Fast Five Shorts | A Lululemon v. Vuori Lightning Round
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: A Lululemon v. Vuori Lightning Round
For the full episode head here:https://youtu.be/HfqxboxZ35Q
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Transcript
Viori just hit a $5.5 billion evaluation, thanks to their latest $825 million funding round.
Speaker A:If Lululemon and Viori were side by side in the mall, which one are you going to first?
Speaker B:Oh, I, I think you're the same on this one, but I'm curious.
Speaker B:I want to hear what you think, too, but for me, it's Lululemon.
Speaker B:Like, yeah, the, the Fury stuff does not fit my tall torso.
Speaker B:Body very well.
Speaker B:And, you know, it just, it just.
Speaker A:Doesn'T More than viewers needed to know.
Speaker A:But, yes, I think I'm general.
Speaker B:That's a problem for me.
Speaker B:But you are, too.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, generally speaking, I have problems with everything that fits me, but Lululemon does it better than, than Vi for me.
Speaker B:But what about you?
Speaker B:You're the same way.
Speaker A:No, I, I, I'm still, I'm still kind of a Lululemon loyalist.
Speaker A:I've got a few Vori products that are very nice, but I also, I don't know.
Speaker A:It's, it's not.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I'm, I'm gonna still go to Lulu first.
Speaker A:Sorry, Vi.
Speaker A:Yeah, I do.
Speaker A:You're good.
Speaker A:You're good.
Speaker B:You still, you can still get a sizable chunk of the market.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:And a raccoon was recently seen falling from the ceiling at LaGuardia Airport.
Speaker B:Where does a falling raccoon rank in terms of the worst things you have encountered at the most godforsaken place on Earth, aka the LaGuardia Airport?
Speaker A:You know, I feel really bad when I read this headline because LaGuardia has done such a good job cleaning itself.
Speaker A:They have.
Speaker B:In fairness, they have.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:They are just.
Speaker A:It's like unrecognized.
Speaker B:It's a great airport now.
Speaker A:Airports gotten so much better.
Speaker A:But, I mean, I saw somebody that was.
Speaker A:Yeah, I.
Speaker A:The bathrooms at LaGuardia.
Speaker A:You never know what you're going to find in there.
Speaker A:You think Vegas is bad, but I've seen, I've seen things that I will never unsee in the bathroom at LaGuardia Airport.
Speaker A:So I'm going to say that's, that's worse than a raccoon falling from the sky.
Speaker A:Although that would be very, very bad.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Worst bathrooms worth worst bathrooms in airports real quick.
Speaker B:And rankings.
Speaker B:One is LaGuardia.
Speaker B:Two is Dallas.
Speaker B:Love.
Speaker A:Three.
Speaker B:Love Las Vegas.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That's my top three worst bathroom airport.
Speaker A:I think this might have to be a breakout session where we standalone show because it is different for the women.
Speaker A:I think there are definitely.
Speaker B:Oh, right.
Speaker A:There are definitely different experiences for women in bathrooms.
Speaker A:I would say Amsterdam, worst airport or sorry, worst bathrooms in the entire.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're bringing international into this, into this question now.
Speaker B:Oh my God.
Speaker A:We're going to put you in a hot steamy dungeon in the basement and there's only three stalls, so good luck.
Speaker A:And everybody just got off an eight hour flight.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:All right, Chris, question number three.
Speaker A:Got to give a shout out to our omnistar, Allison Peterson, who just opened Carter's first ever 7,000 square foot flagship store in Atlanta last week.
Speaker A:Complete with a mother's lounge for nursing moms, a gift wrapping area, a gift shop and a toddler tested playhouse for independent play while their adults shop.
Speaker A:Given your background and baby, what's the one thing that you would ask Alison to test in this new flagship store?
Speaker A:Chris?
Speaker B:Oh man, this was a, this was hard because I, you know, it sounds like it's got everything that you would generally expect.
Speaker B:You know what I came up with though was because there's a lot of products that people probably want to return off the registry, particularly from Carter's.
