Matthew Lowe’s Post

#DTC Operators..... Case Study Alert 🚨 Delighted to announce another successful case study with Nomad the Label! Huge Results within a few months after integrating StoreHero into their operations: 👉 403% boost in Sales 👉 603% increase in Ad Spend 👉 190% growth in Contribution Margin 👉 130% surge in Net Profit 👉 10 hours saved each week "I was looking for that thin channel to navigate through, ensuring we scale right without taking anything for granted. The dynamic nature of e-commerce means every day brings a new challenge, and you need the agility to adapt your strategy continuously. StoreHero was the partner we needed to keep us aligned with our goals and to maximize profitability amidst constant change." - Donal Breslin Check out the case study in full 👉

Following on the coattails of the demise (almost) of Farfetch it was announced on New Year’s Eve that Sook had gone out of business. Both have been the darlings of the press in the past couple of years but join the growing list of businesses where PR hype fails to outweigh a heavy cash burn. Also on New Year’s Eve, just a year since Alison Rose was made a Dame (a year’s a long time in business), in this year’s honours list there were a clutch of business people but perhaps the most noticeable was Tim Martin. Putting his Marmite politics to one side, and I have read many commentaries since saying that his Knighthood is questionable, in my opinion the accolade is spot on. I met Tim once, back in 1997, 26 years ago and a mere 18 years since he opened his first pub. It was in a pub, the Allsop Arms in Paddington – not a Weatherspoons Pub – on a wet midweek night. Asked why he was in the pub? “One of the best pints of bitter in London” he replied. Wetherspoons is a phenomenon and one of his creation. I was in the The Old Goalhouse in Winchester the weekend before Christmas. The place was absolutely rammed – there wasn’t even standing room – and is there any wonder? You can buy a pint of Budweiser for £2.88 which is roughly half the price of most other pubs. Then there is the app. Having been involved in many omni channel transformations the app is easy to use and a great customer service proposition. I was once in the Metropolitan Bar on Baker Street (not to be confused with the Met Bar on Park Lane) before a rare Southampton FC Wembley appearance. The bar was 5 deep with Saints supporters who were easily circumnavigated with a few clicks on the app. If you haven’t come across “The Game” where you can send random people drinks on social media check it out. A business that isn’t on social media but has a customer generated social media presence – a marketeers dream. What I admire about Tim Martin is the way the business has survived and thrived in one of the toughest sectors in the UK - it makes over £20m of profit and employs 40,000 people. He has also made decisions against the run of play: no music or live sports, first to introduce non-smoking areas and deleting the social media profile. What I admire the most is he realised that the path to profitability is to sweat your biggest cost – rent and rates. The sites are busy from 8am until after midnight, giving the maximum chance possible to reach the rent break-even point. Which takes me back to 1997 again. I was living in Fulham at the time and there was cafe on Fulham Road called Croc’s. I am surprised it’s now a surgery as the place was a gold mine. The reason – I saw people in there for breakfast from 7am and I saw people leave there at 3am after too many Woo Woo’s. Hat’s off to whoever was responsible for the 4 hour turnaround but there can’t be many hospitality businesses that trade for 20 hours a day, and if they do, i would imagine they are profitable.

Uber and AirBnB survive at scale because they commoditize complements and increase distribution for fragmented suppliers. Farfetch's strategic goals were weak because its market lacked this dynamic. That doesn't mean all e-commerce luxury intermediaries are in the same boat, however. Other players in the space seem to have built profitable businesses, as of my writing this, through a focus on service and depth of relationships rather than breadth of inventory. From the FT: [Farfetch's] shares have lost over 97 per cent of their value since the company listed, and its market value has plummeted from a high of around $24bn in 2021 to around $220mn today. The company’s prospects have now whittled down to two options: to be saved by a “white knight” investor, or to go into administration. An answer is expected within days.

