FREIGHTWAVES: What are the key drivers behind the rapid growth of online retailers like Shein and Temu?

LADD: Well, it mostly comes down to low prices and fast fashion.

They can produce new clothes in just a few weeks…and a lot of companies struggle (to compete) and my advice is don’t try to compete.

You should partner with them and have them become your supplier of fast fashion designs – and even create exclusive designs for you.

I think Shein is going to continue to do well because these influencers are really leveraging social media to come up with their own creations. It’s not unusual for Shein to say that we’re only going to produce a run of 10,000 garments…and sometimes they sell out within minutes. But it’s a new way of doing fashion.

Temu is really the company that seems most interesting to me. I’m having conversations with people in Temu…and what I’ve been telling them is, “I think the big opportunity for you in the United States is food and groceries.” » The reason I say this is because American consumers are always looking for ways to reduce their grocery bills.

Temu is owned by a Chinese company called Pinduoduo, and they have a really unique model that they use (called) social commerce. In China, we could invite all our friends and family and buy products in bulk, and we would get a discount because there are many of us buying the same product. You could use this model in the United States for shopping.

I really think Temu is going to go in this direction. This is something that grocery retailers in the United States could have done years ago, and I actually designed a model in 2013 and introduced it to Amazon and Kroger.

If Temu launches the Pinduoduo grocery model in the United States, it will be another one of those things where we see Temu take market share and generate billions of dollars in revenue. So I tell people not to ignore Temu at all. Don’t ignore Shein.

But above all, don’t ignore TikTok. Even though there is a threat of TikTok being banned, I don’t foresee that happening. … What we’re really seeing is the future of retail, and I think it’s going to be pretty fascinating to watch.

FREIGHTWAVES: Can you think of any retailers that understand the potential of TikTok or companies that you would like to see take more advantage of TikTok?

LADD: In 2019, I recommended that Walmart and Microsoft team up and acquire TikTok. They all laughed. They said it was stupid.

A year later they announced they were going to do it. The problem is they couldn’t do it in 2020 because of politics and elections.

I won’t be surprised if Amazon makes a play for TikTok. I won’t be surprised if Walmart makes a play for TikTok. The challenge will be the politics of what happens with TikTok, but we have a new president and I think President Trump will be much more receptive to keeping TikTok going.

I think there is a way for the Trump administration to work with TikTok to find a solution. In an economy as tough as today, the last thing we want to see is them shutting down an app that generates billions and billions of dollars for sellers in the United States and around the world, and which is used by millions of people. Americans buy products.

The other company that I think could really do something unique with TikTok is X, which used to be Twitter. I think the future of X will be an app really more similar to how TikTok works today.

FREIGHTWAVES: What other impact do you expect the Trump administration to have on the retail industry and on M&A in the logistics industry?

LADD: I think the first thing he’ll do is let it be known that Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, is gone. Her term is actually over (and) he’s going to replace her with someone who’s not going to be as restrictive when it comes to mergers and acquisitions.

I think there will be an explosion of M&A activity. I think Uber will acquire Instacart. I think DoorDash will acquire Lyft. I certainly think it’s plausible that Amazon could acquire Publix. These are just a few that come to mind.

There’s an appetite for big things to start happening in retail, and the reason is because everyone has been on the sidelines for three and a half, almost four years. There is a lot of capital sitting there doing nothing.

I think the Trump administration will be great for business. This is going to be great for retail because more retailers will be able to merge and other companies will be able to invest in retail and technology.

The Federal Reserve is lowering interest rates, and I think they’re going to become much more aggressive in 2025 in lowering interest rates further and lowering mortgage rates to spur more investment in housing.

That’s a good thing for Home Depot, Lowe’s and companies that sell furniture and home furnishings.

The only challenge will be this. Is China doing something stupid like acting against Taiwan? Would this result in some sort of penalty that would result in many shutdowns and greatly harm the economy.

But remember this, no matter what happens with the Trump administration and retail, we have to remember that we are now at the point where we are spending almost a trillion dollars a year just on service of the national debt and that could quickly spiral out of control, which could actually dampen some of the activities that are happening in retail.

So I’m very optimistic about the future, but I’m smart enough to pay attention to things that might dampen enthusiasm.

FREIGHTWAVES: What trends do you anticipate in FreightTech investment for 2025?

LADD: I think trucking companies need to make sure they leverage AI and machine learning as much as possible – particularly leveraging AI to really improve the asset optimization capability of these companies, including the tractor, the trailer, the driver, and do a much better job of matching the right freight to their business.

The problem I see with too many trucking companies is that they still use old-fashioned financials to run the business. … I think what today’s trucking companies should be doing is asking themselves, “What technology is going to allow us to enter new markets?” What new technology will really allow us to develop our business, to be able to invest ever more assets, to hire more trucks, more trailers and more drivers? And to what extent does it really make sense for us to completely change our business model?

Overall, I think it’s time for trucking companies to take a step back and ask themselves, “Are we a trucking company or are we a technology company?” And if they can’t say we’re a technology company, I think they’re really going to be in for a world of hurt.

I also think they should be much more interested in mergers and acquisitions. …If I had to pick one thing I want to see happen, I think CH Robinson (NASDAQ:CHRW) should acquire an Uber Freight (NYSE:UBER).

CH Robinson is a large brokerage firm but their technology is old, and I pointed this out to them several years ago. I told them, “You have your own platform. You’ve invested millions of dollars (in this project), but in my opinion, it’s still the Stone Age.

I evaluated it, and I wasn’t very impressed, and I told them I thought you should acquire a company that had a completely different point of view than you on technology. And for me, it was UberFreight.

The analogy I use is: Walmart was really bad at e-commerce until it acquired a company called Jet.com. Walmart acquired Jet.com for just over $3 billion. This $3 billion investment allowed Walmart to become the second largest e-commerce player in the United States. The company has generated billions and billions of dollars from this initial investment.

That’s what (Uber Freight) would do for CH Robinson.

The full interview is available on demand on the SiriusXM app here. You can also catch episodes live Monday-Friday at 5 p.m. EST on SiriusXM Ch. 146

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