The fastest way to clarity in retail isn’t a louder megaphone, it’s a smarter network. Scott sits down with Paul Lewis, managing director of RETHINK Retail, to unpack how a global community of 500+ vetted experts, executives, and solution leaders is changing how the industry learns, collaborates, and executes. What began as a gap spotted at a conference, coverage without connection, has grown into a living system where operators bring real challenges into monthly mixers, stress-test ideas under Chatham House rules, and leave with practical next steps shaped by multiple perspectives.
Paul explains why RETHINK moved beyond a traditional media model toward a two-way platform: the pace of change outstrips any single newsroom, and the most valuable insights come from cross-disciplinary friction, AI meets HR, supply chain meets privacy, store design meets data science. We dive into RETHINK Advisory’s multi-expert approach, where small panels debate tradeoffs under NDA, and retailers get the benefit of agreement when it’s warranted and constructive disagreement when it reveals hidden risks. From short, targeted guidance to full project work and interim/fractional leadership, the model flexes to the actual shape of modern work.
We also go inside the Top Retail Experts program, how candidates are selected for true thought leadership, seasoned judgment, and real reach, and why geographic and functional diversity matter for better decisions. Then we zoom out to the near future: generative AI reshaping SaaS and roles, supply chains growing more complex and regulated, and capital markets pointing toward the next 24 months of innovation. With new partnerships across trade orgs and more local meetups, RETHINK is building a connected map of the industry so leaders can “turn on their high beams” and take the next curve with confidence.
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