Already, this article calls out some important trends mentioned in this year's #FiveThings (find in my profile under articles). First, that popups are doing a fantastic job at generating attention (buzz) and allow for immersive brand experiences in a way that traditional stores (even with modifications) can't always do. It also calls out how #DTC has a different role for everyone beyond just a sales channel. We have long seen digital-to-store influence but now we are starting to see store-to-digital, which is very exciting. #retail #dtc #popupstore #popups #commerce

🟡 Highsnobiety launched its first permanent store in Berlin, but retail will not be its primary revenue source ⬇️ The venture follows various retail initiatives, such as e-tailers and pop-up stores, reflecting a mixed success history. 🇩🇪 The Berlin flagship opened on March 1st and features products from around 100 brands, spanning luxury, streetwear & other categories. 💰 The strategy is focused on brand partnerships & activations as main revenue sources, aiming to alleviate the pressure faced by multi-brand retail models. David Fischer, Highsnobiety founder & CEO, envisions the store as a dynamic, physical extension of the brand’s digital projects, aiming for constant reinvention. 🧪 This approach aligns with the company’s broader retail experiments, including airport concept stores and fashion week pop-ups. 📰 The acquisition by Zalando in June 2022 for approximately €124 million underscores the strategic shifts and challenges in converting Highsnobiety’s readership into sustainable online sales amid a tough retail environment. The new store aims to replicate the success of Highsnobiety’s “Not In” pop-up series, leveraging the format to create a community hub that attracts big brands willing to pay for access to the streetwear and fashion audience. 📈 The Berlin flagship will host events and activations, hoping to emulate the high revenue generated by previous pop-ups, which have significantly outperformed traditional sales metrics. ❌ However, this venture is not without risk, as indicated by the recent closure of the HYPEBEAST flagship in NYC. Yet, Highsnobiety remains optimistic, banking on the unique blend of retail and brand partnerships that represent the majority of its business model. 🤝 The flagship store is seen as a year-round platform for these partnerships, offering a versatile space for various events and activations. 🧨 The success of the Berlin flagship could potentially lead to the expansion of this retail concept to other cities, reflecting Fischer’s broader ambitions for the brand’s physical retail presence. ➡️ Let me know your thoughts. Is this the future of multi-brand retail? Combining retail with media revenue and other sources of income? 💬👇 #trendwatching #innovation #retail #fashion #commerce #zalando #highsnobiety #hypebeast #berlin #future #business

Rebranding is an important way for a brand to stand out from competitors or show a new vision. 🔨 Just like iconic brands Starbucks, Airbnb, and Domino's, recognizing the need for change is the first step towards revitalizing your brand's identity. Whether it's a shift in vision, a new direction, or simply staying ahead of the curve, a bold rebrand can redefine your brand's narrative and set it apart in a crowded marketplace. Stay tuned for our case study on @elephantandco_india , where we break down how we transformed it from a laid-back gastro-pub into a friendly-neighbourhood bar. #Rebranding #rebrand #rebranded #BrandingAgency #CreativeBrandingAgency

Reflecting on the first half of this year, the CULT MIA team and I couldn't be more proud and excited for what's to come in H2! 🚀 - H1 sales have already matched our 2023 annual turnover, while maintaining order profitability 3x above marketplaces peers 📈 - Our topline growth keeps accelerating, with our weekly revenue far outpacing 2023's average monthly revenue (+155% y-o-y) ⚡ - Our growth doesn't rely on discounting (discounts <7% of our sales): our unique, values-driven, and exclusive product offering speaks for itself and directly to all the shoppers tired of sterile, undifferentiated offerings found on all of the platforms 👗 - Over 275 brands apply to join Cult Mia each month: 10% make the cut, rigorously vetted on sustainability and ethics, and handpicked as the designers we know will be the next big names in fashion 🌍 - We launched 210 new collections, featuring new designers who have quickly become cult favorites & releasing exclusive capsules with our shoppers most loved brands 🛍 - 98% of the brands that joined Cult Mia have stayed with us, and our shooting stars are seeing monthly sales growth rates exceeding 1890% ☄ - We're humbled & energised by the industry-wide recognition: Sifted listed us as the only fashion company in the 100 fastest growing startups UK & Ireland Leaderboard, The Business of Fashion highlighted us as the startup defying the luxury e-commerce slump, and Grow London selected us for their latest cohort showcasing the most exciting growth businesses in London 🌟 There's has never been a bigger need to lift up and spotlight independent brands: we're seeing the impact that the largest platforms' struggles have had on the ecosystem. There's also never been more demand for values-driven fashion you can't find else where. So it's such an exciting time for our business, where we've had tremendous support across the board from our designers, customers, investors, advisers, and most of all the Cult Mia team working incredibly hard on our scaling journey. A big thank you from me!

