Welcome to the Voice of Retail for the week of November 4, 2019 I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada and sponsored by Environics Analytics. Environics Analytics helps companies in Retail, CPG and the Cannabis industry turn data and analytics into insight, strategy and results. EA produces CannabisInsights – the market leading source of neighborhood level insights for the Cannabis industry.

This episode is intended for adults 18+.  In this weeks episode we delve into the world of cannabis 2.0 retailing from several different perspectives and parts of the value chain in Canada and the U.S.

First of all I visited with Aaron Bouganim, Managing Director at CannMart Inc. right in their impressive facilities in Toronto.  We talk about his rich history and perspectives in the medical cannabis space and the road ahead to 2.0.

Next the first of a two part interview with veteran retailer, digital maven, beauty & wellness pioneer Angela Kapp from Arizona.  We begin our rich conversation looking back at the early days of digital retail and the beauty category, right through to Angela becoming Co-CEO of TruPotency, a bespoke retail solution for the American CBD marketplace.

Lastly I speak with Canadian Cannabis Wellness Expert Krystal Laferriere (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystal-laferriere/) live in Calgary.   We explore her very personal journey to now a very professional role in the cannabis and CBD space, including a new listing and presence in Quebec’s retail cannabis chain, SQDC.

Lastly I’ll take a look at the retail news of the week, but first, lets listen to my interview with Aaron.

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Thanks to  Aaron, Angela and Krystal for being my guests on this episode, now lets hit the highlights from Retail This Week eNewsletter, I put this newsletter together, the biggest circulation of any weekly in Canada together each and every week, 51 weeks of the year – you can subscribe for free at retailcouncil.org (http://retailcouncil.org)

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That’s a wrap on this episode of The Voice of Retail  if you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.

I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co (http://www.meleblanc.co) or of course on LinkedIn

Until next time, have a great week!

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi’s, Black & Decker, Hudson’s Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada’s top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada’s top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world. 

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