From his perch as the chief executive of BJ’s Wholesale Club, Christopher Baldwin has an impressive view of the retail landscape, particularly when you consider clubs like his must compete with nearly every form of retail operation — local grocery chains, big box and department stores, upstarts like Boxed.com and, of course, Amazon. So it’s fitting that Baldwin in January became chairman of the National Retail Federation’s board of directors. Baldwin is charged with helping to shape policy for the trade organization during a two-year term, a period he said will be a “fascinating time to be in the retail business.’’ Baldwin spoke with Globe reporter Janelle Nanos about his own history in retail and his plans to bring BJ’s deeper into the digital age. 

1One of the things that makes Baldwin proudest is watching his team members grow into leadership roles within the company — there are senior vice presidents at BJ’s who started as cashiers, he said.Baldwin got his start as a stock boy in a Long Island supermarket.

“It was a formative part of my career. The retail industry is responsible for 42 million jobs in this country, and one-third of Americans had their first job in retail. We teach Americans how to go to work.’’ 

2As in any retail operation, Baldwin says, success comes with anticipating a customer’s needs. That’s meant going in big on two seemingly disconnected fronts: Fresh food and apparel.

“Thirty percent of what we sell in store is fresh food, and our business is a reflection of our shoppers’ needs. But we take a much broader view of fresh and we believe fresh applies to apparel and technology. As some retailers are struggling from an apparel perspective, our sales are growing by 10 percent. People come to us for fresh food, but we’re [also] able to give them great fashion deals.’’  

3The company recently made major investments in technology, and Baldwin says BJ’s will be introducing several new innovations this year, including a relaunch of its website in the spring, and the rollout of a “buy online and pick up in store’’ option for customers in the fall. 

“Fresh and value are two very important things that we work on every single day. [One of] the things we’re working on more incrementally is how to make the trip more convenient in a world where convenience has been redefined. We’ve launched an app that lets consumers access coupon offers on their phone, and our Express Scan, which allows people to take pictures of their items and check out without standing in line. Consumers in the 20- or 30-years-ago world — we would build it and they would come. Today, we have to be where they want to be.’’ 

4Among the items on Baldwin’s to-do list as NRF chairman is to expand the organization’s RISE (Retail Industry Skills & Education) Up training and credentialing program for retail employees. 

“The retail business is an important part of the US economy, and the NRF has a great story to tell about growing and developing leaders. RISE Up provides a certificate that demonstrates employees have the basic skills required to be successful in the retail environment — serving customers, basic math, understanding how a store operates. Once that person gets that credential, stores within the NRF are typically very anxious to hire that person.’’

5When Baldwin’s not in the office, he’s often combining a love of lacrosse — he played as a student — with his commitment to creating new opportunities for young people. As the founding board member of the Harlem Lacrosse educational intervention program, he’s helped inner-city middle school kids in New York, Baltimore, and Boston get extra mentoring and coaching both in the classroom and on the field. 

“What we do is put recent college grads into inner-city middle schools all day every day. If the students meet the educational requirements, we help them connect with scholarships for prep schools. Our students have accepted over $24 million in scholarship dollars in the six years we’ve run the program. I feel deeply about it. It’s making an impact.’’ 

Janelle Nanos can be reached at janelle.nanos@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @janellenanos.