Jim Roddy, President and CEO of the RSPA (Retail Solution Providers Association), author, coach, retail industry insider, podcaster and fellow ReThink Retail Top Global Retail Influencer, shares insights from his unique vantage point about the North American retail technology ecosystem future tech.
Hello and welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. My name is Michael LeBlanc, and I am your host, I believe in the power of storytelling to bring the retail industry to life. Each week I'll bring insights, perspectives and experiences from some of the retail industry's most innovative and influential voices. This podcast is produced in conjunction with the Retail Council of Canada.
Jim Roddy, President and CEO of the RSPA (Retail Solution Providers Association), author, coach, retail industry insider, podcaster and fellow ReThink Retail Top Global Retail Influencer, shares insights from his unique vantage point about the North American retail technology ecosystem future tech.
The RSPA is North America's largest community of VARs, software developers, vendors, and distributors in the retail, restaurant, grocery, and cannabis verticals from major multi-nationals to independent main-street retailers. With his "big ears," Jim has decades of experience reporting on this crucial element of the retail technology landscape. He shares his perspectives on the current and future state as his members help him and retailers see around corners and be ready for what is next.
About Jim
Jim Roddy is the President and CEO of the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA). He has been active in the retail IT channel since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, six years as an RSPA board member, one term as RSPA Chairman of the Board, and several years as a business coach for VARs, ISVs, and MSPs. Jim has been recognized as one of the world’s Top 100 Retail Influencers by RETHINK Retail, a Leading CannaTech Influencer by 420MSP, and is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences on SMB best practices. He is author of two books – The Walk-On Method To Career & Business Success and Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer – and is host of the award-winning RSPA Trusted Advisor podcast. For more information, contact JRoddy@GoRSPA.org.
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.
Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row.
Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world.
Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers.
Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.
Michael LeBlanc 00:05
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the Retail Council of Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 00:08
Meet Jim Roddy, President and CEO of the RSPA, Retail Solution Providers Association, author, coach, retail industry insider podcaster and fellow RETHINK Retail Top Global Retail Influencer.
Jim shares his insights from his unique vantage points about the North American retail technology ecosystem and innovative service solutions. The RSPA is North America's largest community of VARs, software developers, vendors and distributors in the retail restaurants, grocery and cannabis verticals, from major multinationals to independent main-street retailers.
With his "big ears'', Jim has decades of experience reporting on this crucial element of the retail technology landscape. He shares his perspectives on the current and future state as members help him and retailers see around corners and be ready for what's next.
Let's listen in now.
Jim, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing my friend?
Jim Roddy 00:59
I'm wonderful. Michael, good to talk with you. As always, no, happy to do it always, always a pleasure to connect with you. And since we're both on that list, we don't have to ask each other for autographs when we meet in person.
Michael LeBlanc 01:12
So, Well, it's good to talk to you. We should call out we're both RETHINK Retail Top Global Influencers, what, what that means and, and what that's all about. We can talk about that later. But we also cross-sector and we also intersect with your organization, the RSPA. And, and so it's really great to have you on the mic and chat about trends in retail technology. That's right. That's right. So listen, I know you well but of course the listeners may not. So, why don't we start there? Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and what you do for a living?
Jim Roddy 01:30
Sure. So, I am the President and CEO of the RSPA. That's the Retail Solutions Providers Association. I've been engaged with that group for 20 years now. And I've spent about 25 years in the greater what we call retail technology channel. I'm a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, we have a team in the Ontario Hockey League. So, I've always considered myself an honorary Canadian. Connor McDavid played his junior hockey in Erie, but just about six months ago, I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. So, my status as an honorary Canadian, I don't think is going to be, going to be renewed.
Jim Roddy 02:18
So, for 17 years, I was at Business Solutions Magazine. That was the top technology publication for, again, what we call the retail IT channel. And so, it's all in that indirect sales model, right? The vendors who are making the hardware, the software developers, the distributors who were bundling it all together.
And instead of selling that necessarily directly, like that's a lot of times what happens in tier 1, sometimes tier 2. I've played in the in-direct business model that has the value-added resellers, the local folks who are doing the sales, the installation, the support the service, everything that goes along with that, that's what business solutions focused on. That's how I got involved in the RSPA.
