We’re starting off the year with an amazing, veteran retailer turned executive coach - Vicki Bradley is my special guest on this first episode of 2022! With a storied retail career in sales and operations roles from the Northern Group to the President of The Bombay Furniture Company and then at Hr2 by Holt Renfrew, plus a stint on the board of directors at RCC, Vicki now turns her talents to executive coaching.
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
We’re starting off the year with an amazing, veteran retailer turned executive coach - Vicki Bradley is my special guest on this first episode of 2022!
With a storied retail career in sales and operations roles from the Northern Group to the President of The Bombay Furniture Company and then at Hr2 by Holt Renfrew, plus a stint on the board of directors at RCC, Vicki now turns her talents to executive coaching.
From senior C-level executives to junior managers just starting out, through her coaching practice and Women in Leadership Empowered online community, Vicki is sending the elevator back down to help retail leaders and leaders of the future discover their full potential
Thanks for tuning into today’s episode of The Voice of Retail. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on the latest episodes, industry news, and insights. If you enjoyed this episode please consider leaving a rating and review, as it really helps us grow so that we can continue getting amazing guests on the show.
Founder and President of the Synergistic Leadership Group and Founder and CEO of WIL Empowered, is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Assessment Master Practitioner (ELI-MP), Certified in Conversational Intelligence (CIQ).
She is a seasoned Executive with 25+ years’ experience in leading high performing teams in the retail industry across North America. She has held progressive roles with iconic retailers including President of the Bombay Furniture Company in Canada while simultaneously leading the store organization as VP Sales and Operations for Bombay US, SVP of Sales and Operations with Marks and Spencers, VP of Sales and Operations with luxury retailer Holt Renfrew (Hr2), and held progressive roles within the Woolworth Organization across North America. Vicki sat on the Board of Directors for the Retail Council of Canada, Party Packagers, and OSI tile.
Her passion is with supporting and stretching individuals beyond what they believe themselves capable of and creating environments that are co-creative for learning. Her key strengths include identifying top talent, team development, strategic thinking, and financial acumen.
Michael LeBlanc is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. You can learn more about Michael here or on LinkedIn.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. We're starting off the year with an amazing veteran retailer-turned-executive coach. Vicki Bradley is my special guest on the first episode of 2022.
Michael LeBlanc 00:19
With a storied retail career in sales and operation roles from the Northern Group, the President of the Bombay Furniture Company, and then at hr2 by Holt Renfrew, plus a stint on the Board of Directors at RCC, Vicki now turns her talents to executive coaching.
Michael LeBlanc 00:33
From senior C-level executives to junior managers just starting out through her coaching practice and Women in Leadership Empowered online community, Vicki is sending the elevator back down to help retailers and leaders of the future discover their full potential.
Vicki Bradley 00:49
Yeah, I think that the big thing is, is say yes, for sure, say yes to things, be curious. You know, sometimes people get caught up on well, it doesn't, you know, pay enough money or it doesn't do—
Michael LeBlanc 01:00
Right.
Vicki Bradley 01:01
This or that. You know, don't look at the short game. Look at what the long-term game is, like, I mean, I had such an amazing career in retail. And I know so many others who have.
Michael LeBlanc 01:12
Let's listen in now. Vicki, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing this morning?
Vicki Bradley 01:17
Awesome. Thank you, Michael. Thanks for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 01:20
Well, it's great to hear your voice. You and I have crossed paths a few times. And right back to when you were on the Board of Directors of Retail Council of Canada. Diane Brisebois says hello, by the way. And so, it all comes together and, and I noticed the kind of work you were doing. And I thought what a great guest for the podcast. So, why don't we jump right in? Tell us and the listeners a bit about yourself, and your retail background, and what is WIL Empowered?
Vicki Bradley 01:45
Okay, awesome, Michael, thank you, thank you and love Diane, miss her terribly. So yeah, a little bit about me. I spent almost 30 years in the retail world, absolutely loved it. And it's very near and dear to my heart. Was the President of the Bombay Furniture Company for almost 10 years. I was at Marks & Spencer Canada when they were still here. And my last role in retail was with Holt Renfrew.
