Mar 23, 2026
“Understanding how the customer journey is changing and how you adapt is going to radically change retail in the coming years.”
In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Jamie Kristow, CEO of Cotswold Outdoor Group, on optimising the retail value chain, adapting your pace of leadership, and championing AI innovation.
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Jamie is the CEO of Cotswold Outdoor Group, a leading outdoor clothing and equipment retail group based in the UK.
His career has spanned more than 25 years globally and includes direct-to-consumer retail experience across Australia, UK, Canada and South Africa.
Jamie has led incredible merchandising transformations for big brands like Target, Myer, Woolworths, Hudson’s Bay and Sussan Group, while championing innovation such as a retail media network.
He is just a wonderful operator with a brilliant track record of delivering results through data-driven decision-making, empowered teams and customer-first thinking.
In this Retail Masterclass, we talk about:
✅ A wonderful explanation of the busy and complex retail value chain, and how to optimise for each component.
✅ Following the “rivers of money” and building product range through evolution not revolution.
✅ Why time in store and walking in a customer’s shoes are vital to turnarounds, and
✅ How shifting search behaviour, retail media and AI pricing are reshaping retail growth.
Stay epic,
Greg
Connecting with Jamie Kristow
You can connect with Jamie via LinkedIn.
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