direct-to-consumer

In this edition: Misfits Market moves to fulfillment, Interstate Cold Chain gets new equipment, and avocados are the Super Bowl winners.

Startup ride-hailing snack company to delivery Unilever’s The Ice Cream Shop virtual brands

When COVID-19 shut down gyms across the country, equipment maker Aviron needed to pivot to the home fitness market. It needed a logistics partner that could handle the difficult last mile. It found one in GlobalTranz.

In addition to improving margins and boosting brand image, cutting ties with retailers simplifies Under Armour’s supply chain at a time when its needed most.

The battle between brands and retailers is not new, but it’s more acute than ever because of the options each side has. For brands, it’s never been easier to own and operate sales channels both online and IRL. For retailers, there’s never been more digitally native brands seeking out offline homes than there are right now. And giants like Target, Walmart and Amazon have proven that consumers are willing to purchase and even be very loyal to private label brands.

COVID-19 forced dramatic change at the end of the supply chain seemingly overnight. Retailers had to adjust quickly to succeed, and those that did are looking at a recovering consumer economy with the best balance sheet in decades on top of a real estate market reeling from store closures. Pair this with an e-commerce acceleration of five years and a movement to DTC and you have a market ripe for innovative physical expansion.

Brands big and small want more control over the customer experience, including data and service, and technology firms and logistics providers can now offer brands an Amazon alternative. The tension between retailers and brands is nothing new, but the battle between them has never been this acute thanks to the likes of Shopify, ShipBob, XPO and others.