Vicki Bradley 02:13
And all great experiences, have absolutely, you know, just thrived, and loved my retail career. And then I actually, I got sick Michael and I had to leave that world, which devastated me, because I just, I thrived in it and loved it. But anyway, that actually has brought me on this new journey that I'm on, where I have created WIL Empowered, which is Women in Leadership Empowered.
Vicki Bradley 02:39
And that's where I work with women on developing leadership skills, just to help them navigate you know, those careers, and really building confidence and, you know, helping them to, to be at their optimal and thrive, both in their, their personal and professional lives.
Michael LeBlanc 02:59
So, let's take a step back a bit. Were you, did you always want to get into retail, some have described it as the accidental career? Is that a career that you went, whoops, I found myself in retail and it's, it's a great place. Tell me about that a bit.
Vicki Bradley 03:11
Well, that's so true, Michael. Yes, that's actually what happened to me. So, when I was in university, I worked in the hospitality industry, loved it. And I actually was recruited into retail, and it was my last year in university. And I thought, wow, this sounds really interesting. Of course, you know, as a woman, I loved fashion.
Vicki Bradley 03:31
And the company that recruited me was called Woolworth. But it was a division of Woolworth, which was Susie's Casuals, in the US. And the woman who recruited me, she was like, you know, it's not a lot of money, she said, but I think you'll love it. And I did, I fell in love. And so, I went into their management training program and back, back then, I mean, that was in, you know, the early 80's. Woolworth was definitely way ahead of their time—
Michael LeBlanc 04:01
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 04:01
On their management training program. And systems, like they had great systems. And I learned a tremendous amount from them. But, you know, it was really for me, it was the fashion, and I caught that bug of competition and, you know, always wanting to exceed my sales goals and beat everybody that was in our stores. And just had a fascinating career with them. Like they, they truly, you know, taught me a lot, and moved me around. So, Susie's Casuals closed down, and Northern Reflections opened up, which all of it was owned by Woolworth.
Michael LeBlanc 04:35
Right.
Vicki Bradley 04:35
And Northern Reflections is what took me, you know, really into my executive roles. So, I, I helped them open 400 stores across the US —
Michael LeBlanc 04:45
Wow.
Vicki Bradley 04:45
And then they relocated me to Canada as the Director of Training and Development. Because we were just, we were growing so fast, Michael, we didn't have the bench strength that we required. And I tended to, they would, they would parachute me into a market that was kind of in trouble and I would clean it up, fix it, hire my replacement, and then they would move me to the next problem location. Sounds fun, right?
Michael LeBlanc 05:12
That's fun in principle.
Vicki Bradley 05:15
And so, that just turned me, that just—
Michael LeBlanc 05:16
Yeah, yeah.
Vicki Bradley 05:17
Like created this whole new adventure for me.
Michael LeBlanc 05:19
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 05:19
And so, they came, they invited me to come to Canada, and head up training and development for North America. So that I could train our district managers to run these 400 locations that, that we had just opened. And so, I did, and it was really a career changer moving to Canada.
Vicki Bradley 05:39
And, you know, taking this on, and yeah, my career just continued to, you know, escalate, and move into different parts of the business. But predominantly, my focus was on sales, operations and—
Michael LeBlanc 05:53
Right.
Vicki Bradley 05:53
People. Like really, how do we, how do we develop people and bring the best out of them?
Michael LeBlanc 05:57
Right, and one thing, we jumped right in, where am I, where am I reaching you today? Where are you, where are you based?
Vicki Bradley 06:02
Well, I'm just north of Toronto, up in Caledon.
Michael LeBlanc 06:04
Great.
Vicki Bradley 06:05
So, I've, I'm in Canada now for 26 years.
Michael LeBlanc 06:08
I was going to say, came, came for the job, and stayed for the, for all the whatever, right?
Vicki Bradley 06:13
Yeah, exactly, exactly. I do love it here, have great friends here. And, you know, this is, this has become home.
Michael LeBlanc 06:21
Very good. And Black Friday, Cyber Monday, followed you up eventually. Took a while, right?
Vicki Bradley 06:25
Yes, it did, it did.
