DTC for Ketchup

A really interesting piece via Fast Company on the impact of Direct to Consumer (DTC) and it’s ascension during the pandemic. Where once innovate DTC brand like Harry’s were getting gobbled up by established companies, the story talks about how now it’s the established companies who are entering into the channel. It makes sense when you think about what the pandemic has done to retail (outside of Amazon and Walmart it seems). If your city looks anything like mine, retail is essentially boarded up.

The story includes comments from two of my favorite people in the space, Harley Finkelstein of Shopify and designer Rebecca Minkoff. The Minkoff story of their pivot from retail to DTC is pretty incredible. This particular quote about how she moved her brand in the new direction and how it included loads of experiments is something a lot of brand managers should take to heart:

We will try any platform as long as we see there is an ROI—and that doesn’t always mean sales. The metrics are different for different platforms.”

Another super smart thought

Minkoff has a network of brick-and-mortar stores and expects to reopen them in the summer. But they won’t be primarily about selling products. Instead, she sees them as creative brand extensions. For instance, rather than simply working with an Instagram influencer, customers could come to the store and interact with a person. It could be a place to highlight female-founded businesses and reinforce the message that Rebecca Minkoff is a brand that supports women.

A really good read with a few sobering statistics (UBS predicts 100,000 stores will shutter by 2025) but with hope that this “retail revolution” will help both brand and customer in the long run. It’s interesting when I think about my own DTC behaviors over the last year realizing that I bought workout equipment (Peloton), Pants (Grand Running Club), Coffee (Stori Coffee) and even my mask (Handmade By Girl). And I’m sure there’s more. What about you?