The Modern Retail Podcast

This week’s Modern Retail Rundown includes a breakdown of Thrasio's bankruptcy protection filing and the future of the Amazon aggregator's business model. Additionally, Warby Parker wants to eventually open 900 stores as the digitally-native brand has leaned on physical retail for growth. Last, we chat about Celsius Drinks' milestone of becoming a billion billion-dollar energy drink company.

In Shannon Nash's opinion, 2024 is the "year of the drone."Nash may be biased, as she's the CFO of Wing, the Alphabet-owned drone delivery company that's currently being trialed by companies like Walmart and DoorDash. But there is some data to back this up. For one, Wing announced an expanded partnership with Walmart in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. What's more, recent changes to FAA regulations will likely make it easier for the company to test out other areas.Nash joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about the current state of drone delivery and where she thinks it's going.Drone delivery isn't a new concept, but it seems to be taking flight (pun intended) this year. In Australia, currently Wing's biggest market, one site has approached 1,000 drone deliveries a day. In Texas, where Wing is working with Walmart, the platform has already made 5,000 deliveries over the course of a few months."We have some customers that order roughly two times a week," Nash said. Wing's most ardent customers, however, "are ordering three times a week." In her eyes, it points to consumers having "very favorable views of drone delivery."Still, the only way to really reach mainstream is to expand to more areas and get more people used to the concept. With that, Nash said, "nothing does advertising and marketing [better] than seeing the drones in the parking lot and [people] going, what the heck is this?" Similarly, with regulations beginning to change to allow for larger delivery areas, the platform has plans to expand at rapid pace.What will that rapid expansion look like? Currently, Wing customers buy the products in its own app, rather than through the retailers. But there could be a future where it becomes an extension of these businesses.Nash wouldn't get prescriptive about what the future of drone delivery ordering looks like. "I think the market is going to determine how that happens," she said.Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up. 

Every week on the Modern Retail Rundown, we cover the latest headlines from the retail world.This week, the team discusses Reddit’s S-1 drop, meaning the social platform -- which launched in 2005 -- is finally going public after years of speculation. Also, a look at Beyond Meat’s new game plan to turn around weak sales, which includes launching lower fat, higher protein products faux meat burgers and scaling back China operations. Lastly, an update on Macy’s proxy fight by activist investor Arkhouse Management.Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up. 

True, Taylor Swift made friendship bracelets popular thanks to her song "You're on your own, kid." But the brand Little Words Project has been making friendship bracelets long before Swifties adopted them in full force.Little Words Project launched in 2013 as a quasi-side hustle of founder Adriana Carrig. But the project soon turned into a standalone business. Fast forward to today, Little Words Project has 12 stores around the U.S., is profitable and has hit a revenue run rate of over $20 million.Carrig joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about the brand's journey and what it's focused on in the year to come.As Carrig sees it, community is what has helped Little Words Project be so successful thus far. In its early days, Carrig would post on Instagram -- before it became crowded with preened photos and airbrushed influencers -- about what the business was and how she was growing it."[It was] really just bringing our community on along for the ride," she said. "It definitely was the foundation for what the community ultimately became, which was this group of friends that just want to support one another, help one another, when they're down."It's easy to start an online community, but harder to keep it at the forefront when a business grows. For example, in 2022, Little Words Project expanded beyond its direct-to-consumer roots into large stores like Target."When it comes to the big-box story and how we keep that community build, it's really just about making decisions with the concept of the community first," she said. That meant making sure she was able to market Little Words Project in the same ways she had been doing online for years, as well as keeping the products at the same price point. And while Carrig has considered fading into the background and not being the brand's figurehead, she now realizes, "I do want to be at the forefront."This remains true even when the products go viral, as was the case with the Taylor Swift song. The friendship bracelet became one of the summer's hottest accessories, after Swift's fans started gifting them to each other during her Eras tour concerts.But, according to Carrig, while other brands tried to ride the wave of Swift fandom -- making new products to try and go viral -- Little Words Project changed nothing. But, the company was still able to be part of the fervor in bigger ways compared to brands that were only just now jumping on the trend. Musician Lance Bass gifted Taylor Swift a stack of friendship bracelets from Little Words Project on stage at the VMAs last year.But even with the help of Swift, Carrig said the business has been so good that the Swift bump was only negligible. "We saw a less than 1% sales lift from that collection, which is immaterial when you think about the overall brand presence," Carrig said. "And I think it just goes to show that the brand had its own legs before Taylor. And while the rest of the world who jumped on Taylor-adjacent things -- that maybe didn't make sense to their regular product assortment -- they might have seen a more significant lift because they really did grift."Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up. 