Michael LeBlanc 06:27
It's a funny thing. You know, I talk to people, even reporters today, and they're like, you know, I remind them that this is a fairly new phenomenon, like 10, 12 years, and that it wasn't always so. And, you know, there is still debate amongst retailers about whether it was a good idea or not.
Michael LeBlanc 06:41
I mean, it probably was inevitable, defensively, and offensively. But it wasn't something that was part, a big part of your career, right? Because it's pretty recent, and maybe just at the, at the end, at the end, you know, that, kind of, started to creep into the Canadian market.
Vicki Bradley 06:57
Yes, exactly, exactly. It wasn't until I was with Holt—
Michael LeBlanc 07:00
Right, right.
Vicki Bradley 07:00
That we experienced it. And, you know, and what an experience it was. I remember our location at Vaughan Mills, I was there at 6am on Black Friday—
Michael LeBlanc 07:13
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 07:13
And I worked the lease line. And just, you know, we had unbelievable lineups trying to get into the store for Black Friday.
Michael LeBlanc 07:15
Yes.
Vicki Bradley 07:15
And I remember our, our CEO at the time was Mark Derbyshire. And Mark kept calling me saying, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, have you seen what you guys are doing? I'm like, yeah, I'm in here, I'm living it. This is—
Michael LeBlanc 07:32
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 07:32
Amazing.
Michael LeBlanc 07:35
All right, so since we're talking about that, and then I want to get on to talk about what you're doing now, and lots of other questions. But Black Friday, Cyber Monday, good for Canadian retail, retailers in Canada, or wish it would have stayed a US idea?
Vicki Bradley 07:50
Well, I'm a retailer at heart. And so, I think to, you, you said this earlier, I think it was inevitable that it would happen. You know, Canadians are in the US so often, and there's so much border shopping.
Michael LeBlanc 08:03
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 08:03
And so, it's, you know, why not keep it in Canada, right? Because I mean, I know myself even being a retailer, you know, my friends and I would pack up the car and head down to, you know, Buffalo.
Michael LeBlanc 08:16
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 08:16
At the end of November and do our Christmas shopping. And so, I think it's important that we keep it in Canada as much as we can. And, you know, there's so many brands that have, have moved into Canada from the US. I know, we've lost a few, you know, during COVID—
Michael LeBlanc 08:33
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 08:34
But there's so many brands that are here now, that just makes sense to me, that, that we do it.
Michael LeBlanc 08:39
All right, well, let's, let's talk, let's talk about you. Tell me about what you do today and, and what, let's say, what gap you're filling in the market or the business world, and what were you looking to accomplish with WIL Empowered.
Vicki Bradley 08:52
Okay, okay, happy to. So, so I do a couple of things, Michael. So, I, I'm an executive coach, and I work with a lot of, you know, senior, senior women in helping them navigate their careers. Whether they're transitioning, whether they're getting promoted, you know, moving from mid-level to senior-level management roles. And I also have WIL Empowered. Again, that's Women in Leadership Empowered.
Vicki Bradley 09:17
And, and part of why I created that was based on my own journey through retail, to be honest. You know, there weren't a lot of women, and there weren't a lot of role models. However, I will, you know, give Diane a plug because she was always certainly a great role model for me.
Michael LeBlanc 09:38
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 09:38
And someone that I knew I could go to because, as an old boss said to me, for Marks & Spencer, Dave Stewart said to me one time, he goes, Vicki, be careful because it's lonely at the top. And you got to be careful what you wish for and I always like, kept that in the back of my mind. And so, part of why I've created what I have is to just really help women create that support network and, and the tribe, if you want to call it that, so that they have a place.
Vicki Bradley 10:07
A safe space that they can go and talk to other women about the challenges they face. Because let's face it, men, and women, we do face different challenges in the working world. And, you know, women are still taking on a lot of the responsibilities at home. And we're also thriving in our careers and, you know, climbing those corporate ladders.
Michael LeBlanc 10:28
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 10:28
And so, part of this was to really help them have a support system, to flush ideas, to, you know, to really help them also build the confidence that they need to go after those roles that they so deserve. You know, I'll give you an example, I had a client one time who was VP of marketing of a major Canadian company. And she was given an opportunity to take on a new role.
