Brian Kalms
Brian Kalms is a partner and managing director at global consulting firm AlixPartners and has more than 35 yearsâ experience applying technology to the retail industry.Â
He has advised retail leaders in the UK, China, Europe, and the US as they have sought to meet technology and commercial challenges ranging from tech implementation to multichannel strategies, data analytics, innovation, operations, profit improvement, and growth by combining new AI technologies with challenging tech debt.
Brian is also chair of retail start-up Slip.
OpinionâRetailâs AI revolution poses an existential questionâ
The rise of AI is fuelling the strategic reversal of a 25-year-old habit, driving a move away from outsourcing and back towards building powerful, in-house technology functions that can differentiate a business, observes AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâIn a flat-growth market, tech isnât just an enabler â it differentiates winners and losersâ
The uncomfortable truth is that customersâ technology expectations of retailers are set by the best, not the average, maintains AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâIs social commerce retailâs next-gen sales enabler or just another trend trap?â
Customers crave connection. A relationship with brands they love, trust and actively advocate for in social spaces. But can social commerce really deliver for those willing to dive headlong into this digital ecosystem? And is it even right for your brand?
OpinionâAfter M&Sâ cyber attack, these are the security questions retailers must ask themselvesâ
Itâs a question of when, not if, there are more attempts to breach retailersâ cybersecurity. AlixPartners experts Brian Kalms and Edd Hardy look at how businesses can best protect themselves
OpinionâYou wonât capture a tech-savvy generation by fixing your internal finance platformâ
Invest in tech that engages consumers in ways they havenât yet imagined â and do it where it matters most to them, argues AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâDonât waste a cost crisis â it can catalyse much-needed changeâ
Economic pressure forces evolution, observes AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms. Now is the time to break free from outmoded business models
OpinionâRetailâs tech transformation doesnât have to be all or nothingâ
Can you be a market-leading retailer if tech investment decisions lie outside the c-suite, asks AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâRetail leaders need new skills to make better decisions about techâ
Upskilling is essential for chief executives and chief financial officers to scrutinise tech strategies with the same rigour they apply to other business areas if they are to balance the needs of the whole, maintains Brian Kalms.
OpinionâIn retailâs AI-enabled future, practical application should reign supremeâ
The spike in interest catalysed by generative AI advances has reframed the potential for how much further it could drive critical business improvements, believes Brian Kalms
OpinionâCould AI-generated consumers shine a light on shoppers of the future?â
AI can be transformative but will only deliver a return on investment when harnessed with human intelligence, says Brian Kalms
OpinionâTech modernisation should not be about complex integrationâ
Retailers no longer have to choose between a rock and a hard place when it comes to modernising technology, says AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâAccepting rocketing returns as âcost of doing businessâ is limp admission of defeatâ
Itâs too big and it doesnât fit. A dress? A T-shirt? A pair of shoes? How about your returns percentage each year? Brian Kalms looks at how retailers can address the problem
OpinionâIt's not a matter of when a cyberattack happens, but how much damage it causesâ
Cybersecurity breaches can result in huge, sometimes irrecoverable, reputational damage. Without proper response and recovery plans, a companyâs chance of survival is lower, warns AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionâIn belt-tightening times, prioritising your digital business is criticalâ
Where should retailers invest for value that can endure beyond this economic downturn? Brian Kalms, managing director at AlixPartners, explores the priority areas
OpinionâEven the most security-savvy retailers are attractive targets for cybercrimeâ
In a digital-first environment, retailers cannot afford to overlook any kind of cyber threat, says AlixPartners managing director Brian Kalms
OpinionâNext wave of ecommerce goes beyond perfecting online shopping experienceâ
Despite the stiff economic headwinds, the need to get digital transformation right has never been more important, says AlixPartners managing director Brian Kalms.
OpinionâA website is not enough for bricks-and-mortar retailers to call themselves multichannelâ
A digital-first mindset is not simply about accelerating the growth of online, argues AlixPartnersâ Brian Kalms
OpinionOpinion: Now is the time for retailers to get to grips with data
Following the recently announced changes to the lockdown, retailers are busy preparing for a new normal.
OpinionOpinion: Experiential retail is key to store success in the digital era
It is no secret that traditional âbricks and mortarâ retailers have come under intense pressure in the digital era.
OpinionOpinion: Why fashionâs future lies in sustainability
Our relationship with clothes is becoming short-lived. Declining prices, multiple collections per year and a âwear onceâ culture mean fast fashion is now an epidemic of global proportions.