Why “Retail Revolution”?

Retail Revolution podcast was borne out of a need to rethink the graduate-level “Retailing & Service Design” course for online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This course is part of the Fashion Management program at Parsons School of Design, and it was important to ensure that students were still able to engage with retail industry leaders and experts. From that starting point, it became an opportunity to engage the greater retail community in conversation about the short and long term implications of the pandemic, as well as the opportunity to rethink fashion retail for the future.

What do you hope students learn from this revamped 5-week intensive?

We realize that this is an extraordinary time and we want this course to reflect that. Even before the Covid-19 crisis, our goal was to provide students with a global overview of retail operations, within the context of the past three years, and the disruption of business as usual. The goal then, was to provide students an opportunity to ideate and rethink retail for the future. The pandemic will now be a major part of any retailer’s considerations going forward, forcing companies to change course much quicker than planned, and under far more drastic and dire circumstances. This now becomes an opportunity—a very real starting point—for our students to be part of these changes that will impact retail forever, beyond the theoretical.

What is the benefit of doing a podcast for the class?

Our program has put a lot of emphasis on engaging students with industry experts. Throughout the past year, students have had the opportunity to meet business executives, designers and entrepreneurs, benefitting from their expertise and perspective, as well as “real time” industry information. The podcast allows us to continue these conversations in a digital format. Podcasts are at once intimate and story driven, and we hope each episode will add to the overall learning experience in a format that’s entertaining and thought provoking.

What sorts of topics will the podcast cover?

We’re planning to cover myriad topics from technology, finance, merchandising, customer engagement and merchandising. Each episode will also include conversations about Covid-19, how businesses are adapting in real time and how businesses are planning for the short and long term. We’re calling the podcast, “Retail Revolution.” 

What is the curriculum for the 5-week intensive?

The brief course description for “Retailing and Service Design" is as follows:

This course provides an overview of the principles, procedures, and applications involved in successful retailing. It is an extensive examination and implementation of the functions and structures of retailing and how they serve society. Students explore promotion, global retailing, location, image development and explore new technologies used in successful retail organizations. In collaboration with an external partner, students will work in teams to answer a specific brief and develop a visual and strategic proposal for a creative intervention in retail for a specific client/partner that will be at the forefront of change in retail and consumer goods fulfillment in a rapidly changing marketplace, potentially disrupting the conventional system of supply chain, promoting the best experience for consumers and producers, and creating an ecosystem that builds a business model for success. 

Why did you think it was important to pivot the curriculum to address the global Coronavirus crisis?

First of all, this crisis is having a massive effect on retailers all over the world and at all levels of their business. This is an unprecedented time, that requires different thinking about how to do business. It also takes creativity to determine short term solutions to recover, as well as strategy to ensure that this crisis leads to an opportunity to “reboot” for a more sustainable future. Retailers were already in the midst of evolving their businesses, trying to deal with major changes in customer expectations. This crisis will only speed things up. And we want our students to be prepared to enter the workforce in the fall, armed with current knowledge and unique solutions, to become leaders in this space.

Secondly, we realize that we are all under personal stress—as we are in isolation and being force to adapt to a new way of teaching and learning. We wanted to develop a course that took this into consideration—our new shared reality—and ensure that students could learn in an entertaining, thoughtful way that reflected the world in which we live.