Commerce Beyond Borders

Dr. Sumit Mitra is CEO of Tesco Business Solutions and Tesco India, overseeing a team that spans payroll and finance to AI, property, supply chain, and customer contact — serving 90 million shopping trips a week.

In this episode he gives us an inside look at how Tesco is applying AI across the business, what's actually delivering results, and what India's retail revolution is signalling for the rest of the world.

We cover:

• What Tesco Business Solutions actually does — and why the CEO calls it Tesco's key competitive differentiator
• How Tesco structures AI into three buckets and why prioritisation matters more than technology
• The 50K / 60-day rule: how they cut failing projects before ego gets in the way
• Real AI use cases delivering triple-digit million returns in cash flow and personalisation
• Why AI for operations means reimagining the whole process, not automating a step
• India's leap from kirana stores straight to quick commerce — and what's driving it
• Whoosh, Tesco's 30-minute delivery service, already a £400M business
• Omnisol: how Tesco is now taking its proprietary AI tools to market for other retailers

Guest: Dr. Sumit Mitra, CEO, Tesco Business Solutions & Tesco India Hosts: Renee Hartmann & Chris Baker

Most companies are pretty good at writing strategies. Far fewer are good at executing them. That gap — and what to do about it — is exactly what Kevin Ertell has spent his career studying, and now he's written the book on it.

Kevin brings a rare perspective to this conversation. He started as a clerk at Tower Records and worked his way up to Senior Vice President over 20 years. From there he held senior roles at Borders, Sur La Table, and Nike, where he led digital and retail operations globally. He has seen strategy succeed and fail at every level of an organisation.

His new book, The Strategy Trap: Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right, lays out a six-part framework he calls the Six Cs, built around two phases: setting the stage (co-creation, clarity, capacity) and showtime (communication, coordination, coaching).

In this episode Kevin, Chris and Renee dig into why execution breaks down, what leaders consistently get wrong, and why the first step of execution is actually writing the strategy itself. They also get into the role of outside consultants, how OKRs done right can transform alignment, and why stack ranking priorities beats high-medium-low every time.

Plus the NASA janitor story. You'll want to hear that one.

Key takeaways:

• Strategy writing is the first step of execution, not a precursor to it
• Co-creation drives commitment — the IKEA effect is real
• Capacity has to be created before a strategy is launched, not found along the way
• Communication should be early, loud, and continuous
• The bigger the organisation, the more structured the approach needs to be — but smaller organisations need it too

The Strategy Trap is available now on Amazon.

What does it take to turn around 12 supermarkets during a COVID lockdown? Or build a centralized logistics operation under economic sanctions? João Correia has spent 25 years solving retail operations challenges across four continents—from Ghanaian supermarkets to Iranian department stores to Paraguayan wholesale operations.

In this episode, João shares hard-won lessons about what actually drives store performance: it's not the latest AI tool, it's disciplined execution of operational fundamentals. We discuss stock visibility challenges when supply chains stretch three months, why real-time store performance matters more than post-visit surveys, and how technology should remove friction—not create it.

Key Topics:

• Why operational excellence is becoming a competitive advantage while competitors chase AI
• The critical difference between reported experience and real experience on the shop floor
• How to implement technology in resource-constrained environments (and what that teaches us about priorities)
• Store execution fundamentals that work across markets: expiry date management, standards compliance, workflow efficiency
• Change management lessons from converting stores, building logistics networks, and implementing new systems across different cultures
• The role of technology in empowering frontline teams vs. replacing them

Guest Bio:

João Correia is a retail operations veteran with nearly 30 years of experience across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. He's led turnarounds, store conversions, and logistics operations for retailers including SPAR, Primark, and Media Markt. His experience spans grocery retail, hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and wholesale operations in markets including Portugal, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Iran, Malta, and Paraguay.

Key Quotes:

"AI and all the tech tools that are there come to improve the ecosystem in a way that they remove all the friction and give people the tools to provide a better service."

"You might have the best product, you might have the best stores, you might have the best decor in the stores. Everything fails if the human factor doesn't deliver."

"Retail is process. Retail is discipline. The truth happens on the floor—where real experience occurs."

"Back to the basics will be a competitive advantage in the future, in my opinion."

Why are both international luxury brands and established Chinese players losing market share to local upstarts? In this episode, we sit down with Xiaofeng Gu, founder of Jingzhi Chronicle, to explore the rise of China's challenger brands—and why this disruption is about innovation, not nationalism.