So again, I was there 17 years, then about four years as a business coach for the value-added resellers, and also software developers. And then about four years ago, I joined the RSPA, in a full-time capacity. But I've been a board member for the RSPA, Board Chair, committee volunteer things of that nature. It's as you know, firsthand, Michael, just an amazing community. I'm really blessed to be, blessed to be a part of it.
Michael LeBlanc 03:32
Yeah, it is. And we should also say you're an author, you're an author of, ‘The Walk-On Method’. Tell us about your book. Talk about that for a bit.
Jim Roddy 03:39
I am yeah. So, the book is called "The Walk-On Method to Career & Business Success". And so, for those who might not be big college sports fans, there are scholarship teams, right, where you get an athletic scholarship to play on the team. A walk-on is somebody without an athletic scholarship, who tries out for the team and makes the team. So, I did that at a small college powerhouse in the States, Gannon University. Again, also in Erie, Pennsylvania. And so, that experience has really helped shape the way that I have approached my professional career, obviously, not as a professional basketball player. I was like the last guy off the bench for four years, but my professional, professional career.
Michael LeBlanc 03:59
Yeah.
Jim Roddy 04:00
And so, I wanted to share that life lesson with others, but I didn't want to do it through the eyes of Jim Roddy. Which again, a lot of people haven't heard of me or, you know, they would say you just you know, a less strike of, of lightning, you got lucky. And so, I interviewed 30 other walk-ons to see if that experience shaped their professional career. And their stories are all amazing. And again, I'm, I'm super, super blessed, super fortunate to have connected with a lot of those folks. And so the book is available on Amazon. And again, it's "The Walk-On Method To Career & Business Success".
Michael LeBlanc 04:57
Well, I'll put a link in the show notes just to get us to get there. It is a fantastic story. And as you highlighted, there's so many life lessons from being a student athlete, I talked to many who, it's such a formative time, but it also sets, you know, there's a lot of cross-pollination or a lot of lessons to be learned in the business world other roles as well, right? I mean, I think that's what you, you work in. And you draw from your coaching, right? As even today, I, you know, I've watched you and experienced you with the members, you're, you're, you're always coaching gently or directly depending on what they're looking for, right?
Jim Roddy 05:31
Well, and like I actually have a note that's up on my cork board here, it says "My job is to mobilize the expertise of others and share collective wisdom". So, everything that I've done like the book as well, it's not on, you know, what we do at the RSPA. It's not niche based on Jimmy's a genius; I have all this great insight for you. We're very fortunate from an RSPA perspective that we are not a distributor, we're not a vendor. We're not a software developer, we're not a payments company. We're not a VAR. But we're in the middle of all those. So, we get a unique vantage point. And this community is so generous with their insights, we really collect a lot of those and, and are able to share those. So again, I've been really fortunate a lot of folks have allowed me to vacuum their brains over the years, and I'm happy to share what I've learned. Now what they've taught me, I'm happy to share that with others.
Michael LeBlanc 06:21
Well, let's talk about the RSPA for a bit. Once again, tell us what that stands for. I mean, I have personal experience with it over the years. I'm blessed to be an advisory board member, Michel Sirois, the board asked me to, the board chair asked me to, and asked me to join. It's been quite, quite amazing meeting all the people but talk a bit about the history celebrating 75 years this year, which is a major accomplishment for any association, but in 75 years, lots of change. So, take us through a little bit of the genesis of the organization, not a history lesson. But you know, it's important to understand where you come from and, and then let's talk about how it continues to change and adapt to meet the current retail environment.
Jim Roddy 07:00
Yeah, happy to. So, it was founded in 1948, as the Independent Cash Register Dealers Association. So, all folks, you know, mechanical cash registers merged with the Systems Dealers Association, the SDA many years after that, and that's where the name the RSPA came from. And so, when we say retail solutions providers, we have a broader umbrella of retail that maybe some folks have, it includes retail, of course, but also restaurants, grocery and C-Store, and then our fastest growing sub-vertical, is the cannabis space. And so, anybody who plays in the technology world, in those vertical markets, we're a fit for them. We don't have any end users in our community, because it's all folks talking about how do we provide the best solutions? How do we build up the strongest business to be able to serve those merchants? So, we have over 700 member companies, ranging from the biggest of the big, right, we've got the Googles, the Verizon, the Intel, HP, right, all those big companies, all the way down to niche software providers. And then small local value-added resellers, you know, even three person organizations, you know, husband, wife, and child, right,
Michael LeBlanc 09:04
Yeah.
Jim Roddy 09:05
And or, you know, one other person and they're providing that local service. And so the way that we've adapted over the years is by having "big ears", right? We're always listening to what folks, what the leading folks are saying, not just in the retail space, but also in other vertical markets. And so we feel a responsibility to see what those, what do the most successful solution providers do. And make sure we bring that back to our community and present it in a variety of fashions. We have an annual trade show called RetailNOW, that's going to be in late July this year, in Orlando that always draws like 1500-2000 of these professionals.
Jim Roddy 09:33
We have an expo hall that sold out last year, we're hoping to do that again this year and get about 200 exhibitors. And then we have education sessions there as well, but the power is in the community, right, because you have folks who are similarly situated to you, as opposed to a broader technology conference, almost everybody I rub elbows with at that event is going to be able to positively impact your business. It could be a potential partner for you. So, that is really like the why behind why the association exists. We really save those technology solution providers a lot of time finding partners, and then building up their business instead of going it alone and stubbing their toe and going ooh I learned from that they're able to tap other people on the shoulder and really learn from their experience. So, that's kind of the power of the RSPA community.
Michael LeBlanc 09:48
And you work on both sides of the border because which I know so you are, you're both in Canada and the US. And you look internationally but that's really your focus and, and for the listeners to be clear when you say end users, we're talking about in our context, the retailers or the restaurant operators themselves. So really, this is the ecosystem that supports, you know, it started as a cash register organization, but really, you know, you could be installing Wi-Fi and into warehouses, like it is really much broader. It is the retail technology solutions behind, behind the end users. But one step before them, right?
Jim Roddy 10:27
That is correct, 100%. These are the folks who are really designing the planning. And it's almost funny when you see in the mainstream news, hey, here's this new technology that so and so is working with. To our members it's not the first time they've heard of it. It's like, oh, I thought that was old news, right? Because they got to see a lot of the testing. And a lot of the development, they got to be involved in a lot of it. So, these are really the demand creators and the folks who are because retail needs technology. It's not just nice to have now, these are the folks who are fulfilling those needs for sure. Yeah, and we do focus on North America, which is our core focus. Yes.
Michael LeBlanc 11:00
Yeah, it's really, it's really a sustainable competitive advantage if you do it right. But doing it right means, you know, keeping up as the end user, the retailer, the operator, you gotta keep up with a whole lot of stuff, right and things. It's interesting, you and I were talking about this with the other board members about how what used to be differentiators quickly seemed to become kind of table stakes, right? I mean, we look at the percentage of businesses that are almost all or no cash only. So, if you think about the genesis of the organization, imagine, you know, when it began 75 years ago, telling the members you know, one day no one will use cash. I mean, you know, it's almost like someone's like, there will be Martians who are buying from your stores. You know, it's like, it's weird to think of, right.
Jim Roddy 11:43
Well, my daughter and I, over the weekend, went to a history museum, and they had set up like an old school pharmacy, there's a giant cash register. And I thought, thought to myself, try to tap your card on that thing. Right, like, you know, there's so, it's just so different how it is. And again, we cherish our heritage, because we know at that time, those were the leading technologies.
Michael LeBlanc 12:03
Yeah.
Jim Roddy 12:04
And so that's kind of our mission is to continue, you know, whatever the founders started back in 1948, they were the ones who are really providing the next level technology to those merchants. And that's what we're tasked with today, the technology is different, and it's going to keep changing. And that's, you know, what we're trying to do: keep up as an association and keep our membership ahead of the pace and keep their merchants just a couple steps ahead as well.
Michael LeBlanc 12:28
Now, let's just really quickly unpack some of the acronyms here in the ecosystem of VAR. What's a VAR? What's an ISV? What's a Disty? So, imagine a product you've got, let's say vendors, like, pick out a couple of big names, the people who, you know, whether it's HP or Absent, who make a product? And then how does that product quickly get to market through your members' ecosystem? Just for those who are listening, the retailer's listening, they may not see all the moving parts behind the things that appear on their shelves, but I think let’s take a minute and unpack that for them.
