Sometimes a pivot means going in a completely different direction. And sometimes it means doubling down on what really is — and always has been — important.
“Pivoting with Purpose: Lessons from DTC brands,” a session during NRF 2021: Retail's Big Show – Chapter 1, explored the way two direct-to-consumer companies deepened their roots in response to the events of 2020. Emily Heyward, co-founder and chief brand officer of Red Antler, chatted with Simon Huck, co-founder and CEO of emergency preparedness brand JUDY, and Lauren Chan, founder and CEO of luxury plus-size women’s apparel company Henning. Red Antler is a Brooklyn-based brand company specializing in startups and new ventures.
Over two years ago, Huck said, he and JUDY co-founder Josh Udashkin discovered a common denominator in friends who had been through an emergency — without planning or prepared products to help. They went on to find experts who could teach them more about the preparedness category and created JUDY, teaming up with Red Antler to develop the brand.
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Meeting needs
“Even though it sounds obvious, we really believe that the best business ideas always start with an unmet need,” Heyward said. “That’s not always the case, right? A lot of business ideas start with just like, ‘Oh, what would be fun?’ Or, ‘Let’s do an ideation session.’ But … thinking about the point that this was missing led to a business idea that just felt so necessary.”
That wasn’t just the case with JUDY, she said, but also with Henning. Chan began her career as a plus-size model, then became a fashion writer and editor, spending the bulk of her career at Glamour. “And I was plus-size the whole time,” Chan said.
“I was reporting on fashion around the world, at the best designer shows. I was in the room, in meetings with fashion icons wearing current-season designers, and I was trying to keep up, and I was trying to fit in. I was trying to just do my job and report on the content. And it wasn’t for me.”
Reflecting on how the lack of inclusion made her feel — and knowing that there were many plus-size women across the country feeling the same — the natural progression was to create product.
Responding to current events
Heyward also asked the panelists about the impact of the pandemic on their businesses — including asking Huck, tongue firmly planted in cheek, whether he was “psychic” in the launch of an emergency kit right before COVID-19 hit.
“Humbly, we were not prepared for what that would look like to our supply chain,” he said.
There were also concerns from a product perspective, he said, because JUDY kits include N95 masks. Today, the masks are used by health care workers, but when JUDY kits were first designed, they were intended for protection from wildfire smoke. A month after launch, Huck said the company found itself with a stockpile of the much-needed masks and decisions to make. “It teaches you, in emergency planning, you really have to prepare for absolutely everything.”
The company donated its complete inventory of masks and turned off paid marketing. It became essentially a hub for credible information and content, incorporating levity, philanthropic partnerships and a creative celebrity-studded podcast.
Chan, meanwhile, was working through concerns about supply chain, overseas production and revenue, and delving into her personal and company mission and messaging. Henning doubled-down on transparent communication, with Chan directly pitching coverage on broader issues to start conversations, such as a shift to on-demand manufacturing.
The company, with a large percentage of its audience being Black women and women of color, also provided resources and inspiration on anti-racism. “We wanted to support in a way that … wasn’t a ‘We’re thinking about you’ email,” Chan said. “It was like, ‘We don’t want you to buy clothes. We want you to go read this. Please do it. Come comment back that you did.’”
In coming days, JUDY will continue encouraging people to have tough conversations about emergency planning, Huck said. The company also has shifted to a buy-one, donate-one model to help those in need.
Henning will keep moving toward sustainability, better knowing its customers, and meeting their needs with data and agility. “I had my pity party,” Chan said. “And now I’m really motivated.”
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