With an outstanding reputation for strategic expertise within the retail industry, Nicole Venter, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at SaCSA, has been recognised as one of RETHINK Retail’s International “Top Retail Experts for 2025”.

This prestigious recognition highlights her deep industry expertise and commitment to shaping the future of retail in Australia. With over two decades of experience in the sector, Nicole is passionate about creating lasting and meaningful change in the retail workforce.

We sat down with Nicole to explore her journey into retail.  In this interview, she shares her insights on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector—from addressing workforce shortages to championing retail as a dynamic and rewarding career. Here is what she had to say.

 

Can you talk about your journey into the retail industry and how it has led to you being named as one of RETHINK Retail’s International “Top Retail Experts for 2025”? 

I’ve loved retail since preschool, literally. I nearly got expelled for selling Mother’s Day flowers made from the classroom tissue box ($1 each, a luxury good in the ’80s) from behind the playground slides. That early hustle led to a career working with some of the largest and most influential retailers and customer-facing brands in Australia. I started at IBM and then at a specialist retail consultancy, where I got a crash course in the industry’s dynamic nature, creativity, and sheer unpredictability. I fell in love with the people: passionate, adventurous, business-savvy risk-takers, and decided I wanted to be one of them. 

Eventually, I turned that experience into designing Australia’s first retail business degree, because if you love retail enough, why not turn it into a syllabus? I wanted to fast-track graduates’ learning skills, which used to take five years to develop on the job. Fast forward to today, that lifelong obsession has landed me on RETHINK Retail’s list of Top Retail Experts for 2025. More importantly, it’s given me the privilege of helping shape the future of retail talent and maybe even inspiring the next generation of playground entrepreneurs! 

Can you explain more about the work you do at SaCSA and how that is helping to shape the retail workforce? 

I joined SaCSA because I want retail careers to get the recognition they deserve. Retail isn’t just a “starter job”. It’s a dynamic industry full of brilliant people, from supply-chain masterminds and creative designers to fourth-generation shop owners and business leaders who thrive on making a real impact in their communities. 

At SaCSA, I tackle workforce challenges like talent attraction, training, and the all-too-common issue of customer aggression. At its core, my work is about championing retail as a diverse and rewarding career. I hope my time here builds on the incredible work already being done to improve training and the livelihoods of those in the industry. I feel supported by a fantastic group of industry experts and am excited to bring fresh energy to drive these initiatives forward and to address challenges for the industry.

What specific challenges and opportunities is the Australian retail workforce facing? 

The Australian retail workforce faces labour shortages, skills gaps, leadership deficits, low wages, unreliable hours and a lack of training investment. Career pathways are often overlooked, and rising customer aggression, sustainability pressures, and diversity challenges add to the complexity. 

Meanwhile, digital transformation and international competition are reshaping the sector, creating both opportunities and skill gaps. Industrial relations reform further challenges operational feasibility in a tough market. 

Despite this, retailers are resilient and entrepreneurial, and I’m passionate about supporting the industry and its workers in adapting and identifying new ways to navigate the space. We are seeing mass innovation in the sector. The types of retail roles are reshaping to be highly inclusive of STEM and advanced marketing and supply chain strategies, which would be a great win for the industry in retail career recognition.

As the retail industry transforms, what advice would you give to aspiring professionals who want to make a lasting impact in the sector? 

You need to love it! Retail is fast, tough, and constantly evolving. One moment, you’re responding to shifting customer trends; the next, economic downturns or new competition. But that’s what makes it exciting. You’re living in a consumer behaviour lab, testing ideas with rapid turnaround, blending psychology, business, and analytics. It’s one of the few industries where anyone can be wildly successful regardless of their starting point if they jump at opportunities. 

To make a lasting impact, you need to be adaptable, stay curious, and build strong people skills. Retail isn’t just about transactions; it’s about experiences, relationships, and innovation. Stay ahead of trends, embrace change, and never stop learning. And above all, be bold. My first retail strategy job came from sending in a Mr. Potato Head cartoon instead of a CV. If you’re passionate, collaborative, and willing to take risks, doors will open. You will have the chance to be part of an industry that transforms ideas into immersive experiences and personal lifestyle expressions that shape consumers’ daily lives. 

“Retail isn’t just about transactions; it’s about experiences, relationships, and innovation.”

Nicole Venter, hosting a panel on Creating Creative Careers at the International College of Management Sydney, an industry-first education-focused private higher education college.

What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to shopping? Think sweet treats, wacky items or your favourite store to window shop? 

Homeware is my ultimate guilty pleasure. My partner and I literally fell in love over designer glassware and furniture catalogues, and now our home is styled like a Parisian retail apartment, equal parts high-end and $2 tourist shop treasures.

Wolf & Badger is a go-to for fashion, and I have a special talent for sourcing designer-quality home fixtures and fittings from recycled building centres and even tourist shops abroad. And shoes! Before kids, I had a custom cabinet just for heels. Now, that budget goes to Lego for the kids.

What has been one of your favourite retail trends that you have seen through your career? 

Experiential retail would be up there. It turns shopping into a sensory-driven adventure where customers don’t just buy a product; they buy into a fantasy, with the product as their souvenir. The cities that truly nail this are Kyoto, Milan, New York, Berlin, Paris, Seoul, and Shanghai. Basically, if a place makes me want to throw my credit card into the air like confetti, it’s on the list.