What It Takes to Win at DTC in 2024
The DTC bust of the past two years has casted a cloud on the sector, but emerging fashion brands with a better handle on supply, demand and customer retention are seeing profitable growth.
Direct-to-Consumer
How direct-to-consumer brands and retail concepts are reshaping the industry, online and off.
Highlights
How to Save a DTC Brand Without Crushing Its Soul
The past year has seen a stream of last-minute rescue deals for once-hot start-ups. Acquirers of formerly distressed brands weigh in on how to improve operations and retain what made them special in the first place.
Everlane Still Wants to Be a $1 Billion Brand. Is That Even Possible?
Founder Michael Preysman and his investors are back in growth mode after implementing cost cuts and changes to the product mix last year. Whether Everlane can find a new leader to make it the sales juggernaut it's always dreamt of being will be a test case for whether late-stage start-ups can escape the direct-to-consumer curse.
Case Studies & Reports
Latest News & Analysis
The Best of BoF 2024: Rewriting the Direct-to-Consumer Playbook
In 2024, survivors of the e-commerce reckoning used consumer data to make wiser investments and focused on building profitable, desirable brands that offer more than low prices and convenience.
Will Shein’s IPO Make it in 2025?
The ultra-fast-fashion giant could be the biggest listing in London for years, but controversies around the company’s business practices and links to China are dragging on the process.
Telfar’s First Store: A Block Party for the ‘Bushwick Birkin’
More than 2,000 people showed up in SoHo on Saturday to celebrate the opening of the brand’s first permanent outpost – and add another of the sometimes hard-to-find tote to their collection.
The Debrief | How Dupe Culture is Challenging Traditional Luxury
Senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin are joined by e-commerce correspondent Malique Morris to explore how brands are offering affordable alternatives to luxury goods, and reshaping consumer expectations in the process.
The Debrief | How Dupe Culture is Challenging Traditional Luxury
Senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin are joined by e-commerce correspondent Malique Morris to explore how brands are offering affordable alternatives to luxury goods, and reshaping consumer expectations in the process.
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Why Some Fashion Brands Are Embracing DIY E-Commerce
With rising competition to acquire and retain customers online, digitally native start-ups are determining how to strike a balance between developing their own e-commerce features in-house and partnering with external software providers.
What Luxury ‘Dupe’ Brands Get Right About Shoppers
Start-ups like Quince and Italic that sell affordable basics made in the same factories as high-end brands are generating massive growth in appealing directly to middle-class shoppers who don’t want to resort to Shein hauls.
How Brands Can Beat the E-Commerce Slowdown
The upside for online sales may be lower than many retailers anticipated. Physical stores and social commerce could make up the gap.
Rothy’s Charts International Expansion With a Pop-Up in Liberty London
After a sales dip and leadership change last year, the brand, known for its knit flats, is embarking on a global retail push to kickstart its growth recovery, starting with a debut in the British department store.
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How to Get Customers to Shop Online
Fashion e-commerce winners are using new personalisation techniques to boost sales, but doing so doesn’t necessarily require expensive software upgrades.
Case Study | How Brands Can Balance DTC and Wholesale
Emerging and established labels today are realising they can’t be exclusively DTC or wholesale. What’s essential is to strike the right balance of both. To do that, brands are streamlining retail partners, better curating products for different channels and leveraging the individual strengths of wholesale and DTC to bolster their sales and profits in each.
Case Study | How Brands Can Balance DTC and Wholesale
Emerging and established labels today are realising they can’t be exclusively DTC or wholesale. What’s essential is to strike the right balance of both. To do that, brands are streamlining retail partners, better curating products for different channels and leveraging the individual strengths of wholesale and DTC to bolster their sales and profits in each.
How to Save a DTC Brand Without Crushing Its Soul
The past year has seen a stream of last-minute rescue deals for once-hot start-ups. Acquirers of formerly distressed brands weigh in on how to improve operations and retain what made them special in the first place.
The DTC Brands Driving the Men’s Loafer Boom
The classic shoe has become a go-to for plugged-in menswear shoppers thanks to DTC upstarts offering a wide range of slip-on styles with distinct aesthetics and accessible price points.
The News in Brief
Telfar to Open Its First Flagship Store
The cult apparel and accessories label’s 10,000-square-foot outpost in New York will include a year-round selection of its popular “Bushwick Birkins” and a television studio.
Warby Parker Narrows Losses, Raises Full-Year Revenue Projections
The eyewear maker reported steady sales growth in the third quarter of the year as it continues its brick-and-mortar expansion.
Everlane Hires Former Fear of God Executive as its New CEO
The apparel brand hired Alfred Chang to replace Andrea O’Donnell, who left the company in January after leading Everlane’s return to profitability.