This week's podcast covers Express's financial struggles and the possibility of bankruptcy, retailers banning excessive returners, and Walmart's interest in acquiring Vizio for more competition with Amazon.

The Goods Mart is trying to update the convenience store experience while not falling into the trappings of the so-called shoppy shops.|The store -- which first launched in 2018 and currently has three different locations in Manhattan -- features a variety of better-for-you snacks like snack bars, coffee and other beverages. The locations are very small. Some are only 400 square feet. The idea is to create a new type of quick-service store that may look updated with startup brands, but services customers' everyday needs."We want to be more accessible," said Rachel Krupa, founder and CEO of The Goods Mart. "We want you to come in every day and get what you want."Krupa joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about the trajectory of the store, as well as its recent focus on business-to-business sales.

Every week on the Modern Retail Rundown, we cover the latest headlines from the retail world.This week Gap Inc. announced it’s bringing on designer Zac Posen as creative director to help revamp its brands, with a big focus on Old Navy. Next, a look at why Target is currently weighing a new Walmart+-like membership program to attract more loyalty, according to a Bloomberg report. Finally, Tapestry, the owner of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, posted some positive results in its most recent quarter, aided by its growing Gen Z and millennial customer base.Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up. 

Bugaboo's chief commercial officer, Jeanelle Teves, discusses the company's history and strategy, including their rise to fame through celebrity endorsements. They also talk about Bugaboo's recent partnerships with brands like Kith, the importance of influencers in marketing, and their expansion into new categories like high chairs and car seats.

Every week on the Modern Retail Rundown, we cover the latest headlines from the retail world.First is a look at the sudden departure of H&M’s chief executive officer, who cited the demanding nature of the job. Next, TikTok is reportedly testing a video feature that shows users similar products sold in TikTok Shop -- hinting at an increased focus on growing e-commerce. Finally, why Amazon’s advertising business continued to grow during the fourth quarter -- surging 27% year-over-year, to $14.7 billion.Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up.

Misfits Market thinks it has found a unique way to tackle the difficult business that is online grocery.The company, which acquired Imperfect Foods over a year ago, has a pretty simple premise. It partners with farms and brands, and sells products that otherwise wouldn't hit major retail shelves. The name of the game for this type of business is scale, which is something COO Corey Farrell is constantly thinking about. But the ethos behind Misfits is sustainability."We wanted to be able to offer the consumer more complete shopping experience, to help us ultimately reduce more food waste," Farrell said on this week's Modern Retail Podcast.The Imperfect acquisition has helped with growth. With the two companies combined, Misfits has a large presence on both coasts, and is growing both its first-party and third-party fulfillment. With this comes other areas of expansion -- namely, private label.Misfits does not bill itself as a competitor to Walmart. "Our assortment is limited," Farrell said. Right now, it sells around 700 items, compared to the over 20,000 most grocery stores contain. But, by working with the right partners and being able to create new private-label products that wouldn't otherwise be sold, Misfits is generating new revenue streams. Farrell pointed to a product Misfits sells that consists of broken pretzels that would otherwise be thrown away, which are dipped in chocolate."That's an example of part of what we're trying to do with our private-label assortment that's very aligned with our mission," he said.Ultimately, the idea is to grow Misfits so that it's available in the entire country and continue to work with companies that want to offload otherwise unsellable products."As we expand our assortment. We want to make the shopping experience more seamless for consumers," he said.Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up.