Today we’re speaking with Keith Aubele, founder of Nav1gate Group, about the retail cyclone and how it’s driving retailers to massive growth or failure. We explore the unprecedented conditions creating this retail cyclone and how leaders are taking action to reduce the impact and leveraging technology to future-proof their approaches. Keith also outlines the challenges that LP, IT leaders and executives face. Join us as we discuss the conditions retailers face today and, in the future, and the critical technologies that can help them survive and thrive in this challenging environment.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- [02:35] What is the retail cyclone?
- [04:15] What are the impacts of the retail cyclone? What will it mean to the employee experience, customer experience and retail operations?
- [11:05] Which technologies should retailers embrace to enhance their performance in difficult times?
- [15:05] What challenges will asset protection and loss prevention teams face?
- [17:35] What will retail look like in five years? What are some significant changes that could drive us to the next frontier?
- [21:05] What advice would you give loss prevention and IT leaders as they face this cyclone head-on?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Conditions such as labor shortages, increasing logistical costs, escalating inflation and rising fuel costs have come together at a single point in time. They are creating the retail cyclone, a cataclysmic occurrence that will impact retail today, tomorrow and in the future.
- There is excessive cost inflation that retailers will have to pass along to consumers, and executives should prepare for this.
- To reduce theft and ORC, retailers must make themselves a hard target through the use of people, technology and analytics.
- Completely cashier-less stores are going to be the future. When retailers have fewer employees at the point of purchase, they increase the risk for loss.
- Asset protection leaders must begin thinking today about how they will be impacted tomorrow. Within 3 to 5 years, the retailers will have more self-checkout positions than staff positions.
- Frail operations today won’t be able to withstand that cyclone. However, it will strengthen the steel of the top competitors that are already planning for worst-case scenarios, putting platforms and processes into place, and scaling back on their number one expense: labor costs.
Keith Aubele
Keith is a retail industry veteran and has held executive leadership positions with two of the top retailers in the world. He led The Home Depot’s loss prevention division as a senior vice president and his team was responsible for bringing shrink down to the lowest in company history. While at the Home Depot, Keith was designated a high succession leadership candidate by the CEO. Prior to The Home Depot, Keith spent his career at Walmart where he was the Director of Loss Prevention. Other roles at Walmart included retail operations, and responsibility for the Supercenter Division. While at Walmart, Keith was placed on the fast-track program by CEO David Glass and was one of three executives selected to create, design and rollout the Neighborhood Market concept for Walmart.
Keith has the distinction of being personally mentored by Walmart founder Sam Walton, and The Home Depot’s founder, Bernie Marcus. He is a steering committee member of the ASIS Asset Protection Council, and the former Chairman. He is the founder, and former Chairman of the NW Arkansas ASIS Chapter. He holds a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) from ASIS International & Loss Prevention Professional (LPP) Certification from Missouri Southern State University. Keith has a BS in Criminology & AS in Law Enforcement from Missouri Southern, and he holds a Master’s Degree in Business from Troy University. Keith is a United States Air Force & Law Enforcement Veteran. He resides in Niantic Connecticut and serves on several non-profit boards.