Argent's CEO, Sali Christeson, shares how the women's workwear brand navigated the pandemic-induced downturn and returned to aggressive growth. The episode reveals Argent's strategic pivot towards an omnichannel approach, emphasizing the crucial role of physical stores and a new wholesale partnership with Nordstrom. Christeson also highlights the unexpected success of performance-driven catalogs, providing valuable insights for ecommerce operators looking to diversify their marketing and retail strategies beyond purely digital channels.
Key takeaways
Despite being a DTC-native brand, Argent is doubling down on physical retail, reopening its Soho store and planning further expansion, demonstrating the enduring value of brick-and-mortar for brand building and sales.
Argent's successful wholesale partnership with Nordstrom illustrates how strategic collaborations can open new revenue streams and expand market reach when timed and executed correctly.
Performance-driven catalogs are outperforming digital marketing for Argent, challenging the conventional wisdom that traditional channels are obsolete and suggesting a re-evaluation of marketing spend for many ecommerce brands.
Surviving a significant downturn (like the pandemic) requires a willingness to 'go lean' and strategically re-evaluate all aspects of the business, from retail channels to marketing tactics.
Focusing on a few key growth areas (retail, wholesale, team growth, and supporting marketing) is crucial for scaling, rather than spreading resources too thin across many initiatives.
Women's workwear brand Argent is back in growth mode.
The company first launched in 2016, and saw a precipitous rise over its first few years -- especially thanks to well-known fans of the brand like Hilary Clinton. But the pandemic changed everything -- with people no longer going to work in offices and overall demand plummeting.
During that time, said Argent founder and CEO Sali Christeson, "it really became about survival and hunkering down and going lean and figuring out what our strategy was going to be." And while the company saw a loss in both 2020 and 2021, things are once again on the up and up. "We've never seen numbers the way that we're seeing now," said Christeson.
She joined the Modern Retail Podcast this week and spoke about Argent's future plans, as well the overall state of workwear.
Though Argent began as a digital brand, over the years it launched a few showrooms. And while many of those closed during the pandemic, Christeson said that in-store retail is a focus for this year. "I love stores," she said. "They've always been part of our story." With that, the brand has reopened its Soho store, and hopes to open more over the next year.
But owned stores aren't the only area of growth for Argent. The brand recently began a wholesale partnership with Nordstrom. As Christeson described it, wholesale presents new opportunities when done right. "You have to recognize how much comes from whole partnerships, if you time it right," she said. "If it's a mutual fit, it's a win-win."
And marketing is also a big push -- especially in some often-overlooked areas like catalogs. "Performance-driven catalogs… outperform digital," she said. "Catalogs crush for us."
For now, the focus is on growing and keeping pace. "There's so much opportunity," she said. "We're trying to stay really focused on retail, wholesale team growth and then all the marketing to supplement it."
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Despite being a DTC-native brand, Argent is doubling down on physical retail, reopening its Soho store and planning further expansion, demonstrating the enduring value of brick-and-mortar for brand building and sales.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Argent's successful wholesale partnership with Nordstrom illustrates how strategic collaborations can open new revenue streams and expand market reach when timed and executed correctly.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Performance-driven catalogs are outperforming digital marketing for Argent, challenging the conventional wisdom that traditional channels are obsolete and suggesting a re-evaluation of marketing spend for many ecommerce brands.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Surviving a significant downturn (like the pandemic) requires a willingness to 'go lean' and strategically re-evaluate all aspects of the business, from retail channels to marketing tactics.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Focusing on a few key growth areas (retail, wholesale, team growth, and supporting marketing) is crucial for scaling, rather than spreading resources too thin across many initiatives.
