AI Meets Merchandising with Michaela Wessels, CEO & Co-Founder, Style Arcade

Meet Michaela Wessels, CEO and co-founder of Style Arcade. Forbes described her innovative AI merchandising solution as the 'first of its kind' for retail, so I wanted to learn more. Michaela shares her industry insights and insights into the AI-powered tool that replaces spreadsheets with intelligent analytics and digital range planning.

About Michaela

With background in finance and over a decade of global retail experience, including formative roles at Truworths, Lacoste and The Iconic as VP of Merchandise, Michaela went on to found Style Arcade in 2018. Described by Forbes as 'first of its kind' for retail, Style Arcade has seen some of the world’s most notable brands replace spreadsheets with intelligent analytics and digital range planning.

Style Arcade is an AI-powered merchandise buying and planning platform, providing intelligent merchandising recommendations to brands and retailers internationally. The software is the ideal merging of Michaela’s passion for efficiency and technology alongside her extensive career in retail.

Style Arcade is venture backed by Acadian Software (Klaviyo, Convoke) and has grown in excess of 200% annually since inception, garnering the trust of over 6,000 global users. Working with pure-play e-commerce giants like The Iconic, Princess Polly and White Fox, to cult designers like Aje, Christopher Esber and Dion Lee.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.