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Who We Are
Our Mission
Retail is tough. Anyone who’s ever managed a store, launched a product, or tried to grow a brand knows it’s not just about shelves and sales — it’s about people, pressure, and a thousand moving parts that rarely go as planned.
At Retail IS Hard, our mission is simple: to be the unapologetic voice for the people who make retail run. We tell the real stories, share the hard lessons, and build playbooks that operators, managers, and brand leaders can actually use in their day-to-day. No buzzwords. No corporate spin. Just the truth.
Our Vision
We believe retail deserves honesty. For too long, the industry has been dressed up in “future of retail” panels, vague strategy decks, and trend reports that don’t reflect the real challenges on the ground. Our vision is to create a space where those challenges are talked about openly, and where the community can learn from each other.
Through our podcast, newsletter, and blogs, we want to connect the dots between the frontline and the boardroom, turning retail’s chaos into lessons worth sharing. Long-term, our vision is to become the go-to hub for retail operators looking for not just stories, but survival tools.
Why We Exist
After years in the trenches — working across categories, launching products, managing P&Ls, and cleaning up mistakes — we saw the same pattern repeat: retail is hard, and very few people talk about it honestly. That’s why we started Retail IS Hard.
This isn’t theory. It’s not another whitepaper. It’s lived experience. And our goal is to pass those insights forward, so every operator, buyer, and brand leader has the chance to win more often — and feel less alone in the struggle.
Michael Lewis, Founder
After 20+ years of retail experience across multiple categories, Michael grew discouraged as he watched the rise of fast fashion and the impact of this trend on the environment. By founding Sustainable Souls, Michael hopes to shift retailers and consumers to a focus on sustainable materials and practices by leveraging print-on-demand - an approach that minimizes waste.
His focus on building quality product also aligns with the desire to create apparel that doesn’t get worn once and thrown into a closet, but instead becomes the prized items that are worn time and time again.