on Instagram, Etam stands out for a social media strategy that's close to its audience, focused on collaborations and interaction. Amanda Medina, Head of Social Media, PR & Brand Content at Etam, reveals the specific approaches on the various platforms of the brand, which sponsors around 20% of its publications.
Bijou Kurien, Retailers Association of India: “Investors’ focus has shifted from sales growth to profitability” Asia Interviews After 6 years as head of L-Catterton Asia, an investment fund supported by LVMH in Asia, Bijou Kurien is the Chairman of the Retailers Association of India, and a member of the Board of several Indian companies such as Brigade Enterprises (property), Timex Group (watches) and Suguna Foods (food). At the World Retail Congress in Paris, he shared with mind Retail his vision of the VC landscape in India.