Essentially, Sephora Beauty Insider Members tin get up to 30% disconnected based connected which tier they're a portion of. Deets and dates below:  Rouge Members get 20% disconnected *and* aboriginal entree to deals from 4/5 – 4/15. VIB members get 15% disconnected from 4/9 – 4/15. Insider members get 10% disconnected from 4/9 – 4/15. Simply usage the codification YAYSAVE to nab these discounts astatine checkout! You tin adjacent notation the codification astatine checkout to prevention if you're buying successful store.  #innovation - #management - #technology - #creativity - #futurism - #startups

** ANGEL INVESTOR REACH OUT ** This is where physical fashion retail is heading. Which creates an opportunity. The size of a ‘blue ocean’ in fact. But back to this picture - it isn’t completely accurate. Desert, yes. But in the distance a blue sky?? The planet is accelerating down this road towards unstable weather systems, more waste, shrinking natural resources and 25% more people by 2050…. more likely a reason to feel blue? Now back to the good news… an alternative! We’re going to revolutionise fashion retail and take it down a different path. Uniquely creating a ‘state of art’ instore service which digitally empowers staff to help customers buy what they look great wearing. A store which sells twice as much in half the space of a traditional store. That’s 4 times the productivity levels (and far more sustainable with it!) What’s more, the service dovetails with online as our proprietary tech was always designed to blend the two. We have an online MVP with paying customers and we now seek the remaining £200K of SEIS, to bring our store concept to life. We already have traction with several major shopping mall chains and a robust GTM strategy that’s realistic and has potential for rapid growth. Our exit plan is in 5-7 yrs. Acquisition is likely as this is a global opportunity as it’s straightforward to scale. We forecast ROI multiples that will attract VCs, although our ambition is to avoid them - so your (and our) investment (and reward) suffers minimal dilution. Beyond this initial investment, we will seek further investment within 12 months to launch the first of our new concept stores. All early investors will get first refusal to reinvest and this will remain our policy prior to exit. Exited founders with disruptive experience are especially welcome, as your advice would be valuable. As are angels with retail property experience and of course, those who simply appreciate being treated well. It all starts with a DM msg… we look forward to speaking. #angelinvestor #angelinvesting #futureoffashion #fashion #retail #mysecretstylist

According to a recent CNBC article, the retail landscape is poised for profound transformation. Picture this - immersive in-store experiences fused with cutting-edge technology, personalized shopping journeys tailored to each customer's unique preferences, and seamless integration between online and offline channels. Isn't that the future we all dream of? This isn't just a lofty vision. It's the inevitable evolution of retail. It's where ambitious startups, armed with innovative ideas and disruptive technologies, lead us. At Hone Ventures, we see the immense potential that lies ahead. We understand the power of innovation and its role in shaping industries. We believe in the audacious entrepreneurs who dare to redefine the boundaries of what's possible. Are you one of those trailblazers? Are you ready to disrupt the retail sector and shape the future of shopping? We're here to back your vision and help make it a reality. Let's collaborate and build the retail world of tomorrow together. #Retail #Innovation #Disruption #Startups #HoneVentures What will retail look like in five years? Top industry executives share their predictions http://dlvr.it/T3616v