Hello, and happy Monday!
This is issue no. 10 of the Nebulab newsletter, your favorite bi-weekly reflection about retail, DTC, and eCommerce technology.
When thinking about DTC, sustainable is not really the first adjective that comes to mind. Historically, true sustainability has been a luxury many brands couldn't (or didn't want to) afford, sacrificed at the altar of free returns, cheap manufacturing, and aggressive growth agendas. As a result, we've witnessed an embarrassing amount of badly-executed greenwashing.
What we've seen over the last year is that when marketing budgets get tighter and push comes to shove, even the greenwashing becomes too expensive, and only a few players remain standing—those that were genuinely trying to have a positive impact on their industry.
Building a brand that is both financially and ecologically sustainable is not impossible, but the playbook definitely looks a bit different from what we've seen so far. In today's edition, we're paying homage to the upcoming Earth Day and offering a glimpse into the world of sustainable eCommerce.
🔒 Member Brief: Circular Fashion and DTC. Circular commerce is an enormous business opportunity for brands that can adequately capture it. The trick is carefully curating the resale experience to bolster the brand promise rather than diluting the brand promise. Enterprise brands have the first-mover advantage and learned to do this well—will everyone else?
On, The $1 Billion Swiss Running-Shoe Company, Declares Cyclon Its Sustainability Incubator. We feature On often in this newsletter, and for a good reason: they're the kind of company that consistently takes wild yet carefully calculated bets. The Cyclon is an unbelievably bold idea, perfectly executed to align with On's KPIs and company values.
How Wolf & Badger is winning the sustainable retailer race. We're bullish on vertical marketplaces as the perfect DTC 4.0 customer acquisition channel: they're more founder-friendly than Amazon and less expensive to operate than paid social. It can only be good when those marketplaces push brands to become the best version of themselves.
Brand interview
Growing Brands through Physical Retail and Creator Partnerships
We started doing interviews!
Here at Nebulab, we get the chance to talk to tens of interesting eCommerce brands about their story, strategies, and plans, and we decided to start surfacing some of these insights for the benefit of the broader eCommerce community. Enter The Stockroom!
Every few weeks, we'll interview a founder or executive from an eCommerce/DTC brand, unpacking what led them to the present day, how they're navigating the current challenges and opportunities in the online retail landscape, and what trends they have their eyes on.
For our first interview, we're chatting with Joe Anhalt, VP of Marketing & Growth at KOIO, makers of fine handcrafted Italian leather shoes. KOIO, based out of NYC, puts an extreme emphasis on the quality of its products, sourcing only the very best materials and manufacturers in Italy.
Dive in to learn more about why Koio ventured into physical retail from day one and how they're leveraging an organic approach to creator partnerships to grow their brand.
On a side note: while we haven't discussed this in the interview, KOIO is also deep in the sustainability game. They're taking things to the next level with their regenerative shoe. Check it out!
Webinar recording
Bridging the Gap: From Product Vision to Product Strategy
Do you know the most common complaint about leadership from product teams? It's not salary. It's not workload. It's actually lack of direction. The solution: great product strategy.
This session with Patti Chan is for anyone leading digital product or eCommerce. You'll find that you're likely already doing product strategy, and you'll come away equipped with frameworks and tools to turn a 5-year digital product vision into next quarter's roadmap.
We had a fantastic turnover at the live event, and looking forward to hosting Patti again! In the meantime, you can watch the recorded webinar below.
That's it for today!
If you have any questions, comments, or running shoes to recycle, send them right to [email protected].
See you in two weeks! 👋
Psst! If you know someone who might be a good fit for our strategy, design or engineering services, you can now refer them. You get a $250 gift card, and both you and your referral get 20% off your next invoice.