Hilton Barbour and I connected on Linked about a year ago (the power of Social Media wins again). We’ve gone back and forth talking about Digital and Cultural Transformation, sharing and commenting on blogs and articles dealing with that fascinating subject in this fascinating period of digital disruption.

Back in April 2017, Hilton asked if he could interview me and talk about some of the exciting things we were doing at Mark’s and L’equipeur to transform the business and culture to a digital state. He especially was interested how we were doing this at a previously very traditional retailer. So in June, we chatted at length.

Below is the interview in its entirety as it appeared on Hilton’s blog. And here is the post on Hilton’s blog. 

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Mark’s is a Canadian apparel retail giant that has been in operation since 1977. In 2002 the organization became part of Canada’s iconic Canadian Tire retail operation. Subsequently Canadian Tire has also acquired the Forzani Group, a sporting goods and apparel operation, and their popular brand Sport Chek. In 2012, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, as it was formerly known, went through a rebranding and became Mark’s. This rebrand signaled a strategic move to broaden their offering and to move into casual apparel, and not just industrial and work wear which is where the company had started. Mark’s has also been bolstering its Digital offering and eCommerce operation as well as their traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to drive growth.

 I spoke with Johnny Russo, Associate Vice-President Ecommerce and Digital Marketing, to understand where the organization was headed and what role Digital Transformation was playing.  

Hilton Barbour: Johnny, thanks for chatting to me today from Montreal. Before we talk about Mark’s, can you give me some personal background and explain your current role?

Johnny Russo: Absolutely. My path to Mark’s, known as L’Équipeur in Quebec, wasn’t exactly a straight line. I graduated from Concordia University in Montreal and with a passion for Journalism and Sports and I was keen to pursue a career in that field. After writing for the Montreal Canadiens website – but being a huge New Jersey Devils fan, go figure – for a period, I then moved to Ottawa. My first job in Ottawa was not in Journalism, but in Marketing. After 2 years I returned to Montreal and had a couple of roles in manufacturing organizations, and stumbled into Digital Marketing. It was really at Pattison Sign Group that I got bitten by the digital bug and started to develop a real interest in the impact digital was playing in businesses at the time.

After a few years in Manufacturing, I spent some time with two start up companies. And that’s where my love of Digital Marketing and my love for tech collided. But I also loved fashion.

That digital and fashion interest led me to a number of digital-centric roles in the wildly fun and challenging industry of Retail – first at Buffalo Jeans, then at former global powerhouse Mexx, and then at Bentley – where eCommerce was obviously growing at break-neck speed.

I was sold. Digital Marketing meets technology meets eCommerce in Retail. I had found my calling.

eCommerce has gone through extreme growth in the past decade and I’ve been lucky to have been in the center of that. Almost two years ago I got into a conversation with Mark’s about their digital ambitions and how I could contribute to that. In January 2015, I packed my bags and headed out to Calgary to join Mark’s. It has been a wild ride and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

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