As many of you know, I was in attendance at Shoptalk in Chicago last week.

That means I got to see many of YOU at the show.

I also had the pleasure to be in conversation with merchant leaders on stage at Shoptalk.

Here are the highlights from those discussions:

First was Denise Incandela, the EVP, Fashion & Private Brands, Walmart. We focussed on how Walmart is democratizing fashion by offering styles and trends at value. Denise talked about having the right team in place to serve the customer. Hiring industry talent from Nordstrom to kicking off NYFW with Brandon Maxwell’s RTW, Walmart is seeing a lift in engagement and profit with their investment in fashion. Technology has also played a role in helping Walmart curate the right assortment. Leveraging insights allows both the design and merchandising teams to close the customer feedback loop.

Next was Emily Erusha-Hilleque, the SVP of Private Brands at Macy’s. For the last two years, Macy’s has been reimagining the private brand portfolio in their “Bold New Chapter.” Macy’s has gone against the grain by setting up a dedicated team, with Emily at the helm, to lead private brands across functions. Sourcing, supply chain, merchandising and marketing work together to bring (25 and counting) private brands to life. Normally, you would not see a team dedicated solely to private brands like this. Prior to Shoptalk, I walked through the Macy’s State Street store and was delighted to see the new Mode of One collection. The product was modern and stylish with lots of outfitting choices. I saw a lot more sales associates than I’ve seen in the past. Emily said this is part of the evolving customer experience – having a great shopping journey with plenty of sales staff to help customers.

Last was Lee Mayer, the Co-Founder and CEO of Havenly. Lee doesn’t have a merchandising background but she saw the opportunity for Havenly as a shopper. There was a gap in the market: a digital-first home decor company catering to the millennial customer. There are also designers to help the customer design their space. Taking signals from the designers as well as market insights, Havenly is able to inform their own product assortment online and in their stores.

Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy, joined Jill Manoff of Glossy, to discuss their community driven product assortment, continued innovation and growth.

Here’s what stood out:

• Glossier is on the forefront of driving change with their all female C-suite, creating products for women to feel joy and confidence.
• Glossier has been multi-category from launch. Most beauty brands are makeup or beauty or fragrance. Glossier is about the beauty routine.
• They have a continued pipeline of product innovation so they will always stay relevant.

Lastly, one of my favorite people took the stage. Kristin Savilla is not only the CEO of Joor, a wholesale B2B platform, but is also a former merchant. Kristin discussed the current retail buying process, why it’s broken and how it can be improved.

Notable takeaways:

• 65% of retailers use more than 3 systems to place orders. Woefully inefficient.
• Tory Burch had a 50% reduction in order processing time by using Joor and doubled the size of their handbag business.
• There is an astounding 14,000 brands on the Joor platform.

Shoptalk wrapped up the week with a mixer for women followed by a Busta Rhymes concert. Fun fact: Over 60% of the speakers were women! It was also very encouraging to see an abundance of merchandising and product driven content.

Thanks to the Shoptalk team for having me participate, I’m looking forward to the next event!