From TCM-powered skincare to EVs with business-class lie-flat seats, these brands are leveraging China's manufacturing agility, deep consumer understanding, and mastery of decentralized media to outcompete legacy players. Xiaofeng shares insights on 8 brands redefining what "Made in China" means—and why this is a preview of what's coming globally.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Why the "international brand halo effect" has disappeared in China
• Three key drivers of challenger brand success: product innovation, emotional connection, and communication mastery
• How post-COVID values shifted Chinese consumer priorities
• The role of globally-trained founders in building sophisticated local brands
• Why Chinese brands are winning on quality, not just price
• How TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is being elevated into luxury beauty
• The future of Chinese brands on the global stage

Featured Brands:

• HERBEAST - TCM-powered skincare with reishi mushroom innovation
• SONGMONT - Luxury accessories (one of only two stores Bernard Arnault visited in China)
• AVATR - Luxury EV collaboration between Huawei, Great Wall Motors & CATL
• TO SUMMER - Fragrance house putting Chinese ingredients on the global perfumery map
• LUCKIN COFFEE - Efficiency-driven coffee brand now expanding to the US
• DOCUMENTS - Fragrance and agarwood jewelry brand
• MAOGEPING - Color cosmetics combining professional artistry with accessible services
• YUSUMTONG - Innovative tea/lifestyle brand

Guest: Xiaofeng Gu is the founder of Jingzhi Chronicle, a media platform covering China's emerging luxury, beauty, and lifestyle brands. With deep expertise in the Chinese consumer landscape, Xiaofeng brings unique insights into how local brands are disrupting both international and established Chinese players.

Hosts: Renee Hartmann - Globally recognized retail strategist, Fractional CMO, and author of "Next Generation Retail" Chris Baker - Retail and commerce expert with extensive Asia-Pacific experience

Key Quotes: "Being an international brand doesn't automatically give you trust anymore. That halo effect has more or less disappeared. You have to prove yourself." - Xiaofeng Gu

"Innovative Chinese brands proved they're just as safe, just as effective—and they understand consumers better." - Xiaofeng Gu

"Chinese consumers are very smart. They understand a lot of products from international brands are actually made in China. So they're asking: if Chinese brands and international brands use the same source and manufacturing capability, why are you asking for so much more?" - Xiaofeng Gu

Resources Mentioned:

• Jingzhi Chronicles
• Bernard Arnault's recent China visit

Takeaways: ✓ Chinese challenger brands are disrupting based on innovation and consumer understanding, not nationalism ✓ The "international = better" perception has evaporated among Chinese consumers ✓ Product innovation speed, emotional connection, and owning communication channels are key differentiators ✓ This isn't just a China story—it's a preview of global disruption to come ✓ International brands must prove value and can no longer rely on heritage alone

In this episode of Commerce Beyond Borders, we go deep into what actually works in social commerce today — and what doesn’t.

From London, former Meta & TikTok executive Dave Morrissey joins Renee (in Portugal) and Chris (in Shanghai) for a candid conversation about live shopping, the role of creators, why most brands are doing content wrong — and what the smartest brands are already doing next.

🔑 Key Insights

• Live shopping is not the answer for everyone — and most brands are doing it wrong.

• The TikTok Shop winners are founder-led, community-first brands.

• Why 40+ videos a month is becoming the new baseline for e-commerce success.

• AI should power creativity — not replace it.

• The rise of video search and why TikTok is quietly becoming a rival to Google.

• TikTok Shop: do you need affiliates, creators, paid ads… or all three?

• The secret moat now?
  👉 Doing the hard things your competitors won’t.

💬 Favorite Quote from Dave

“Content is the game. The algorithms will do the delivery.
Your only job is to get great at content.”

🔍 What We Cover

00:00 – Introductions across Portugal, Shanghai & London
04:00 – From music industry → Meta → TikTok Shop
09:45 – Live shopping: what’s working & what isn’t
16:30 – Why discount-led TikTok strategies are dangerous
22:10 – Content at scale: how brands should build it
28:00 – The role of AI — and where it shouldn’t be used
34:20 – Affiliates vs creators: who actually drives sales?
41:10 – TikTok as a search engine
46:30 – What Western brands can learn from China
52:00 – The principle that doesn’t change: be real, be useful

📢 Listen Now

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
🎧 Subscribe to Commerce Beyond Borders for global perspectives on the future of retail & commerce.

Palmstreet is building what they call the world’s online “Main Street”—and the engagement is wild. In this episode, Chen Li (Founder & CEO, Palmstreet) joins Renee and Chris to unpack the metrics behind their growth: shoppers spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on the app, first-year buyers make ~50–55 purchases, and a $26,000 plant sold live shows how trust plus logistics unlock high-ticket conversions.

