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This week on Retail Pulse Check, industry experts Craig Patterson and Stephen O’Keefe discuss Walmart’s recent multi-billion dollar investment into its Canadian operations, how the ‘defund the police’ movement could impact Canadian retail, and the intricacies of navigating the mask mandate that has been implemented in certain parts of the country. 

The conversation also focused on retail’s accelerated movement towards ecommerce in the wake of COVID-19 and how this could drastically alter Canada’s physical retail landscape. Darryl Julott from Digital Main Street joined Patterson and O’Keefe briefly to talk about the various DMS programs available for retailers struggling to leverage themselves in the digital world.

Speaker Details:

Craig Patterson, Founder, Editor-In-Chief @Retail Insider

Craig Patterson is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Canada’s most-read online retail industry news publication, Retail Insider. He is also a Director at the University of Alberta School of Retailing, as well as a research consultant at Retail Council of Canada. Craig has studied the Canadian retail landscape for over 25 years, and has also been involved with strategy pertaining to urban revitalization in several cities, as well as retail and shopping centre-related design. He is an industry consultant who also gives retail tours and and is a public speaker. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Bachelor of Laws degree.

Stephen O’Keefe, Founder @Bottom Line Matters

Stephen O’Keefe is a 30 year veteran of the retail industry having worked with major brands such as Sears, Hudson’s Bay, and Walmart where he was Vice President of Loss Prevention and Risk Management. He founded Bottom Line Matters as a source for retailers of all sizes to draw upon his experience and expertise and deal with what matters – maximizing their bottom line. Stephen clients have included major retailers, BIAs, vendors as well as the Industry Association itself. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the retail loss prevention community, sharing best practice to combat shrinkage and advocating for legislative changes to support retail business.