Speaker B:I like the idea that Nikki Barrett shared with us in terms of like a mobile stood associate return process that like she, I think it was at North Face, right, And that that's where she's, where they were doing that.
Speaker B:And I think that, yeah, that that could be a good idea because the idea that Nikki shared with us was like, like, right.
Speaker B:People get their return taken care of right as they enter and then they're, they have that cash in hand and they're going to spend more with you as well.
Speaker B:So that was my idea.
Speaker A:That's a great idea.
Speaker A:Plus like being able to as a new parent too, to like be able to walk up to a mom and just be like, what do you need?
Speaker A:Turn.
Speaker A:Let me take it from your stroller here.
Speaker A:Is that your, you know, here's your card or whatever or like your, the mom's, you know, trying to nurse the baby or whatever, like watch the toddler.
Speaker A:Like that is, that's a great idea.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:So hopefully, hopefully Allison's listening.
Speaker B:That's a great idea.
Speaker B:Listening.
Speaker B:All right, all right, cool.
Speaker B:Well, and last one, A new AI.
Speaker B:This is great.
Speaker B:A new AI startup is reportedly claiming it can authenticate sneakers by their smell.
Speaker B:And if you were a sneaker sommelier, what notes or aroma would one find in your pre worn Nikes?
Speaker A:Oh, well, actually this.
Speaker A:I had to smell my sneakers recently.
Speaker A:Don't ask why this happened, but I was like, I smell lavender.
Speaker B:You had to smell your sneakers.
Speaker A:Well, I was like.
Speaker B:You smelled lavender?
Speaker A:Yes, I smelled lavender because the.
Speaker A:So at yoga, they put, like, essential oils, and I was like, I'm smelling.
Speaker A:I have a.
Speaker A:I have a sensitivity to lavender.
Speaker A:And there was lavender on the.
Speaker A:On, like, the yoga mats, and it seeped into my sneakers, so my sneakers would smell like lavender.
Speaker A:That's what they would smell.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:They would smell like lavender.
Speaker B:I had no idea.
Speaker B:I thought I'd see.
Speaker B:I thought you'd be, like, more oaky or cassis, you know, going with the.
Speaker B:With the.
Speaker B:With the wine stuff that you hear all the time.
Speaker A:Oh, I see, like tennis balls or whatever.
Speaker A:Like tennis balls and fresh cut grass.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Asphalt.
Speaker A:Asphalt.
Speaker A:No, no, I.
Speaker A:Yeah, lavender.
Speaker A:Which is weird.
Speaker A:So I have.
Speaker A:This is like, a crazy thing, but I used to use a lavender room or, like, cleaner spray and when my kid was sick when he was little, and so it always reminds me of vomit.
Speaker A:So I cannot smell lavender because I equate that smell to vomit.
Speaker A:So just in case anybody cares and wants to get deep into the depths of why I can't stand lavender, it's because it covers up the smell of vomit to me, so.
Speaker A:Oh, that's not a good.
Speaker A:Not a.
Speaker B:So you're not down with the lavender latte then, either?
Speaker B:And that's why.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:That's like drinking vomit to me.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Can't do lavender.
Speaker A:Love.
Speaker A:Love and appreciate that.
Speaker A:It's so good for so many people and comforting.
Speaker A:It makes me think of fresh barf.
Speaker A:A fresh barf.
Speaker A:As.
Speaker A:As they said on SNL last week.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:But, you know, and in closing.
Speaker B:And one thing I do want to share, I went to Starbucks this week, you know, thinking of lavender lattes.
Speaker A:20 minutes.
Speaker B:It took me 20 minutes to get my drink.
Speaker B:20 minutes from the time I ordered it to when it was in hand.
Speaker A:You need to send Brian Nichols.
Speaker A:You need to send him a direct message about that experience.
Speaker A:I want to hear.
Speaker A:I bet he'll.
Speaker A:Bet he'll get back to you.
Speaker B:22 minutes.
Speaker B:That's just crazy.
Speaker B:That's just too long.