Vicki Bradley 10:59
And when they came to her, they said to her, you know, we really want you to take on this, this additional role. And her first response was, well, I'm not qualified. And so, she didn't, she didn't take the role. And so, when we spoke about it, I said to her, I go, why would you, why would you say that? Like you've headed up the head of IT, you've headed up the, you know, marketing.
Vicki Bradley 11:19
Like if anybody's the right person for this role, it's you. And I said, what do you think, you know, John, down the hallway here would say if they came to him. And she goes, you're right, she goes, I missed an opportunity, where I could have, you know, really taken my career to that next level.
Michael LeBlanc 11:36
Do you, do you find that that's consistently, or still the case, between men and women when they're offered promotions?
Vicki Bradley 11:44
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 11:44
That, you know, I think women are more thoughtful about it, yeah, I've never done quite that thing. Whereas, whereas the guys are, like, yeah, I'll, you know, yeah, you know, soon as the door closed, like, I have no idea how to do that job. I guess—
Vicki Bradley 11:56
Exactly.
Michael LeBlanc 11:57
I guess I'll just make it up as I go along. I'll just figure it out.
Vicki Bradley 12:00
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 12:00
Do you find that as, as, as a still, let's, I don't know if I'd call it a defining characteristic, but a common, a common thread in your discussions with women leaders?
Vicki Bradley 12:08
It is, it is. Unfortunately, it is. And I think some of that comes into play where, where women are, they're also balancing what's happening at home—
Michael LeBlanc 12:17
Yeah, of course.
Vicki Bradley 12:17
They're balancing what's happening in their careers. And so, they're more hesitant to put themselves forward, because of all of those factors. And you're right, men are very quick to jump on it and figure it out later.
Michael LeBlanc 12:30
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 12:30
And so, you know, a lot of the coaching I do is around building that confidence to go for it. Because there's always a way to figure out how to balance it all behind the scenes, the important thing is to know that you have that ability to actually do the job that you're, you know, that you're hoping to attain. And so, it continues to this day to be a challenge and women don't even realize it.
Michael LeBlanc 12:55
Do you come across, do you come across imposter syndrome, as it's, as it's known, is that a subset of these concerns? Or is that another defining, defining characteristic amongst leaders in general? Is that something you talk about with your, with your, what do you call them mentees or your clients, I guess.
Vicki Bradley 13:14
Just clients. Yeah, yeah, they're my clients. Yes, the imposter complex comes up, boundaries probably comes up a lot. But imposter complex, just feeling that they're not qualified for particular roles that may come across their, their desk or opportunities that they, they're presented with. And so, part of that is knowing themselves, right.
Michael LeBlanc 13:39
Right.
Vicki Bradley 13:39
And knowing that it's reminding ourselves, because women, we don't tend to have that same, we don't keep record of all the accomplishments the way we need to just to show that hey, you know what, yeah, I've done this before, I can do this. And that's a big part of, you know, how I coach my clients is getting them to recognize what they have done, and how that translates into this next opportunity. But also, how they see things, how they look at things more holistically, before jumping, right in.
Michael LeBlanc 14:15
What, what, speaking more generally, what are the key traits of retail leadership that you found? I mean, there's many, many paths to leadership. Some go through the stores and go through merchandising, you know, stores, operations, merchandising, a few go through marketing. What are the, kind of, those key characteristics you look for, that you had yourself, that make a great leader generally in the retail industry?
Vicki Bradley 14:39
Well, I think part of it is, you know, not being afraid to hear no, because no doesn't mean no, it means—
Michael LeBlanc 14:47
Right.
Vicki Bradley 14:47
Not yet, right. So, so really that determination. But I think, you know, part of what, what is helpful is, is having the ability to identify great teams and to know that it's not just about you, right. Like, I mean, my team at Bombay was a big part of, I mean, they were the driving force of why we were so successful, right.
Michael LeBlanc 15:09
Right.
