Retail in 2026: Thrivers and survivors in a time of accelerated innovation
Amazon and Walmart continue to lead retail innovation by leveraging AI, expanding their marketplaces and operational capabilities, while setting new standards for consumer expectations. Other retailers must quickly adapt to keep pace, amid higher tariffs and cost-conscious shoppers, complicating turnaround efforts. In this webinar, panelists explored the key trends shaping the retail landscape and offer credit insights for investors navigating industry transformation.
Topics included:
- Market disruption: Are advances at Amazon and Walmart starting to hurt even the larger players, such as Best Buy and Target?
- Thrivers and survivors: Which companies will be successful in 2026? Who is positioned to thrive and who are the survivors during this period of accelerated change?
- Default drivers: Which retailers are most at risk?
Speakers
Margaret Taylor
Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Ratings
Christina Boni
Senior Vice President, Retail, Corporate Finance
Moody's Ratings
Mickey Chadha
Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Corporate Finance
Moody's Ratings
Chedly Milord Louis
VP-Sr Credit Officer, Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Ratings
Raya Sokolyanska
Vice President – Senior Credit Officer
Moody's Ratings
Michael Tellis
Vice President - Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Ratings
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Maggie Taylor is the Associate Managing Director of the Retail, Restaurants, Apparel, Lodging and Cruise team within the US Corporate Finance Group. Prior to her current role, Maggie was a Senior Vice President within the US High Yield team where she served as a Rating Committee Chair. Maggie has also acted as a lead analyst covering a wide range of investment grade and speculative grade companies across a variety of sectors including retail, lodging, cruise and business and consumer services. Before joining Moody’s in January 2004, Maggie was a Vice President in the Corporate Banking Group at JPMorgan Chase where she focused on the retail, apparel, and restaurant industries. Maggie received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Delaware and holds her CPA.
Christina Boni is a Senior Vice President with Moody’s Ratings, and is responsible for a portfolio of investment grade and speculative grade companies in the retail sector. Prior to joining Moody’s in January 2016, Christina was a Managing
Director for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) focusing on leveraged retailers. From 2008-2009, Christina was a Portfolio Manager at Fridson Investment Advisors, a credit hedge fund. In addition, Christina was a sell-side leverage finance analyst at Credit
Suisse (CS) and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, which was acquired by CS in 2000. She was voted by clients to the Institutional Investor Fixed Income team for the Retail sector for seven consecutive years. She also was appointed to the Institutional
Investor Fixed Income team for her work in the Supermarket and Food and Beverage sector. In addition, Christina worked at the Walt Disney Company as a Senior Analyst within their Strategic Planning Group. Christina holds a B.S. in Economics from the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a M.B.A from the Harvard Business School.
Mickey Chadha is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer on the Corporate Finance Team. He is the lead analyst covering a portfolio of bog box, value, off-price and specialty retail issuers. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2010 Mickey spent about 20 years in corporate and investment banking. Mickey began his banking career at First Fidelity Bank (now part of Wells Fargo) and following his tenure at First Fidelity, he worked at different banking institutions including Sumitomo Mitsubishi Banking Corporation and The Royal Bank of Canada. Just before joining Moody’s Mickey was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President at IKB Capital Corporation managing a portfolio of high yield and investment grade credits. Mickey holds an M.B.A from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, New York and a post graduate diploma in credit analysis and banking from New York University.
Chedly Milord Louis is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service. Chedly is a lead analyst concentrating on the branded consumer packaged goods sector covering both investment grade and high yield credits.
Prior to joining Moody’s in February 2015, Chedly worked in the investment banking group of The Royal Bank of Scotland as a senior credit officer managing a global consumer, retail, healthcare, hotel, leisure and homebuilding account portfolio through early ri sk detection and analysis. Prior to that, Chedly worked at Fitch Ratings in the Corporate Finance Group and analyzed investment grade and high yield corporate bond issuers in the consumer durables, business services, and retail industries.
Chedly holds a B.A. from New York University in Economics and an M.B.A from St. John’s University in Finance.
Raya Sokolyanska is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Ratings. Raya is a lead analyst concentrating on the apparel and retail sector covering both investment grade and high yield credits. Before joining Corporate Finance in 2011, Raya also worked in Moody’s Investor Relations team.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Raya worked at JPMorgan Chase Asset Management as an associate covering Real Estate Investment Trusts and as a Market Risk analyst in asset-backed securities. Prior to JP Morgan, Raya worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and A.T. Kearney.
Raya holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business.
Michael Tellis is a Vice President – Senior Analyst in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Ratings. Michael concentrates on high yield specialty retail and apparel credits.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Michael worked at UBS as a Senior Credit Officer managing the credit risk underwriting and portfolio management for the Consumer Product and Retail, Healthcare, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure sectors and prior to that, Technology, Media and Telecom. Prior to UBS, Michael worked in corporate debt restructuring at Wells Fargo.
Michael holds a BA in Economics from Davidson College and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business.