How to Do the Retail Zigzag with Richard Kestenbaum, Co-Founder and Partner of Triangle Capital

This episode features an interview with Richard Kestenbaum, Co-Founder and Partner of Triangle Capital. As an investment banker, author, and speaker, Richard has spent his career advising clients in the retail & consumer sector, with a speciality for mergers & acquisitions.

On this episode, Richard discusses the importance of running your business as though you’re never going to sell it, how consumer tastes have shifted to focus on brand values, and what legacy companies can learn from young upstarts.

3 Takeaways:

• Consumers today want products from companies that convey values like sustainability, ethical supply chain, and local production. The ability to adapt to those changes in an authentic way is where young upstarts succeed while legacy retailers struggle.
• Run your business as though you’re never going to sell it. Buyers are generally very smart, and when they see that you’re making investments for the long term that will benefit them, they’re going to give you more credit for it.
• What is a store? It used to be a place to sell “stuff.” Now, it functions as a space to deliver experiences and raise brand awareness.

Key Quotes: 

• “It’s not that online and stores are different channels. There are no channels. There is only the consumer, and wherever they are, you have to find the best way to sell to them.”
• “We don’t talk enough about Artificial intelligence and machine learning…what we are observing now is a land grab in technology, because whoever becomes the leader has the opportunity to remain the leader.”
• “What I look for in a great company is: is the technology transformative, and is this the team that understands they’re standing in front of a brick wall, and they have to figure out a way to go through it, under it, around it, knowing full well that behind that wall is another wall.”

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This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.