Vicki Bradley 15:10
So being able to identify the talent and, and that takes, that takes a lot of courage from leaders because you got to put your ego aside and look at what others are contributing. And that, you know, it takes all of you to make it successful. So, I think that's, you know, one area. Another one is really becoming, especially in retail, becoming more of a generalist.
Vicki Bradley 15:36
So, understanding all aspects of retail, because retail is one of the most fascinating businesses out there in my mind, Michael. Because you've got supply chain, you've got marketing, you've got finance, you've got sales, you've got product development, like you cover people development. All of these areas, that, you know, if all of those things aren't fine-tuned, you're not going to be successful.
Vicki Bradley 16:01
And the beautiful thing is that you can move around, right, and I really, you know, when I started my career, my focus was really sales and operations. And then when I moved into Marks & Spencers, that was really when things impacted me. Because, you know, our CEO pushed me to take on store design, he pushed me to take on human resources, you know, to participate in line reviews, and, you know, helping to pick color palettes and all these things that, you know, where do you get the opportunity to be so integrated—
Michael LeBlanc 16:35
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 16:35
Into a business? So, I think it's, you got, you also as a leader, you got to be curious, right?
Michael LeBlanc 16:42
Right.
Vicki Bradley 16:42
You got to look at all the areas and be curious about what other people are doing within your organization.
Michael LeBlanc 16:49
Boy, that, that last part about being curious. I mean, how many retail leaders and how many times have we seen lately these discussions about supply chain, right.
Vicki Bradley 16:57
Oh, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 16:57
Supply chain used to be something, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, by any stretch of imagination, say taken for granted. But generally, you know, the people who run supply chain are very good at it, they make, they move the, move the goods, and you really only, you know, I would say sometimes you paid attention only when it didn't arrive.
Vicki Bradley 17:03
Yeah, exactly.
Michael LeBlanc 17:12
Like what happened? But now it's like the focal point. I talk to merchants today and they said, well, half my, half my day is spent making sure my goods are going to arrive. Which was very, it's very different. And boy you need, you need appreciation for all the moving parts of the retail spectrum, yeah.
Vicki Bradley 17:27
You do, you have to, and you got to have great people leading each of those parts—
Michael LeBlanc 17:32
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 17:33
That are also great communicators that talk to other parts. So, the example you just gave, like when, when the merchant team and the supply chain team aren't talking, you got a problem.
Michael LeBlanc 17:43
Yeah, it's a big problem.
Vicki Bradley 17:44
And marketing too, because marketing—
Michael LeBlanc 17:45
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 17:46
Is also trying to promote—
Michael LeBlanc 17:47
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 17:47
The goods that are coming in. So, it's all so intertwined.
Michael LeBlanc 17:53
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 17:53
And so, communication between each of those parties, like you can have differences, that's great. But you, at the end of the day, you got to come out altogether.
Michael LeBlanc 18:02
That's, you know, as Diane, reminded me of a quote, great quote from Diane, and she likes to say, Diane Brisebois from Retail Council of Canada, she likes to say, retail isn't brain surgery, it's more complex.
Vicki Bradley 18:12
No kidding.
Michael LeBlanc 18:14
Speaking specifically to women in leadership, what are those, what would your advice be, you mentioned you went through a trainee program from the, kind of, store ops up. What, you know, focusing less on, on senior leadership and more about younger women who are preparing for that track.
Michael LeBlanc 18:29
What's your advice to them about the best way, I mean, think you're already touching on it, you know, explore, you know, take opportunities when presented, explore all kinds of different things, you know, don't go down a single lane, because that makes it a little harder to be a generalist as you go up the ladder. Is, any other tips that you could share?
Vicki Bradley 18:46
Yeah, I think that the big thing is, is say yes, for sure. Say yes to things, be curious. You know, sometimes people get caught up on, well, it doesn't, you know, pay enough money, or it doesn't do—
Michael LeBlanc 18:58
Right.
Vicki Bradley 18:58
This or that. You know, don't look at the short game, look at what the long-term game is Like, I mean, I had such an amazing career in retail. And I know so many others who have. You know, one of my clients today, she worked for one of a major retailers and she's a, you know, a senior partner at Deloitte, right. And so, she started her career in retail, and she's still working in retail, but through the consulting arm.
Michael LeBlanc 19:22
Right.
Vicki Bradley 19:23
So, there's so many opportunities, if you can move past, you know, I work in a store today, to see what the longer-term game can be. And working in a store, by the way, is, is amazing, because you learn so much about people. The, the customers that are coming in, the people that you work with.
Vicki Bradley 19:43
So, I think that, you know, I'll go back to curiosity, I think that that's important when you're learning as a, as a young woman in particular, and really pushing yourself to take opportunities that you might not otherwise have, right. So—
Michael LeBlanc 19:59
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 19:59
Going for it. But also, it's, it's what are you doing outside of retail to learn and to grow, right. So even if I take retail as an example, are you competition shopping, are you seeing what your competitors are doing? And what is making them stand out, what's making—
Michael LeBlanc 20:16
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 20:17
Them shrink back, because those lessons also help you learn to be much more introspective, even for yourself.
Michael LeBlanc 20:24
You know, I think, I think back to when you started your career versus now. There's so many more resources that are different. I mean, the things you're describing are, kind of like, almost table stakes, right, for a good retail leader. But now you've got all kinds of different ways to learn, you know, from, from the internet, to podcasts, to all these things, to YouTube, you've got a lot of different ways to learn, right. It's really—
Vicki Bradley 20:45
Absolutely.
Michael LeBlanc 20:45
Sometimes I think it's, it's a balance of just finding some of the right things and right advice. So, would you advise mentorship coaching? Like, at what point—
Vicki Bradley 20:54
Yes.
Michael LeBlanc 20:54
Do you think it's the right idea to get a, to get a coach of some sort, way, shape, or another, and invest in that relationship?
Vicki Bradley 21:01
Well, that's, that's a great question. And I was just on with a client actually, who is starting out in their career, and they've hired me to work with them. I think the younger you do that, the better, because it helps you actually bring a lot of the things that are invisible, it helps you to make those things visible. And you start to be more mindful about how you navigate that journey of your career. And let's face it, our careers are a huge part of who we are, right?
Michael LeBlanc 21:31
Yeah, yeah.
Vicki Bradley 21:32
And so, you want, you want to have a focus and a plan as to how you want to navigate that. But I also think, you know, mentorship, just to your point, like mentorship is huge. And you need to have a variety of mentors, people who give you a different perspective, right. And challenge you on some of your thinking, because we get caught up in what we think we know, and we know is best.
Michael LeBlanc 21:58
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 21:59
And when you start hearing what other people are, you know, how their perceptions are, what they're seeing, you learn a lot through that.
Michael LeBlanc 22:07
And it's, it's fair to say there's a lot of paths to leadership in an industry as big and broad as retail. But—
Vicki Bradley 22:14
Absolutely.
Michael LeBlanc 22:14
There's still a strategy, right. Up the center of that—
Vicki Bradley 22:16
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 22:16
There is a, and we've, you've been sharing it. So, it's been, it's been a great interview, you've been sharing those core strategies that don't change. But, you know, that's a great, that's a great reminder. All right, I cannot have you on the mic, such a retail veteran, without talking about retail, in the COVID-era, not about a history lesson.
Michael LeBlanc 22:34
But what do you think, after all this, and boy, the, you know, I think we can see the end zone, they, the goalposts keep moving, we're recording this in late November, we've just learned about this new, new variant. And by the time folks are listening to this, it may or may not be hugely impactful, but it's clear, we're not through it yet. However, we feel like we're coming out on the other side.
Michael LeBlanc 22:56
Certainly, after two years of living through this, consumers have changed in some way, shape, or form. We're all trying to figure that out. Any thoughts from your perspective, as you, kind of, observe and watch and through your, through your clients, kind of, hear what they're going through. Any thoughts of what a post-consumer retail environment looks like?
Vicki Bradley 23:15
Yeah, you know, it's funny, Michael. I think that, you know, it still holds true service, service, service. And service comes in different ways that, you know, being in tune to who your clients are. Some of the, some of the smaller boutiques who have survived, through what we've already, you know, endured through COVID is because they've gotten innovative, and they're talking to their clients, they're reaching out, they're finding creative ways to help them shop, to be honest.
