As CEO and Creative Director of Elie Tahari, Jeremey Tahari is balancing legacy with reinvention. His strategy centers on premium materials, full-price customer acquisition, micro-community and a more intentional approach to retail—all while preserving the brand’s accessible-luxury DNA.
From furniture logistics to personalized styling, Anthropologie’s business is built on making complexity invisible. COO Candan Erenguc shares how localized stores, owned brands and service-led retail are powering the company’s continued growth.
In a retail market heavily hooked on the “discount drug,” Kenneth Cole Productions is intentionally choosing a different path. Global CEO and President Jed Berger outlines the brand’s disciplined 2026 playbook: trading short-term revenue spikes for long-term “healthy growth.” From rewiring channel distribution to scaling a direct-to-consumer footprint in Europe and anchoring the brand identity in mental health advocacy, Berger breaks down how the historic house is playing offense to bypass the industry’s sea of sameness and secure its positioning for 2030 and beyond.
This week’s biggest fashion stories all pointed to the same uncomfortable truth: brand equity means less when economic pressure starts rewriting the rules. From Everlane’s sale to Shein to Walmart signaling increased strain on the American consumer, the headlines exposed an industry grappling with a deeper identity crisis, one where authenticity, ownership, and consumer trust are increasingly colliding with financial reality.
Twenty-five years into a career spanning Ogilvy, Clinique and Unilever, Emily Culp is making her most ambitious bet yet: that the brands that win the AI era won’t be the ones with the best models, but the ones with the clearest strategy and the deepest consumer trust.
Most brands struggle to find one insight worth building around. Aaron Sanandres found his in a personal annoyance, confirmed it on Reddit and turned it into one of menswear’s most improbable success stories. The UNTUCKit co-founder on brand building, product integrity and running two very different businesses at once.
At the Retail Influencer Network press breakfast, speakers from Stitch Fix, FedEx, OneRail, Glance and DirecTV pointed to a common theme: AI is reshaping retail—but not replacing its fundamentals.
With Vans navigating one of retail’s most compelling repositioning stories, LaJoie shares his philosophy on brand stewardship, the irreplaceable role of human judgment in merchandising, and what it really means to author culture rather than chase it.
A wave of Q4 earnings suggested the American consumer held up. But weakening jobs data, geopolitical tension and an oil shock are already reshaping the outlook. We break down who beat expectations, who stumbled and what it means for retail in 2026.
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