On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels go deep on the much-hyped NikeSkims launch. They discuss the look and vibe of the collections that debuted this week and where it might find a white space in the athleisure market. Then on the featured segment (16:06), Daniels speaks with Modern Retail reporter Mitchell Parton to unpack craft retailer Michaels' new store layouts as it attempts to fill the voids left by Joann and Party City that went bankrupt earlier this year. Parton met with new Michaels' CEO David Boone to discuss how the retailer dedicated a quarter of its floor space to new areas, called The Knit and Sew Shop and The Party Shop. Their conversation gets into the demand and opportunity for this strategy, including how searches for “fabric” on Michaels.com increased by 77% over the past year, and why Michaels' new area called The Party Shop includes lowered prices on party decor items like streamers, napkins and tableware. They also discussed the importance of store associate training and capacity to handle more products, customer inquiries and new responsibilities around balloon filling and fabric cutting.