Jim Roddy 13:02
Yes. And so that's what we call in general, the indirect channel, the indirect business models. So, you know, again, if there's a big deal where a tier 1 retailer wants to buy, you know, 50,000 printers, I'm just throwing a number out there,
Michael LeBlanc 13:11
Sure, sure.
Jim Roddy 13:12
They're going to work directly with, oftentimes that (crossover talk) the manufacturer.
Michael LeBlanc 13:15
Yeah, right, right, right.
Jim Roddy 13:17
Right. But for, you know, smaller deals, or things that are a little bit niche here, what happens is, so just say, a printer manufacturer, they produce, you know, all of their printers have a whole bunch of printers, but they don't want to focus on the sales, the service, the installation. So oftentimes, they will work with a distributor who stocks all of these items that they have. And so, their distributor has relationships with these VARs, these value added resellers. So, just say, (crossover talk).
Michael LeBlanc 13:55
And a distributor, just throw out some names of people I know could be like a BlueStar. That would be an example.
Jim Roddy 14:00
Correct, yeah, Blue Star Canada', there's ScanSource, Ingram Micro, TD SYNNEX, right. Those are some of the big ones in the space. And so they are the ones who kind of have all the products on hand. And so, the value added reseller, they can have a relationship directly with a merchant. They'll have it with a distributor or multiple distributors. So, when they are knocking on the door of, again, more of an SMB tier 2, 3, 4, 5 retailer merchants, they will be able to say, here's the solution that I can provide for you, right? They go and they do the site survey, here's where you're missing. Here's how you can do better than that value added reseller again, who tends to know that vertical very well,
Michael LeBlanc 14:28
Right.
Jim Roddy 14:29
And they tend to know that region very well. They will go back to their distributors and or their vendor partners and start putting together a best of breed bundle. There used to be a day back in the day and in fact, this is how the RSPA was for a while, where all I do is I'm a dealer of NCR or I'm a dealer. Micros and everything you got was just from that one provider. But now you know, the most common especially in you know, the SMB space is the best of breed. And so that's what those VARs will do. And the other important player in this is what we call the ISB, ISV, independent software vendor. And these are the folks who are making the software, either the core POS software, or add-on software, whether it's like a loyalty solution, or you know, some, you know, online shopping, eCommerce, things of that nature. So, you can imagine if you're a merchant, you don't want to have to navigate all that stuff on your own and who are the best software providers, (crossover talk).
Michael LeBlanc 15:43
Or what's, what's all these things? So, you, you have, yeah, yeah, you've got so you're overwhelmed by choice as an SMB, you're, you're in business to sell or do whatever you you're really good at not to be a technology wizard.
Jim Roddy 15:55
Right. And you heard in the board meeting, I don't think we're speaking at a school by saying this. There's a real filter that has to run through, yeah, people, you know, a provider can say they're going to do this, but sometimes they think, they you know, they're more hopeful than they are, (crossover talk). More aspirational, yes. And so, these value added resellers have years of experience, they can say, yes, somebody might think that's going to work. But let me tell you what's going to work in that environment. And I can say you and I went to NRF. Have you ever Michael tried to eat lunch in the basement there at NRF down on the first floor?
Michael LeBlanc 16:18
Tried, yeah.
Jim Roddy 16:20
Yeah. And it's just like always a mess. I'm always thinking like, man, they need a VAR to come in and say, let me tell you how to manage your lines. Let me tell you why you shouldn't have this tiny point of sale system that has a little, you know, receipt printer in it. And it has a one that can handle the high volume that you're looking for. It's always a zoo down there. But if they lean on a VAR, a VAR could straighten them out, have a way better customer experience.
Michael LeBlanc 16:51
They could fix that. All right, NRF people who are listening to the podcast, there you go. And let's spend the last couple of minutes talking about you know, you've got your hand on the pulse through the association and through 700 plus members of what's happening in retail. What retail trends kind of and we just came back from Inspire, a great show. We were talking about trends in the industry, what trends kind of a couple three trends pop out at you as something important that your members and this part of the ecosystem are thinking about and working on?
