Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders Nino Ciappina, CEO at PARTS iD — Standing Apart: Finding success through differentiation
Summary:
The automotive industry is changing. Shifting consumer behavior, increased demand for sustainability, and macro shifts towards digitization, automation, and new business models could see companies that are unable to keep up get left behind. For companies ready to embrace these changes, however, there are new opportunities for significant growth.
Today's guest is Nino Ciappina, CEO of PARTS iD. PARTS iD is a digital commerce company, trading under the symbol ID, that is responding to evolving consumer needs and showing the aftermarket parts and accessories industry what an ideal customer experience looks like in 2022. Previously, Nino served as the Chief Marketing Officer and later the General Manager of Onyx, the predecessor company of PARTS iD. Nino has also served in a variety of digital marketing, marketing, and eCommerce positions, notably as the Director of Digital Marketing & Customer Acquisition at The Children's Place, VP of eCommerce and Digital Marketing at Firestar Diamond Group, and later as Senior Director of eCommerce and Digital Marketing at Foot Locker.
In this episode, I speak with Nino about why the iD brand is unique in the industry, their efforts to expand from automotive parts and accessories into complementary verticals, and how PARTS iD is responding to current events.
Highlights:
- Nino describes the three things that distinguish PARTS iD in the aftermarket parts and accessories industry (03:09)
- Nino provides perspective on the scale of the business, describing PARTS iD's catalogue of over 18 million SKUs (07:19)
- What are the verticals adjacent to PARTS iD's focus on automobiles? (10:06)
- Nino explains why the iD brand is closely tied to the identities of their customers (14:30)
- Nino walks through how PARTS iD is expanding their offering to appeal to customer's who want a "do it for me" experience (18:41)
- How is PARTS iD preparing for the electric vehicle revolution? (21:56)
- Nino explains why he points to Wayfair's business model as comparable to PARTS iD's (24:54)
- Nino comments on the way PARTS iD is handling market changes dues to global events (26:33)
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If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, elizabeth@lowerstreet.co.