This episode reveals why direct-to-consumer (DTC) home brands are thriving while other DTC categories are struggling. Discover how a "made-to-order" manufacturing model not only offers environmental benefits but also provides supply chain resilience, making it a powerful strategy for ecommerce businesses navigating unpredictable markets. Learn how focusing on domestic manufacturing can safeguard production and meet evolving consumer demands for home-centric investments.
Key takeaways
Consumers are shifting discretionary spending from categories like travel (suitcases) to home goods, viewing their homes as a primary investment due to increased time spent indoors.
Implementing a 'made-to-order' manufacturing model significantly reduces environmental impact by eliminating excess inventory and provides crucial resilience against global supply chain disruptions.
Prioritize domestic manufacturing to maintain production capabilities and mitigate risks during unforeseen global events, as demonstrated by The Inside during the pandemic.
The "made-to-order" model is applicable across various product categories beyond furniture, including personal care items like shampoo and vitamins, indicating a broader shift in manufacturing strategy.
Adapt your product strategy to align with current consumer behavior, focusing on products that enhance the home environment as people continue to spend more time there.
Retail stores are slowly reopening, but Christiane Lemieux, founder of the DTC furniture brand The Inside, still thinks people will want to invest most in the place they're spending most of their time: the home.
"What you will be doing is focusing your time and disposable spend on making your home into everything it should be -- not only for now, but for what the future of our lives is going to look like," Lemieux said on the Modern Retail Podcast (people are spending so much time in doors, in fact, that Lemieux thinks a baby boom will hit in January).
The Inside meets its demand through a "made to order" model -- a piece of furniture isn't built until a customer buys it online.
"I think 'made on demand' is the manufacturing of the future," said Lemieux. "It's so much better for the environment. There's no warehouses full of imported product just sitting there."
In her case, it's also made the company more resistant to the supply chain disruptions roiling the world. "Having a domestic manufacturing base has allowed us to continue to produce even during this particular and very challenging situation."
"We don't make anything until you place your order. There's people in my cohort who do the same thing with shampoo and vitamins. It's in every category at this point," Lemieux said.
One or two of The Inside's factories still had to shut down -- one on the U.S.-Mexico border, the other in Illinois -- until the national policy that deemed manufacturers to be an essential service allowed them to operate again, according to Lemieux.
Consumers are shifting discretionary spending from categories like travel (suitcases) to home goods, viewing their homes as a primary investment due to increased time spent indoors.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Implementing a 'made-to-order' manufacturing model significantly reduces environmental impact by eliminating excess inventory and provides crucial resilience against global supply chain disruptions.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Prioritize domestic manufacturing to maintain production capabilities and mitigate risks during unforeseen global events, as demonstrated by The Inside during the pandemic.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
The "made-to-order" model is applicable across various product categories beyond furniture, including personal care items like shampoo and vitamins, indicating a broader shift in manufacturing strategy.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Adapt your product strategy to align with current consumer behavior, focusing on products that enhance the home environment as people continue to spend more time there.