Jim Roddy 17:18
Well, one is like you just talked about from an NRF. standpoint, there, I got to attend NRF last year when you know, right in the middle of Omicron. And again, a lot of people had bailed on that the most surreal trade show I ever,
Michael LeBlanc 17:24
Sure.
Jim Roddy 17:25
Yeah, like I you know, I don't want to experience that again. That's, that's for sure. And so there was a lot of doubt there if retail was ever going to come back, let alone how if it did, how long it was going to take to come back. And so, I think that's the biggest thing is that that place was hopping, It was well attended. I think a lot of people were surprised how it just surged back to very,
Michael LeBlanc 17:33
Yeah.
Jim Roddy 17:34
Close to normal levels. But I think that is a trend that retails back. But what we see as driving it is and we've kind of touched on it earlier, retailers are struggling with labor, and what can solve that technology, right? Consumers want a seamless buying experience across any channel, you can't do that manually, right? You have to do that from a technology standpoint. And then everything is about customer service now, right? Not just the efficiency on the back end, how do you provide that delightful customer experience? And how do you make a stickier relationship as a retailer and make it a true experience rather than just going in there and, and moving products.
Jim Roddy 19:02
And that's where technology comes into play, as well. So, I think that's part of what is driving this is there are way higher demands on retailers, and technology is the solution to that. So, there's folks have been talking for how many months now about there's a recession coming, there's a recession coming then you ask every individual in the technology space, you know, again, especially these, you know, some of these SMB players, I'm not talking about the, you know, these large social media companies who, you know, are in the tech world, but the folks who we talk with, they're all like I had a really good 2022 and 2023 seems to be moving in that direction. And that's, I guess, where I really think it is. I'd love to get your take on that. Michael, in terms of do you think like and have you seen that folks are staying strong, and you continue to have a strong 2023 because technology is the solution to a lot of these issues, that retailers are having problems and opportunities?
Michael LeBlanc 19:29
Yeah, we've been thinking about you know, a super cycle really coming out of COVID. I mean COVID was disrupted in many, many ways. One of the things it both pointed in some direction in terms of innovation and necessary investments. So, for example, Boy, I can't, I can't understand on any given day some days what's going to happen to the supply chain. So, I better get better visibility, I get better, more automation and you're right people is the probably the number one concern superseding now fortunately supply chain, which is simmered down, but you really need, you know, technology isn't the singular only answer, but it's a pretty good answer, right, some automation, get people moving, line busting stuff. I
Michael LeBlanc 19:50
I mean, your example is spot on, right? Get the right technology in the right store to make people move at that point of, that one point of friction, and, you know, entertain them and do whatever you want to have a great experience. But once, once you, you know, once you get that, that cash out, or that credit card out, you want to get in and out really quick. So, I think, I think there's, there's, you know, both from deferred projects during COVID, to projects that were highlighted necessary plus just existing trends, I think, I think technology is just as a, you know, a big super cycle to it, and we're seeing that, we're hearing that directly from the members actually, right. So, we're not, we're not imagining it
Jim Roddy 20:47
Yeah, correct and again, we're, I'm looking at my note, again, mobilizing the expertise of others and sharing collective wisdom. It's not just a good gut feel that we have at the RSPA. It's our members who are telling us and sharing with us the banner years that they're having and the banner forecast that they're having, because they are again, providing those solutions that are really meeting the needs at the hour that retailers need it most.
Michael LeBlanc 21:11
We just came back together from Inspire. You have two, the organization has two major events of the year, you also kind of do a Canadian event, typically during the Restaurants Canada show, and others. But you've got a big one coming up in Orlando. What's the objective of that? I guess it is hard to continue to build a community but also kind of tap into that wisdom and then allow members and for the listeners, is that something they might want to think about going to and participating in. Talk a little bit about Orlando.
Jim Roddy 21:38
Yeah. So, we call RetailNOW we always say it's where the industry meets. And that industry is again, that indirect retail IT technology channel that we call it. And so the difference, the way that we're different in this space is like I mentioned all those distributors earlier, we mentioned a lot of their software companies, they have their own partner conferences. And those events are great because you go to those and it's all about that product or that group. And it's very focused in that regard. However, they don't have, you know, people from other distributors or other software companies. And so that's where our event is, again, in North America, all those technology solution providers getting together in that one spot.