We dig into the formula—entertainment + community + trust + operations—and how Palmstreet productized the “unsexy” bits (shipping, weather checks, protection) to turn livestreams into a dependable channel. Chen also shares which categories win, why repeat purchase frequency matters, and what’s next (hint: beauty is heating up).

Highlights

• 2.5 hours/day average time spent per shopper

• ~50–55 purchases in year one (per shopper)

• 95% shipped / 5% local; typical U.S. shipping $8–$18

• Platform trust & logistics: even weather checks pre-ship

• $26,000 plant sold live—proof that confidence converts

• Category patterns: uniqueness, repeat purchase, and showmanship

• Why brands think livestream “doesn’t work” (and how to fix it)

Topics we cover

• The origin story: from plant ID app to live shopping marketplace

• “Shop for the drop, stay for the vibes”: community as a growth engine

• What actually entertains in a live: hosts, education, and the hunt

• The operations layer that makes live shopping repeatable

• Winning categories now (plants, handmade, vintage) and next (beauty)

• Building trust fast if you’re a new brand (and when to borrow it via creators)

• The TikTok question: coexistence vs. competition

• Shipping reality in North America—and how it shapes category fit

Pull quotes

• “On average, a shopper spends two and a half hours a day on Palmstreet.”

• “Our users make 50–55 purchases in their first year.”

• “We sold a $26,000 plant live.”

• “Live is entertainment first—but operations make it scalable.”

About Palmstreet

Palmstreet is the online Main Street for plants, handmade, vintage, and unique goods, connecting passionate buyers with charismatic sellers through live shopping.

Guest

Chen Li — Founder & CEO, Palmstreet

Hosts

Renee Hartmann & Chris Baker, Commerce Beyond Borders

In this episode of Commerce Beyond Borders, host Renee Hartmann and co-host Chris Baker sit down with communications leader Scott Kronick (ex–Ogilvy & Mather) for an energizing tour through three decades of brand building across Asia, the Olympics, and today’s AI-driven marketing landscape. Scott shares why he’s still a dyed-in-the-wool globalist, how China’s “can-do” culture shaped his leadership, and the mindset he teaches students at USC: expand your surface area of luck—meet more people, talk about your passion, and be generous with your help.

What we cover

• The “surface area of luck”: a practical framework for creating opportunity

• Lessons from hyper-growth China: optimism, speed, and execution

• Agencies: why boutiques can outmaneuver quarterly-driven giants

• AI, influencers, and the new media mix (what’s changed, what hasn’t)

• Chinese brands going global: strengths, gaps, and playing by local rules

• Risk, regulation, and communications alignment in the U.S. market

• Olympic storytelling: building a specialized practice and finding your lane

• Career advice for young marketers: do hard things, take the meeting, think critically

Memorable quotes

• “The more people you meet and talk about what you’re passionate about, the more opportunities come your way.”

• “That meeting you don’t want to leave the house for? Take it. That might be the life-changer.”

• “Be optimistic—find the green shoots and lean in.”

About our guest

Scott Kronick led PR and integrated communications across Asia for Ogilvy, launching and scaling offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Now back in Los Angeles, he teaches at USC, advises global brands, and continues his long-standing work around the Olympic movement and Special Olympics.

In this episode of Commerce Beyond Borders, hosts Renee Hartmann and Chris Baker sit down with Lynn Power, a former advertising executive turned entrepreneur behind several innovative beauty ventures.

After decades in the ad world, Lynn took the leap into entrepreneurship — launching MASAMI, a premium clean haircare brand rooted in Japanese seaweed ingredients, and Isle de Nature, a luxury bee-powered home fragrance line. Most recently, she founded the Power Beauty Collab, a collective of 65+ indie clean beauty brands that work together on retail activations, co-marketing, and content creation.

We cover:

• 🌿 How Lynn built MASAMI and the Japanese ingredient story behind the brand

• 🐝 Why she launched Isle de Nature and the role of luxury home fragrance in her portfolio

• 🛍 How the Power Beauty Collab is rewriting the rules for indie brands through shared shelves, events, and campaigns

• 📣 Lessons learned from live shopping, influencer partnerships, and content strategies

• 💡 What really matters to today’s beauty consumers (spoiler: results > founder stories)

• ⚖️ The realities and challenges indie brands face in the current retail environment

Whether you’re growing a beauty brand, exploring new retail models, or curious about what it takes to build with integrity and innovation, Lynn’s story offers both inspiration and practical insight.

🔗 Tune in to hear how indie brands are proving that collaboration is the new competition.