y Wolff, integrated marketing manager at StockX. What was your first job in retail? My first job in retail was at JB Hi-Fi when I was 16. I was basically restocking the CD shelves all day and I loved it. I’m the sort of person who obsesses over my interests, and music was my first real passion. I got to nerd out over albums I liked and was exposed to all sorts of new music that just wasn’t in my world before that. What are some of the initiatives in your company that you’ve led that you’re most proud of? One thing I feel really passionate about is local content. I think the brands or companies we spend our money with should reflect our community – creating local content is a great way to relate back to your audience while also providing them something of value. So I’m really pumped on the hyper local content we’ve been creating in Australia on local brand partners, trends we’re seeing, our own team members (who mirror our customer base in many ways), and more. We’re starting to see other StockX markets around the world adapt those content concepts for their audience as well, which is great. What do you love most about your job? I’ve been lucky to always work in what I call the playground of life. While some people find purpose and passion in working in banking or insurance, I couldn’t do that. I’ve made choices in my life to work in my passions and StockX is the ultimate place for that – whether I’m building reports or coming up with creative ideas, it’s sick to be able to spend my days thinking about sneakers, fashion, and collectibles! I have also come to love the environment of a fast growing tech start up. Everyone’s full of energy and passion and it’s a place where good ideas are supported regardless of hierarchy. What have been some of the greatest challenges you’ve overcome in your career? I think the biggest challenge I’ve overcome was just having a career. I remember growing up, my brother and my mum and I had it really tough – we spent time living in people’s garages. That’s a major disadvantage when you’re trying to go to school and learn and do all these things. But I also got to witness first-hand my mother go from having nothing to a great career, she worked in a factory by day and went to night school and has now had this amazing career in her field – and so early on I knew two things – hard work pays off, and don’t be limited by your current surroundings. I did 7 years at Uni while working full time, and have never been to a lecture. In saying all this – I’m also a white male so I’m aware the odds were probably still somewhat in my favour. But to give a more straightforward answer to the question – I’ve definitely had roles I failed in, and anytime you fail it’s natural to lose confidence and question your self-worth. But life is a long game, and you need to eventually brush yourself off and get back into it. We all fail, and the sooner you realise everyone around you has failed at things too, it won’t bother you as much! Who is your retail hero and why? Oooh, good question. I’m actually going to say the entire team behind Ultra Football. I’m not a huge football (soccer) fan, but I love the concept. I think Australian shoppers generally shun that ‘big box’ retail experience unless it’s FMCG or discount shopping, but Ultra Football have created these two destination stores for football fans where you can not only shop, you can visit the barber, hit the cafe, watch a game, use the indoor pitch, and more. So shout out to Ultra Football, it’s a great concept and well executed and if I was into football I’d be spending a lot of time there! If you could swap jobs with anyone in retail, who would it be and why? OK left field but I’m very bullish on 7-eleven. I think their innovation has been really strong over the last couple of years, they continue to develop their food offering, and their marketing campaigns don’t miss. Differentiating in their industry is hard, but to me they are just outworking and outthinking the competition and I love that. I’d love a Managing Director role one day, so I’ll take the MD role at 7-eleven, please!