Retail Legend, Arnie Cohen Discusses the Resurgence of Catalogs

 

In the latest episode of What Just Happened, host Christine Russo sits down with retail legend Arnie Cohen, CEO of J. Peterman Company, to discuss the surprising resurgence of catalogs in the digital age. Cohen delves into the tactile experience catalogs offer, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the integration of cart.com into their tech stack. As the “catalog king,” Cohen emphasizes the importance of evolving with the times while staying true to brand identity.

Recent Episodes

Physical retail is under pressure to become as measurable and responsive as e-commerce. While retailers have spent years optimizing digital channels with real-time data, store teams have often had to make decisions with incomplete inventory visibility and delayed operational signals. That gap matters because stores still account for 80% of U.S. retail sales, making…

Baby monitors have long promised parents the ability to see and hear their child from another room. But as connected health devices become more normalized in everyday life, from smartwatches to sleep trackers, parents are beginning to expect more than visibility. They want insight. For Owlet, that shift matters because its wearable monitors track…

Gen Alpha is no longer a future consumer segment—they are already shaping how retail and entertainment experiences are designed today. Research from MG2 shows that a whopping 70% of Gen Alpha influence what adults in their lives purchase, reshaping brand decisions faster than many companies are prepared for. As experiential retail continues to evolve—with…