Retail: A massive and constantly evolving industry

The introduction of this webinar highlighted the colossal economic weight of retail. With a global revenue exceeding $30 trillion and a steadily growing e-commerce share (nearly $7 trillion, almost 20% of the total), the sector represents around 12% of the global GDP. It employs over 500 million people and serves nearly 4.8 billion consumers. These figures illustrate both the immense potential and the complexity and sensitivity of retail to consumer trends, technological innovations, and economic conditions.

Retail transformation: a cultural and operational revolution

The first question posed to the experts concerned the most significant transformation over the past two years.

For Javier Mallo (Carrefour Spain), the answer was clear: a profound cultural transformation. Initiated by the arrival of the new CEO, Elodie Perthuisot, in 2023, the transformation is guided by an absolute mantra: placing the customer at the center of every decision. “Whether an IT developer or a store employee, all 55,000 employees must constantly keep the customer in mind.” This vision directly shapes digital strategy and AI projects, always with the user experience in focus, setting that digital transformation is no longer optional—it is vital.

Ricardo Tejero (Adeo) identified the shift to a “platform business model” as the most structural change. Integrating marketplaces and third-party sellers represents a cultural upheaval for a traditional retail company. “It’s a matter of adoption and change management. Technology must be made useful for both customers and store teams, who now operate within an extended ecosystem.”

Miguel Martins (Dr.Max) emphasized the whole omnichannel experience for patients. “The biggest change is creating a seamless experience, whether the patient interacts in the pharmacy, at a pickup point, or via home delivery.” He also confirmed that 20% of their revenue already comes from digital, in line with the global average. This requires breaking down traditional silos between supply chain, store operations, and digital. “Processes must be designed end-to-end.”

Building on these insights, Carlos Ponce (Kaizen Institute) highlighted the critical need for efficiency: the customer is no longer willing to pay for inefficiencies, but only for the added value that retailers deliver in terms of product, price, and service.

Omnichannel strategy: challenges, investments, and logistics optimization

On the topic of omnichannel, Miguel Martins detailed Dr. Max’s vision, which includes some key initiatives:

• Massive investment in warehouse automation (picking robots, AMRs – Autonomous Mobile Robots) to meet e-commerce speed demands. Dr.Max manages 24 warehouses across Europe.
• Redefining the pharmacist’s role, supported by AI and data, to provide “Complex Care” (enhanced expert advice).

Miguel also pointed out that while these advancements drive progress, the major challenges remain in achieving fast last-mile delivery, which escalates logistics costs, and maintaining satisfactory ROI despite the ongoing technological investments.

Javier Mallo illustrated the operational complexity for a giant like Carrefour Spain: over 1,700 points of sale (hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, franchises), 11 warehouses, five distinct sales channels (physical, e-commerce, retail media, phone), and more than 350 applications managed by a 300-person team. His response to this complexity is simple and powerful: “Keep it simple. Simplicity is key. If our internal complexity affects the customer, we fail. The goal is one-click checkout, a smooth experience.”

Building on this, Carlos Ponce emphasized that retail today is truly “phygital”: a seamless blend of physical and digital. Omnichannel success, he explained, lies in delivering the right product at the right price through the right channel — a vision that brings with it major challenges in integration, logistics, and store operations.

Operational excellence: data, measurement, and Kaizen methodology

Regarding operational excellence, Miguel Martins shared Dr. Max’s philosophy, emphasizing the Kaizen Institute’s role in their approach:

• A measurement obsession: “We measure everything: NPS, productivity, service cost, margins by category.” This data-driven culture allows precise performance management.
• A bottom-up approach to continuous improvement: “The best ideas come from the field. Store and warehouse teams own the improvement projects.” He also emphasized AI’s growing role in analyzing massive data volumes and automating adjustments.

Retail trends for 2025 and vision for the future

In the discussion of retail trends for 2025, the webinar panelists shared their insights on the key priorities companies should focus on to stay competitive in the coming years.

• Ricardo Tejero (Adeo): The top priority is “Seamless Operations.” Customer and employee experiences must be perfectly smooth across all channels. He notes that 85% of revenue still comes from physical stores, but the entire business is digital.
• Miguel Martins (Dr.Max): Radical transformation of the physical store. The store is no longer just a transactional point of sale. It becomes an experience hub, a service center (e.g., primary healthcare in pharmacies), and an advanced logistics point.
• Javier Mallo (Carrefour): Leveraging data and AI for mass personalization. He revealed that the Carrefour Club loyalty program, with 10 million customers in Spain, generates over a billion data points per year. “AI will allow us to segment and predict behaviors with unprecedented accuracy.”

The webinar’s conclusion is unequivocal: while technology and AI drive transformation, humans remain the central pillar. Corporate culture, team adoption of new technologies, and training are the ultimate success factors. Simplifying the experience for both customers and employees is the ultimate goal in an increasingly complex environment.

The irreplaceable role of humans in retail transformation

The webinar’s conclusion is unequivocal: while technology and AI drive transformation, humans remain the central pillar. Corporate culture, team adoption of new technologies, and training are the ultimate success factors. Simplifying the experience for both customers and employees is the ultimate goal in an increasingly complex environment.

At the heart of it all, retail continues to be a people-centric business.

Kaizen Institute’s upcoming initiatives

As part of our ongoing efforts to drive transformation, Kaizen Institute made two exciting announcements during the webinar:

• The release of our new book, The Kaizen Culture Paradox, exploring how Kaizen culture becomes a complete management system.
• Our participation at NRF Europe 2025, the premier retail tech show, in Paris from September 16–18. Visit us at Stand L097, Pavilion 4, to engage in discussions on these transformative topics.