Shelley E. Kohan
Education
AAS, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York
BS, University of San Francisco
MBA, Penn State University
Biography
Retail expert Shelley E. Kohan is a highly accomplished senior retail executive with
more than 25 years of success in the retail industry. She has served the industry
across many functions including general management, marketing, operations, merchandising,
buying, and human resources. Industry positions include CEO & Founder of Shelmark
Consulting, Inc., Chief Strategy Officer of The Robin Report, Member Board of Directors
ClickDealBuy!, Vice President of Retail Consulting RetailNext, Executive Vice President
of Space NK, Vice President of Store Operations Saks Fifth
Avenue, and Operating Vice President Bloomingdale’s.
Kohan is currently a retail pundit co-hosting a weekly podcast called Retail Unwrapped, a senior contributor at Forbes.com, and a writer for The Robin Report. She is a member of the RetailWire BrainTrust, and Rethink Retail’s Top Retailer Influencers. Her published work on Forbes.com has been translated into several languages.
As a recognized top global retail influencer, Kohan has been interviewed by many publications and media groups including NBC Nightly News, Wall St. Journal, New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, Reuters, The Washington Post, Fortune, CGTN America Global Business, and Chain Store Age. She has spoken and presented at numerous retail conferences throughout the industry including WWD Digital, WWD 20/20, NRF Big Show, Shop,org, Future of Stores, RIS Retail Executive Summit and RetailNext Executive Forum.
Kohan was a student at FIT, an experience that motivated her to give back to the industry and the community by becoming a professor. She is currently associate chair of Home Products Development and she teaches in both Home Products and Fashion Business Management. Kohan serves as faculty advisor for the FIT Collegiate DECA student club, a national leadership program, and previously served for the NRF (National Retail Federation) student club.
Research Interests
- Creating open educational resources for courses.
- Innovative ways to lower the educational costs for students.
- Creating more opportunities to bring the real world of the industry into the classroom.
Selected Publications
Starbucks CEO Is Tossed Out Like A Poorly Made Latte, Forbes.com (2024, August 13).
Why Ulta Beauty’s Joy Project Is Important, The Robin Report Retail Unwrapped Podcast, (2024, July 19).
Walmart Partners With American Giant Bringing U.S.-Made Apparel To Millions, Forbes.com (2024, June 24).
Why REI Is Committed To Developing Its Minority-Led Partners, The Robin Report Retail Unwrapped Podcast (2024, May 24).
How AI Is Revolutionizing Marketing In 2024: Top 5 Trends, Forbes.com, (2024, May 19).
Sephora's Trailblazing CEO: A New Era Of Female Leadership, Forbes.com, (2024, March 25).
The 5 Biggest Retail Trends For 2023. Forbes.com (2022, December 23).
Patagonia’s Bold Move Shakes Up The Ideas Of Capitalism And Consumerism. Forbes.com (2022, September 15).
10 Most Sustainable Companies. Worth.com (2022, September 12).
Retail Leadership for Extraordinary Times, [Podcast] Retail Unwrapped (2023, February 17).
Revealing the Future of Malls with Bill Taubman, [Podcast] Retail Unwrapped ( (2022, November 17).
Many Unhappy Returns, [Podcast] Retail Unwrapped (Lewis R., Kohan, S.E. (2021, February 18).
Conferences and Presentations
Chairperson of the day and moderator of six panels, eTail Boston, Boston, August 2024.
Moderator: The Myth Of The Linear Career Path: Lessons Learned About Seizing Creative Opportunities For Growth, Fostering Long-Term Loyalty Through Innovation, Retail In The Metaverse: What We Learned Exploring This and Its Underlying Web 3.0 Technologies, eTail West, Palm Springs, February 2024.
The Top Academics on the Major Forces Transforming Retail-The Changing Dynamics of Retail’s Workforce, ShopTalk, Las Vegas, March 2024.
Omnichannel to Unified Retail Experiences. RetailNext Executive Forum, Kentucky, IL. June 2023.
Dubai Creative Workshop. Dubai, Emirate of Dubai. December 2022.
How Retail Leaders Use the Latest Innovations to Survive and Thrive [Keynote Presentation]. Innovate: Retail Conference. CBUS Retail, Columbus OH. October 2022.
Grants
Business Management Course Development Grant, SUNY IITG, (2024).
Faculty Development Grant and Award (2023), Fashion Institute of Technology.
Faculty Development Grant and Award (2018), Fashion Institute of Technology.
Awards
Lumen Circles Fellowship Certificate of Effective Teaching Practice in Evidence-Based
Teaching (July 2024), Lumen Learning.
SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador (2021), State University of New York.
Faculty Development Grant and Award (2018), Fashion Institute of Technology.
Collegiate DECA Recognition of Service (2018), Collegiate DECA Organization.
Industry Recognition
Top Retail Influencer. ReThink Retail (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2022)
Top Retail Influencer. VEND University. (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Top Retail Influencer. FIT Small Business (August 2018)
Courses
- HP 421 Strategic Product Management
- FM 207 Retail Strategies (course author)
- FM 312 Innovative Business Leadership (course author)
- FM 300 Case Study Method: Fashion Business Applications (course author)
- FM 328 Merchandising for Multichannel Retailing
- FM 245 Fashion Forecasting for Merchandisers
- FM 116 Fashion Business Practices
- FM 422 Merchandising Strategies
Website
Connect
X: @retailshelley
Instagram: @retailshelley
LinkedIn: Shelley E. Kohan
TikTok: @retailshelley