Retail Innovators | Saks Fifth Avenue’s Ali McLeod Talks Future of E-Commerce Operations

As the next big e-commerce battle begins, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Ali McLeod, AVP of Photo Studios, finds herself in a race to turbo-charge product photography and keep up with the changing face of e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

In the latest interview as part of Looklet’s Retail Innovators series, Ali reveals her advice for retailers navigating e-commerce operations during the pandemic, plus the core planks of strategy that we can expect to see from retailers.

How do you best describe “a day in the life of Ali” at Saks?

I typically spend my day working with my team and senior leaders on how the Photo Studio can best support Saks Fifth Avenue’s business and marketing objectives. My schedule is packed with meetings, as I work on project plans and action various issues while my team develops processes to support ever-changing business needs.

What have been your most important learnings from 2020?

This year taught me and my team to be open, flexible and prepared to fail. We learned to think swiftly, strategically and in ways we never anticipated. A typical business continuity plan wouldn’t have prepared us for what we have faced during this pandemic. I am proud of how quickly my team adapted to new ways of working, from facility closures and contingencies to reopening spaces safely and iterating as we went.

What’s been your mission in 2021?

We needed to learn from 2020 and update protocols for our teams while closely following guidelines set by government and health officials. We will also aim to improve workflows and find new ways to provide our customers with the best online experience we can.

How do you define ‘innovation’ within your department?

Innovation is something that my team focuses a lot on in their day-to-day. It can be simple – like a small workflow change or automation that helps us work smarter not harder – or it can be completely reimagining how we portray scale for an item like jewellery or handbags. The customer is always top-of-mind, and we always work to deliver the closest thing to an in-store experience through our digital channels. In order to deliver this amazing experience, we need to run an efficient ship, which allows us the time to develop and execute relevant ideas.

Few sectors in the fashion industry are developing as fast as e-commerce, what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities?

From a studio perspective, we will likely face a combination of typical e-commerce challenges mixed with the challenge of developing new ways of working in what we call the Next Normal. Offsetting cost and productivity with quality is always a balancing act and now, we can expect to adjust our production to navigate industry changes.

For example, designers are trending away from the traditional fashion calendar. We always look for improvements to our workflows and processes to enable us to do more with what we have. We are constantly testing automation and seeking opportunities with scalable solutions that would help our teams work more efficiently.

What is the biggest change for the retail industry in the post-pandemic era?

It’s difficult to group the entire industry together, but there are certainly some widespread changes starting to happen. We’re enthusiastic about the industry becoming more diverse and inclusive. In terms of how the industry functions, the pandemic greatly shifted the product delivery cycle. Pre-pandemic there was a disconnect between product availability and demand. This impacted the entire industry – retailers, designers and customers. Recent collaboration among retailers and brands should help fill the gap and deliver fashion to customers when they want to wear it.

What does it take for a retailer to be successful in 2021 and beyond? What are the core planks of strategy that we can expect to see?

Retailers need to really understand their customers’ wants and needs and build strategies to meet them. The core pillars of our strategy are ease, personalization and fashion. When we succeed in these areas, we succeed in pleasing our customers. My team’s philosophy that the customer is the boss encourages us to be innovative in delivering an exciting shopping experience during this Next Normal.

How do you think e-commerce innovation teams will differentiate themselves in the next five to 10 years?

It’s important for retailers to deliver a channel-agnostic experience. The online experience should be as special as shopping in a store. We already developed new ways to connect the in-store and online experience with reimagined shopping methods. An example is the 3,000 stylists who can work with our clients from anywhere. The innovation that stands out – and that I think Saks has gotten right – is making e-commerce feel personal.

What’s your innovation mantra?

Question everything we do, how we do it and why we do it. This can mean trying something new and failing or confirming we are already doing it the best way.

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