EVENTS

Work it out

Yesterday, we hosted the third installment of Retail Brew's event series, The Checkout, with a conversation on the transformation of the retail workforce and its impact on stores. Halie spoke with Dave Gilboa, cofounder and co-CEO of Warby Parker.

TL;DR: “Employees have higher standards than ever,” Gilboa said. 

Click here to watch the full event replay, and keep scrolling for our top takeaways.  

Come one, come all 

Just as “hot vax summer” started trending, Warby Parker said it would add 35 stores to its 140+ brick and mortar footprint in 2021, the most the company has opened in a year, Gilboa noted. (It helped that it scored “really great deals with landlords.”) 

• Beyond the pandemic-era offerings like contactless checkout, new stores will come with eye exam rooms, enabling customers to fill prescriptions in-store, Gilboa said. 

“If you look at our business historically, it’s primarily been selling glasses online and offline. But we can only sell those glasses if someone has a valid prescription,” he said. “Our customers tell us there’s a lot of friction in getting those prescriptions.” 

Warby wants you  

To operate those new eye spaces, Warby Parker is partnering with schools to recruit and create career paths for prospective optometrists.   

• The program fits into the company’s racial equity strategy. At the New England College of Optometry, for example, Warby Parker established a scholarship for Black students.
• Gilboa said less than 3% of optometrists in the US identify as Black. “There's no reason there shouldn't be more diversity in the field,” he said. 

New vision: Like many retailers at the outset of the pandemic, Warby Parker had to close stores and furlough workers (roughly 1,500). E-comm sales quickly spiked—Gilboa noted they’ve been “north of 100% YoY for most of the pandemic.”

• Gilboa said a couple hundred retail workers were retrained to help with virtual customer service. 

Talent competition

Gilboa didn’t mince words: This labor market is more competitive than ever. Nearly 650,000 retail workers quit their jobs in April, the most in a month for the industry since the Labor Department has tracked the data.

While Gilboa said Warby Parker didn’t see a lot of turnover during the pandemic, churn has increased as the economy has reopened.

• “The events over the last year and a half have caused a lot of individuals to rethink where they want to live [and] what they want to spend their time on,” he said.

Value add: Succeeding in the labor market is vital for Warby Parker, especially since the company confidentially filed to go public. But for employees, success goes beyond competitive wages.

• Making an impact and having a social mission, “those qualities are increasingly important to employees,” Gilboa said, and make a difference to candidates.—KM, HL

E-COMM

Get creative

If Pietra’s predictions pan out, we will all sell merch in five years.

The platform—which helps creators (ahem) create their own brands—announced a $15 million Series A funding round today, led by Founders Fund. The new capital follows Pietra’s official launch out of beta. 

• The company is now valued at $75 million, and its revenue has grown 210% from January to April 2021.
• Pietra’s plan is to fuel “one million creator-owned product lines and brands within the next five years;” it currently counts 20,000+ creators.

Skip the sponcon: Social media influencers of all follower counts want to rebrand as entrepreneurs and turn their audiences into businesses. And they want it to be easy. 

“The infrastructure that supports [digital-first brands] is going to be one that’s less people, less operational burden, and most importantly, less reinvention of the wheel,” Pietra cofounder Ronak Trivedi told Retail Brew. 

• The fresh funding will be used to grow Pietra’s team, as well as expand its marketplace and make it more efficient. 

A helping hand: When Retail Brew chatted with Trivedi back in April, he emphasized the platform’s ability to lead a horse to water. That hasn’t changed.

• While Pietra can help creators launch newsletters, execute promotions, and partner with retailers and wholesalers, “no one in the world can make someone successful,” he said. “But we certainly can help creators with the tools they need to build their businesses.”—JG

SPONSORED BY AFTERPAY

Newsflash: Omnichannel Shoppers Want it All

On Monday, we came to you with some #realtalk on preparing for “Hot Store Summer.” If you take one thing away from that exquisitely executed piece of content, make it this: Implementing Buy Now, Pay Later with Afterpay is a must.

As something that began in the world of e-commerce, BNPL has made its much-heralded arrival in retail stores. And if you’re looking to attract the omnichannel shopper, who spends 75% more than an online shopper, partnering with Afterpay is, you guessed it, also a must.

And you know us: We never tell you to do something without backing it up with #factualfacts. AKA if you want to boost foot traffic and turn new customers into returning customers, know that 75% of Afterpay’s in-store participation comes from first-time shoppers. 

Bottom line: Omnichannel shoppers are savvy shopping machines who are looking for amenities like BNPL. 

Learn how Afterpay can help you attract omnichannel shoppers here.

TECH

Tailor made

Don’t take this personally, but your online shop could use some personality. 

Yesterday, Shopify unveiled “Online Store 2.0” at its annual Shopify Unite event, and customization was at the forefront.

• The new Storefront features code-free design capabilities and a “Theme Store.” (Even the checkout experience can be customized.)
• Netflix used the new platform to launch its first e-comm store.

A brand’s identity is what sets it apart, Vanessa Lee, Shopify’s product director of storefronts, told Retail Brew. But “there are a lot of times when third-party marketplaces remove some of that storytelling. That customer really isn't mine as much as belonging to the marketplace.”

That’s why Shopify wants to give merchants full control over tailoring their stores.

• “It ultimately means customer loyalty in the long term,” Lee said. 

What’s in a story? You’ve heard the buzzwords before. But how much is a retailer’s “story” actually worth? Enough that Shopify isn’t the only one putting creative control in brands’ hands.

• Back in March, DTC incubator Arfa reintroduced itself as Chord, and now sells its tech to DTC brands.
• At the time, Chord CEO Bryan Mahoney and COO Henry Davis told Retail Brew how important it is to build a unique online experience, beyond your typical storefront template.—JG

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING…

• Bed Bath & Beyond’s turnaround plan is resonating with shoppers, but marketing costs are eating margins.  
• Starbucks is testing taking custom orders through Facebook and Instagram. 
• Au Bon Pain has a new owner: Ampex Brands, a franchisee group.
• Neiman Marcus is the latest department store to go fur-free.
• Lockdowns in Bangladesh could cause supply chain delays for apparel brands including H&M and Levi’s.
• ShipBob, an e-comm logistics provider, raised $200 million in new funding.

SPONSORED BY YOTPO

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SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads. 

Beauty bets: Even as store traffic has picked up, beauty retailers are integrating tech like QR codes and VR at a swift pace. (Glossy)

Emergency landing: Airport restaurants are poaching employees and the TSA is offering $1,000 bonuses in a Hail Mary attempt to hire more workers. (CNBC)

Falling out: A heated disagreement between the two founders of Great Jones led every employee to quit the cookware company. (Insider)

COMMUNITY

If you’ve heard the phrase, “Physical retail isn't dead; boring retail is,” you have Steve Dennis to thank. The retail consultant slash influencer would know—he was a C-suite exec in a past life, including at Sears and Neiman Marcus. And hey, it’s still true. 

Describe what you do to someone who doesn’t work in retail: I help brands make sense of digital disruption and accelerate their growth.

Something we can’t guess about you from LinkedIn: I'm super funny—and modest.

Favorite project you’ve worked on: Writing my book.

Name someone (or two) we should follow: Jason Goldberg, Web Smith, Neil Saunders, Scott Galloway (not strictly retail, I know). 

What’s an emerging retail trend you’re bullish on? The hybridization of retail and the changing role of the store.

ICYMI

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• The race for post-pandemic retail space heats up
• How Nike plans to maintain its sales momentum
• Lego bets big on IRL experiences with new flagship store