Despite the retail challenges of 2020, Duer co-founder Gary Lenett shares how the activewear brand achieved significant growth and successfully opened new brick-and-mortar stores. This episode offers valuable insights into sustainable inventory management via a Kickstarter model, strategic product development that overcame initial retail buyer skepticism, and international expansion plans. It's a must-listen for brands looking to navigate turbulent retail landscapes and achieve consistent growth.
Key takeaways
Duer's growth during the pandemic highlights the importance of a strong, adaptable direct-to-consumer strategy, even for brands opening physical retail locations.
Leveraging Kickstarter to gauge demand before manufacturing inventory is a highly sustainable and financially prudent approach to product launches, minimizing waste and ensuring product-market fit.
Overcoming traditional retail buyer skepticism requires a strong product-market fit and a founder's conviction in their product's superiority, especially when introducing innovative concepts like versatile activewear for both office and exercise.
Strategic international expansion, specifically into markets like Asia, is crucial for long-term growth and market diversification for successful DTC brands.
Consistent annual sales doubling (like Duer experienced for five years) can be achieved through a combination of innovative product, direct-to-consumer sales, and thoughtful expansion into new product categories and geographies.
Many of the fashion retailers who had plans to open brick-and-mortar stores in 2020 wish they could take it all back. Not so, for Duer co-founder Gary Lenett.
"We just feel very, very fortunate to be in the position we are, given where most of the world is that," Lenett said on the Glossy Podcast. The activewear brand is cash flow positive, and plans to launch new product categories and 4-8 new stores in 2021. Beyond that, Lenett said, the company wants a foothold in the Asian market.
The Canadian company was founded in 2013 and launched its first product on Kickstarter, a model that Lenett argues is inherently more sustainable. "You're not creating a bunch of inventory and then trying to create demand; you're gauging demand and then building the inventory to the demand."
Duer was "basically doubling" its sales "every year for the last five years," according to Lenett, and it's ending 2020 with a 30% bump compared to last. It's now selling in 52 countries.
The company made inroads with men's products that are both suitable for exercise and fit the part in an office setting. While first pitching his products, Lenett said, "my barriers were these retail buyers who kept saying to me, 'No, we don't want to do light and stretchy. That's not masculine.' And I'm going, 'No, I'm wearing it! It's actually a superior product.'"
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Duer's growth during the pandemic highlights the importance of a strong, adaptable direct-to-consumer strategy, even for brands opening physical retail locations.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Leveraging Kickstarter to gauge demand before manufacturing inventory is a highly sustainable and financially prudent approach to product launches, minimizing waste and ensuring product-market fit.
What does this episode say about product & merchandising?
Overcoming traditional retail buyer skepticism requires a strong product-market fit and a founder's conviction in their product's superiority, especially when introducing innovative concepts like versatile activewear for both office and exercise.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Strategic international expansion, specifically into markets like Asia, is crucial for long-term growth and market diversification for successful DTC brands.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Consistent annual sales doubling (like Duer experienced for five years) can be achieved through a combination of innovative product, direct-to-consumer sales, and thoughtful expansion into new product categories and geographies.
