Retail Dive: Banana Republic’s New CEO
Banana Republic could finally be getting its act together with a new CEO at the helm. With a merchant-leader. Donald Kohler is tasked with bringing life back to Banana. Check out the latest from Daphne Howland and Retail Dive.
Retail Dive: Are Retailers Ready For What the Weight-Loss Boom Requires?
As seen in Retail Dive “For brands and retailers, the GLP-1 trend is upending assortment planning and exposing flaws in their processes, according to Amlani. From the get-go, we should just say that GLP-1s didn’t invent body change. What’s happening is what I have framed as ‘fit volatility,’” she said. “The same customer is moving […]
Retail Unwrapped: GLP-1s Impact on Retail
The fastest-growing consumer behavior shift isn’t driven by a trend, a digital platform, or a fickle generation: it’s a weight loss drug. GLP-1 adoption is accelerating so fast that Ozempic is outpacing iPhone adoption curves in the same timeframe. Retailers (both grocery and apparel) are treating this trend as a passing diet fad. Join Shelley […]
HGI – Materials Strategy Is An Untapped Opportunity
Sometimes the HOW is more valuable than the WHAT. An over-indexed focus on design or product at the expense of workflow efficiency can put a drag on the bottom line. Liza Amlani’s book “The Material Life: Process Innovation for Retailers and Brands” discusses how to flip this paradigm. Read more over at Hertzman Global Intelligence (HGI).
Sourcing Exchange Podcast
𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆? In the latest episode of the Sourcing Exchange, host Paul Lennen speaks with retail strategy expert Liza Amlani about transforming how products are created and brought to market. Together, they examine the core challenges facing retailers today — from overdevelopment and organizational silos […]
Robin Report: Why Materials Should Lead Design
What if the real competitive edge in fashion isn’t design… but in materials? On this episode of The Robin Report’s Retail Unwrapped podcast, Liza joins Shelley E. Kohan to unpack why the traditional concept-to-market model is backwards and how flipping it can unlock faster speed-to-market, stronger margins, and real sustainability progress. When materials lead the […]
Olympic Capsules
I talked to The Canadian Press / Global News about lululemon’s Olympic gear. Here’s my hot take: This Olympic collection feels noticeably more commercial than previous assortments. The color palette and silhouettes strike a balance between performance and everyday wear, making the product accessible not just to athletes, but to Lululemon’s broader customer base. While […]
The Interline: Fashion’s Most Underrated Opportunity
Tech might be flashy, but process is foundational. In our latest article in The Interline, we make the case that fashion’s biggest opportunity isn’t the newest tool or platform. It’s how brands build, develop, and connect workflows across teams and functions. From materials to merchandising to go-to-market timing, process gaps are the real constraint on […]
Sourcing Journal – The Rearview Mirror
Retail decisions ripple …and most brands don’t notice. In our latest contribution to Sourcing Journal, we argue that supply chain strategy can’t be built by looking forward alone. You have to look in the rearview mirror and understand how decisions made at the buyer/brand level echo backward through materials, sourcing, and production. “When learning to […]
Mere Merchants Podcast
Liza’s latest podcast appearance is live and this time she joins the Mere Merchants podcast. We discussed the role of the merchant and why process innovation & a materials-first mindset will unlock margin, profit, and speed. A few talking points include: How we create product matters as much as what is in the assortment. Merchants […]