Jim Roddy 22:05
And so that's really the opportunity for formal education, right from the stage or informal, where you're bumping into folks and you know, gathering their business cards and you are able to follow up and say, how did you navigate this problem before? And then again, the expo hall, were able to put in there, you know, close to 200 different vendors. So, if you are a technology solution provider, and you're saying I'd like to move into this new technology, or I'd like to expand the, you know, the folks who are offering me whatever, you know, hardware or software, it's like one stop shopping for all that. So, like in 48 hours, you can really change the trajectory of the shape of your business based on what you learn there and based on the partners that you get there. So, if there's an end user listening to this, a retailer, it is not the place for a retailer to go because it is a niche event for the folks who are technology solution providers. And I know Michael, I have a lot of technology companies who listen to this.
Michael LeBlanc 22:39
Yeah, yeah.
Jim Roddy 22:41
So, anybody who plays or is looking at the indirect business model, or is a software developer looking for best practices, or new partners or hardware provider, or one of those VARs. It is the place to be because you're getting the higher caliber technology solution providers, because they're investing in their business, they're investing in that travel. They're not what some folks called trunk slammers, right, where they're just selling something out of their trunk, you know, with whatever, you know, they have leftover. So, it really is, you know, the next level up, the highest level of all those solution providers in North America.
Michael LeBlanc 23:10
Well, for the end users as we call them in this, it is really, how they should have confidence is a bunch of very smart people getting together trying to figure out their problems or their issues or make their businesses better. And that's what, that's what the Orlando conference is all about. And that's what your association is about. So, where can folks go to learn more and get in touch? Are you, are you a LinkedIn guy and talk about that a bit. I am, I'm very much a LinkedIn guy.
Jim Roddy 23:27
The, you know, (crossover talk). We do, RSPA does have a podcast. Yeah, there's a lot of, you know, different benefits that we offer to our members. But yeah, the best way to find me on LinkedIn, just, you know, search my name. I'm not the guy who is running the local government over in Ireland. That's another Jim Roddy. So, I'm Jim Roddy who's with the RSPA. And so you can connect with me through there. You can go on to the RSPA website at gorspa.org. Again, we're a nonprofit,
Michael LeBlanc 24:51
It's not the Softball Association, which is (crossover talk).
Jim Roddy 24:54
Correct, yes. Some people say, gorspa, gorspa.org and then the, if you want to connect with somebody on our team, just email membership@gorspa.org That does not commit you to buying a membership if you send an email to membership at gorspa.org. But we're happy to share with you everything that we're able to offer technology supervisors. And again, Michael, you've experienced it firsthand. And that's the feedback we got from Inspire like such a warm and welcoming community, friendliest group of businesspeople I've ever been associated with.
Michael LeBlanc 25:26
From one association to another, very well run, much respect and appreciation for you and the work that you do, Jim, it's, it's been, it continues to be great to know you. And it's been great to know you, but it will continue to be great to know you and the members. And listen, thanks so much for joining me on The Voice of Retail.
Jim Roddy 25:44
And thank you and I look forward to seeing you at RetailNOW. And Michael, we'll be talking soon. Hopefully you can play a big role there. In terms of presenting your knowledge with our members. We appreciate what you've shared so far and look forward to more in the future.
Michael LeBlanc 25:57
All right, well, safe travels. And I look forward to seeing you soon, Jim.
Jim Roddy 26:00
See you soon. Thanks, Michael.
Michael LeBlanc 26:02
Thanks for tuning into this episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven't already, be sure and follow on your favorite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically each week. And check out my other retail industry media properties, Remarkable Retail podcast with Steve Dennis, and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my YouTube barbecue show Last Request Barbecue with new episodes each and every week.
our host Michael LeBlanc, Growth Consultant President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company and Maven Media and keynote speaker. If you're looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website at meleblanc.co
Safe travels everyone.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
technology, retail, folks, distributors, retailer, people, VAR, business, association, members, solutions, Michael, Jim, merchant, community, solution providers, podcast, big