413. Leading Carhartt through growth, culture and change
From Retail Gets Real by National Retail Federation
April 21, 2026 · 28 min · Episode 413
About this episode
Linda Hubbard discusses Carhartt's growth and cultural evolution while maintaining its core mission.
From a wholesale-only business to a multi-channel global brand, Carhartt has expanded its reach without losing sight of who it serves: hardworking people. Linda Hubbard, president and CEO of Carhartt Inc., shares how one of America’s most iconic brands has grown while staying grounded in its original purpose. (00:00:00) Growing Carhartt beyond wholesale (00:05:50) Leading change inside a legacy family business (00:10:08) Career growth, mentorship, and asking for more (00:14:22) How the Carhartt customer has evolved (00:17:52) Carhartt’s strategy for opening stores (00:20:12) Inside the Carhartt and Ford collaboration (00:23:38) The future of retail: AI, resale and direct growth The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. Every day, we passionately stand up for the people, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. Resources: • Forged In Detroit: Carhartt And Ford Announce Partnership To Strengthen Essential Economy • Become an NRF member and join the world’s largest retail trade association • Learn about our retail education platform, NRF Foundation, at nrffoundation.org • Learn about retail advocacy at nrf.com/advocacy • Find more episodes…
People in this episode
Host: National Retail Federation
Guest: Linda Hubbard
Topics covered
- business growth
- company culture
- retail strategy
- mentorship
- customer evolution
- collaboration
- future of retail
Keywords
- Carhartt
- growth
- culture
- retail
- mentorship
- AI
- resale
- direct growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Carhartt Inc., Ford
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