WWD Voices

In slightly over a decade, surf-inspired fashion brand Faherty has expanded into a nine-figure business. On this episode of WWD Voices for Retail Rx, the company's cofounder and chief executive officer Alex Faherty speaks with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco’s consumer and retail platform, about the brand’s early days, running a responsible business, “go big or go home” risks that paid off and how he sees artificial intelligence supporting the company as it scales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iskra Lawrence, the co-founder of body and hair care brand Saltair, chats with WWD's James Manso about her journey from modeling to entrepreneurship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauryn Bosstick, the founder of beauty, wellness and lifestyle brand The Skinny Confidential — which spans a blog, podcast and product line — speaks with WWD's Emily Burns about the origins and evolution of her wellness empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamie Elden, chief executive of Listrak, sits down with Jenny B. Fine, editor in chief of Beauty Inc., to discuss how Generations Z and Alpha are changing the beauty marketing game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 15 years ago, two childhood friends decided to make the switch from finance to fashion, and Marine Layer was born. What began as a small operation with a single 450-square-foot storefront today counts 55 locations, with more retail openings in the works. On this episode of WWD Voices for Retail Rx, Michael Natenshon, cofounder and chief executive officer of Marine Layer, Adam Lynch, cofounder and chief operating officer of Marine Layer, chat with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco’s consumer and retail platform, about their company’s early stages, how they are approaching product development and what is next for the brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former reality TV star Lo Bosworth sits down with WWD's wellness market reporter Emily Burns to discuss what led to building her brand Love Wellness, her pregnancy journey and trying the wildest wellness trends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Parsons chats with Noor Lobad, beauty news editor at WWD, about her journey as a makeup artist and cosmetics collector, and what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest “Savage Fashion” podcast episode, WWD’s chief content officer Jim Fallon and style director Alex Badia sat down with Kris Van Assche, who was in Manhattan for the Basic.Space design fair. "When I left Berluti, after like a 20 something years of a rollercoaster of nonstop working, I never really had the time to sit and think about what else I would possibly do," Van Assche said. "But then when all that stops, I got bored so fast... I didn't necessarily needed a new fashion adventure right away, but I did feel like what I missed immediately was the human interaction." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At WWD’s recent Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, Jamie Elden, chief executive officer, Listrak, sat with Amanda Smith, chief executive officer, Fairchild Media Group, to dive into the current retail landscape—including pricing, supply chain resilience, and AI adoption—with a look ahead to what will define successful fashion retail leaders in 2026. This Listrak-sponsored session, titled “Fashion Retail Past, Present & Future - Insights from 2025,” focused on analyzing the past year’s retail performance, highlighting key trends, surprises and benchmarking insights from Listrak’s work with over 1,000 global brands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The holiday season is make or break time for retailers, as the last two months of the year can account for more than 20 percent of annual sales for many businesses. But this season is expected to be like none other, as 2025 marks the first year with agentic AI rewriting the retail playbook, from marketing to customer support. In this podcast for Retail Rx, David Dorf, global head of retail solutions at Amazon Web Services (AWS) chats with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform. They explore the many ways agentic AI is being used to help retailers seize this next chapter, and whether retailers should have a chief AI officer. “When we talk about agentic AI, it's really based on the word agency, so we’re giving the [large learning model] autonomous ability to go out and act on our behalf,” said Dorf, explaining that there’s a “litmus test” he uses to see if it’s really an agent. One, can it reason? Two, does it have access to tools – like a weather site – that can help it make a decision? And three, is it autonomous? Answer engines with AI summaries are another growth area. “Around 75 percent of people have said that they have used an answer engine to start their shopping journey before,” said Dorf. “We’re going to see more of that. Walmart said has about 20 percent of their referral traffic is coming from these answer engines; people asking it a generic question and ending up at the Walmart site. So this pretty impactful.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and CEO coach Kevin Lawrence works with executives around the world on achieving corporate success while also maintaining personal growth. In his earlier book, “Your Oxygen Mask First: 17 Habits to Help High Achievers Survive & Thrive in Leadership & Life,” Lawrence instructs CEOs to understand they’re not being selfish by taking care of their own wellbeing. His newest book, “The Four Forces of Growth” turns to corporate wellbeing and outlines four areas CEOs must prioritize to maintain the business’ upward trajectory. In this Retail Rx podcast for WWD Voices, Lawrence chats with Patrick J. Murphy, executive director, geopolitical advisors at Hilco Global, about why if companies aren’t oriented for growth, they’re inevitably headed in another direction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apparel companies know they should be more sustainable, but with consumers already tightening their purse strings, is sustainable fashion a sustainable business model? Apparel brand Eileen Fisher, with its 60-plus stores and $300 million in sales would certainly say yes. The certified B Corporation has an almost cult-like following among its very eco-minded consumers, and sustainability factors prominently in sourcing, manufacturing, worker treatment, consumer marketing and more. In this chat for Retail Rx, Susan Scow, sustainability impact specialist, Eileen Fisher, chatted with Ian Fredericks, CEO of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco Global's retail and consumer platform, and Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio on Eileen Fisher's model and what the industry can learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ernesta, an accessible luxury direct-to-consumer rug brand launched in 2023 by a Peloton co-founder, is revolutionizing the home décor industry with quick-turnaround custom rugs measured down to the inch. In this episode for Retail Rx, Ian Fredericks, CEO of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and the executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform, chatted with Jennifer Parker, chief sales officer at Ernesta, about the brand’s innovative approach, commitment to customer experience and retail expansion plans. Parker credited her diverse career background—from Bloomingdale’s to Peloton, where she worked with Peloton CEO and Ernesta founder John Foley—for shaping her leadership style and passion for customer-centric strategies. At Ernesta, her focus is on building a strong foundation for growth, fostering collaborative teams and embracing an omnichannel retail strategy. The company’s unique value proposition includes rapid delivery (Ernesta custom rugs arrive in two to four weeks, an impressive timeline for any custom category). The podcast also highlighted Ernesta’s dedication to both consumers and trade professionals through services like virtual consultations, design renderings and seamless purchase experiences. The brand’s hybrid model also allows customers to customize rugs and view real-time pricing online, then step into showrooms to touch and feel the rugs, receive personalized advice and procure samples to experience back in their home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices