DTC Dispatch #010

LATEST NEWS

DTC brands see a long-delayed path to exit in 2024

For fashion’s long-suffering start-ups, 2024 may be the year the money starts flowing again. Venture capitalists passed on money-losing DTC brands in 2023, but in 2024, investors are prepared to start writing checks again. This year, venture capitalists will be focusing on brands with clear business objectives, such as those investing in retail partnerships.

The fragrance brand Snif, was able to secure an undisclosed sum in early 2023, when funding had all but dried-up for consumer brands, because it went to its existing investors with a plan to launch into Ulta Beauty. That partnership helped Snif double sales in 2023 to over $10 million.

Our take: 2023 was a tough year for our economy, and start-up’s were no exception. Brands and retailers struggled to raise new funding as interest rates reached their highest point in over two decades.

Over the last few months, we have started to see signs that the economy is improving. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates this year. Investors say such conditions could clear the way for a wave of funding, acquisitions and IPOs.

Louis Vuitton just introduced a jewelry line for men

The French luxury house has launched a new 18-piece fine jewelry line for men called Les Gastons Vuitton. The line features a range of bracelets, stud earrings and necklaces in white gold with diamonds. Louis Vuitton is not alone in trying to sell jewelry to men. Retailers from Kendra Scott to David Yurman have also introduced masculine jewelry lines. Furthermore, per retail research firm Edited, men’s jewelry as a category doubled in Q1 2023.

Our take: As male celebrities and other influencers at the forefront of Western culture are popularizing men’s jewelry, this trend is likely to grow. Mammoth brands like LV investing marketing dollars into this new line is likely to accelerate the widespread reimagination of men’s jewelry.

How Alo Yoga is using its Q4 learnings to power its 2024 SMS marketing strategy

After a six-month test-and-learn approach to SMS marketing, Alo Yoga is using its learnings to power its 2024 acquisition and retention strategies. Cher Fuller, senior director of digital marketing at Alo Yoga, said “The first findings were that Alo’s younger shoppers prefer SMS and don’t really check their emails. The second [top converting] segment on text was [Alo] Loyalty Program members who want early access [to new color drops].”

Our take: It is important as a brand to know who your target audience is and the best way to reach those consumers. Through Alo Yoga’s test-and-learn approach, they recognized that their younger audience was more receptive to SMS marketing over email. Brands need to continuously test new approaches to marketing as consumers and the industry as a whole shifts.

Menswear brand Mizzen + Main captures new customer base with viral social posts

Mizzen+Main is a digitally native menswear brand that has matured in the TikTok era and is using all the online tools at its disposal. The company has a social media strategy of not explicitly promoting its products but rather creating content that appeals to its target demographic: men.

In 2022, Bethany Muths, the company’s CMO, said the e-commerce team beat its revenue goals by 50% and then roughly 20% the next year.

Our take: As a brand, using social media to create viral skits and clips without directly promoting a product is a unique approach to marketing. With so much saturation in the market, this approach has allowed Mizzen+Main to attract new customers, and also retain returning customers.

FEATURED CONTENT

How to grow your customer acquisition ‘too fast’ in 6 months

Cody Plofker, CMO of Jones Road beauty, explains how 6 months ago, growth of his company slowed to a halt. Today, Jones Road beauty is adding thousands of new customers a day, and growing almost too fast. Here are ways they are doing it:

1. Switched to dollars over efficiency

2. Expanded into upper funnel media

3. Diversified channels

4. Switched bid strategies

Our take: Plofker and Jones Road beauty plan to hit the ground running in 2024 and run over 20 experiments and keep pushing the envelope on new channels and strategies. DTC brands need to continue to experiment with new tests and ideas to figure out what works for their brand and their needs.

OUR SPONSOR

The DTC Dispatch is sponsored by email & SMS marketing agency, NOBLE. We build, maintain, and leverage your #1 business asset: first-party data.

As the marketing landscape changes constantly, it’s a particularly good time to invest in owned-audiences you can leverage across channels to reach the right audiences at the right time with the right message.

Interested in driving predictable revenue through owned-audiences? Just reply to this email.