Ana Andjelic: Why visceral storytelling is the next brand-building territory.
Symbolic and visceral, smell is a powerful brand language that convincingly conveys identity and differentiation. It creates a direct, tangible connection between a brand and its consumers.
Marcela Sapone: Smart brands like Aesop have figured out that clever distribution builds brands.
Aesop and others realize that modern brand building lies in meeting today’s new consumer in the places they are: the hotel, the restaurant, the boutique. Now the onus is on CPGs to unlock new channels to break out of stalled growth.
Ana Andjelic: The dark side of the direct-to-consumer brand experience.
For every new brand that takes the long view on customer service (fixing a broken product even if it’s the customer’s fault), there are countless more where the customer relationship ends at the moment of sale.
Marcela Sapone: The modern luxury supply chain is log jammed at the front door of your apartment building.
It doesn’t matter how sophisticated direct-to-consumer brands make their products or supply chains today — if shipments get stacked at the front door of your apartment, that’s a failure. Fortunately, a more thoughtful, seamless future is on the way.
One of Grailed’s most loyal users wants to create a more seller-friendly direct challenger.
One of Grailed’s most loyal users says the platform “has developed into a buyer’s site that neglects the needs of its sellers”, and he’s had enough. He’s gauging interest in creating a new site that addresses Grailed’s two biggest problems: high seller fees and lowballers.
At $260M, did Rapha’s new owners pay too much?
With the lengthy Rapha sale saga now officially put to bed with this month’s acquisition by Walmart grandsons Steuart and Tom Walton, time has been afforded to reflect back and assess the winners and losers in the deal.
Meet Fabulous Brands: A growth capital firm addressing the “capitalization gap” for modern luxury upstarts.
Having just come out of stealth, and with investments in Naadam and True Botanicals, Fabulous Brands is a new $50M fund that’s aiming to provide the growth capital young brands need to get from $5M to $50M in eighteen months.
Rapha’s buyout by Walmart heirs marks the first M&A deal for an activewear brand in the modern luxury category.
Rapha’s $261M purchase by Walmart heirs Steuart and Tom Walton puts an end to an ‘on again, off again’ sale saga that stretched across nine long months.
With “Return Bars” and “Returnistas”, Happy Returns is eliminating the hassle of returning online orders by mail.
Happy Returns is a new upstart that’s addressing a new need in today’s e-commerce driven world: Rather than doing returns by mail, customers are able to drop off their online returns at a Happy Bar, and Happy Returns handles the rest.
Update: Not yet launched, Monocle’s Summer Weekly is already profitable.
Far from being a mere passion project, this is targeting a timely business opportunity – and they’ve got a clear idea of who their target customer is (and where they’re often found in August).