Vicki Bradley 23:45
The ones who have not survived, I think, in a lot of cases, is they've lost sight of that. Because there's many ways that you know, even if I use history as a, as a lesson, you know, when I started in my own retail career. I had my own clientele list, and I would call them whenever we would get a shipment.
Michael LeBlanc 24:03
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 24:03
And so, we could have never even opened the doors, and I still could have sold. Do you know what I mean?
Michael LeBlanc 24:07
Yeah, yeah.
Vicki Bradley 24:08
So, I think there's some of that, I think part of it too, is that, you know, people have to, you know, support local, as much as possible. You know, and be out there, you know, not being so fearful. Yes, we have to take precautions, we have to be careful. But finding innov-, innovative ways to shop as well. Like, I'll pick up the phone and I'll call and say can we do a private shopping?
Michael LeBlanc 24:33
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 24:33
Right. And some of that is stuff that we used to do way back in the early days.
Michael LeBlanc 24:37
Yeah, I was going to say. A lot of the questions around what retail innovations happened during the COVID-era. I don't think a lot of retail innovations actually happened. I think some things were just brought back; some things were adopted. There's a few but, you know, I tried to say, you know, getting back to, if you're getting back to the customer, there's good lessons to learn from recent retail practice, right?
Vicki Bradley 24:57
Absolutely, absolutely. I, I will always be that person who says service. Like, I think you, if when you make the customer feel great—
Michael LeBlanc 25:07
That's, you better be, right. That's your background.
Vicki Bradley 25:09
It is.
Michael LeBlanc 25:09
I mean, that's where you came up from, so.
Vicki Bradley 25:10
Exactly. And I still, to this day, truly, truly embody and believe in that. Because if you don't, somebody else will take care of them.
Michael LeBlanc 25:21
Right.
Vicki Bradley 25:21
And so, you know, it's getting out of our own heads and finding creative ways to communicate and talk to those, those customers and—
Michael LeBlanc 25:30
Right.
Vicki Bradley 25:30
Keep them, keep them close.
Michael LeBlanc 25:32
Right. Great advice. Well, listen, speaking of advice, how, this has been great, great conversation, it's been great to hear your voice and, and chit chat about this stuff. How can folks go to learn more about your services and get in touch?
Vicki Bradley 25:43
Oh, awesome. Thank you. And yes, this has been wonderful, Michael, thank you. So, you can, you can find me online at www.wilempowered. So, it's W-I-L Empowered, E-M-P-O-W-E-R-E-D. And you can also reach me at Vicki@WILEmpowered, if you have questions and you want to have a chat about, you know, just, there's no, you know, just having a discovery call is very valuable in—
Michael LeBlanc 26:07
Yeah.
Vicki Bradley 26:07
Figuring out how you, how you transition, or how you move to that next level in leadership. But we'd be happy to have conversation. You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
Michael LeBlanc 26:18
And, and as I think you've been, you've mentioned a couple times, you, you, your scope, so to speak, is from young executives who are looking to move through their career and for sen-, for very senior leaders today. Right, so you've got—
Vicki Bradley 26:32
Exactly.
Michael LeBlanc 26:32
Quite a broad scope between, between those people. Well listen, Vicki, it's been great catching up. It's great to chit chatting about leadership and, and what, catching up on what you're doing. Thanks so much for joining me on The Voice of Retail. It's great conversation and I wish you continued success and, and a great 2022.
Vicki Bradley 26:49
Thank you, Michael, and thank you, thanks so much for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 26:53
Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of The Voice of Retail. Be sure and follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy podcasts, so you don't miss out on the latest episodes, industry news, and insights. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating review, as it really helps us grow, so that we continue to get amazing guests onto the show.
I'm your host Michael LeBlanc, president of M.E LeBlanc & Company, Inc. And if you're looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website at meleblanc.so.
Until next time, stay safe. Have a great week.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
retail, career, women, michael, canada, role, talk, people, clients, woolworth, leaders, wil, store, vicki, thrived, diane, opportunity, loved, good, leadership