Alex Lawson
Head of Strategy & Media
The Warehouse Group
Also available as audio
In-store is the most underrated channel in retail. While everyone chased e-commerce, The Warehouse Group doubled down on physical. Digital screens + in-store media delivered 24-28% sales uplift. When your market isn't dense enough for fast delivery, the store becomes the platform.
Constraints force creativity - the "number eight wire" mindset. NZ farmers fixed fences with wire instead of buying new parts. That became a national metaphor. Alex built a retail media network with no playbook, no Amazon benchmark, no large-market safety net - and turned that into the edge. Small market, zero red tape, faster decisions.
When everyone shops with you, non-endemics are the move. Nearly every New Zealander walks through a Warehouse Group store monthly. That reach unlocked a whole new advertiser tier - airlines, banks, government - beyond typical supplier brands. The store became a media channel for the whole country, not just the products inside it.
Conversation 122
I think retail media, for the ones that want to keep evolving and keep doing well, they're going to be thinking less about being retailers operating media - and more about being media channels that build their audience via retail.
Alex Lawson, Head of Strategy & Media at The Warehouse Group
Alex Lawson
OFFBounds Source · 122Head of Strategy & Media · The Warehouse Group
