Stay in Touch
The outdoors-focused drinkware and gear company Stanley is "coming off the best year in Stanley's history," according to global President Terence Reilly. Reilly chatted with Modern Retail about the products that drove growth in 2021, shifting marketing towards an influencer-led strategy, and his predictions for the outdoor segment in 2022.
Since launching in 2018, Thrasio has quickly become the poster child for the Amazon aggregator space. The company's president, Danny Boockvar, told Modern Retail that it avoided the supply chain issues that hurt smaller sellers by planning in advance of the sales event.
After a record-breaking year, Shoe Carnival is showing no signs of slowing down. "We are entering rapid growth mode," CEO Mark Worden, who took the reins in September, told Modern Retail. "Our goal is to become a multi-billion dollar retailer."
After nearly two years of building out online shopping capabilities while downsizing its physical footprint, Express is seeing its e-commerce business grow. In an interview with Modern Retail, Brian Seewald, senior vp of e-commerce at Express, explained the strategy behind the retailer's e-commerce ambitions.
Pacsun has been hosting shoppable live video on its website, TikTok and Amazon Live since August. President Bree Olsen told Modern Retail that the fledgling format “represents the power of conversational commerce.”
Pizza Hut has been shifting to a predominantly digital-first media mix globally since 2017, Courtney Vogel, chief transformation officer at Pizza Hut International told Modern Retail. The company hatched a plan to add more mobile-centric experiences to its marketing mix at the end of 2020 -- a time when the pandemic was forcing brands to rethink their strategies amid store closures.
After leaving DavidsTea in 2016, David Segal is today launching his second tea brand, Firebelly Tea, alongside co-founder Harley Finkelstein, the president of Shopify. The brand is launching with 20 tea flavors and seven tea-making accessories "curated to modern living."
Bombas was founded in 2013 as a buy-one-give-one sock company, when co-founders Randy Goldberg and David Heath learned that the category was the most requested clothing item for homeless shelters. In 2019, the brand moved into t-shirts and, in 2021, into underwear and slippers.
Since taking over Los-Angeles based Compartés more than a decade ago, CEO Jonathan Grahm has led the ageing brand into the digital era. The 72-year-old company, which sells handmade chocolates online via its Shopify store and at 3,000 global retailers, has pivoted to the drop model to drum up demand for limited-edition releases.
This week, Reebok is iterating upon its loyalty program with a weeklong, members-only virtual event with first access to product drops. Tom Burrow, Reebok’s vp of digital brand commerce, chatted with Modern Retail about evolving the sneaker drop model towards loyal customers, incorporating consumer data into production decisions and the role of athlete influencers in their loyalty offerings.
After acquiring Rockstar in March 2020, PepsiCo announced plans to double Rockstar’s sales worldwide over the next three years. In an interview with Modern Retail, PepsiCo’s CMO and svp of the energy category, Fabiola Torres, discussed Rockstar’s rebrand, as well as the brand’s forays into gaming.
Last year's crafting boom made Joann one of retail's biggest winners, helping it go public earlier this year. Now, the company wants to use its stores -- along with newfound e-commerce customers -- to keep that momentum going. Christopher DiTullio, the company chief customer officer, discussed Joann's retention plans with Modern Retail.
Gap is investing in its online fulfillment and customer service centers to prepare for the holiday season, and using automation as a stop-gap to a nationwide labor crunch. Modern Retail spoke with Gap's svp of global logistics, Kevin Kuntz, about how the company's investment in logistics have changed over the years.
This fall, Uniqlo is celebrating its 15th anniversary in the United States. The Japanese retailer opened its first U.S. store in New York City's Soho neighborhood and has since expanded across the country. Now, the company's brick and mortar strategy is shifting as it integrates its shoppable website and digital products.
The pandemic helped bring resale into the mainstream, with several platforms benefiting from the trend of young consumers buying and selling goods. One company that's experienced an influx in users, both young and outside the Gen Z demographic, is StockX. While the platform began as a go-to for rare, hard-to-find sneakers, StockX is working to diversify its partnerships and offerings to cater to a global audience.
Earlier this month, resale platform Rebelstork – which buys back and sells refurbished baby gear – launched in the U.S. The Canadian startup, founded in 2019, is positioning itself as a white-glove and sustainable shopping service for parents. As resale continues to become more popular, more companies like Rebelstork are trying to corner the secondhand market in niche product categories.
Read MoreRecognizing the companies and campaigns modernizing retail in the digital age.
REMIND ME
