Steven Borrelli x Cuts

In this episode, we meet Steven Borrelli, the CEO and founder CUTS Clothing. 

CUTS is a clothing brand built for the sport of business. It started with t-shirts designed for the work setting and has since expanded to polos, pants, and jackets, and recently started a women's line. 

In this episode, Steven shares the lessons he learned from launching a brand store. 

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Topics covered

• Channel distribution
• Omnichannel purchase behavior
• Brand store strategy
• Omnichannel experience
• Merchandising and inventory

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Takeaways

• CUTS started in DTC with paid acquisition via Google, Facebook, and influencers. Then expanded to Nordstrom and its own location in Soho, NY. 
• Soho is CUTS most profitable digital advertising segment. The store acts a billboard. People walk by it and shop online. Or they buy in-store, and the 2nd purchase happens online.  
• A store is an extension of the brand and easier to launch than a partnership with a big box retailer. And has fewer restrictions and formalities. 
• People often want to shop for the first time in-store because they want to try clothes online and then become long-term online customers. 
• Stores can be a venue for events and community activation, especially with celebrity and influencer collaborations.
• Steven selected Soho because it a densely populated location with a high concentration of customers. 
• The Soho store is a test case, but Steven de-risked via a 2.5-year lease (versus the 10-year standard).
• Stores have their own Conversion Rate Optimization, e.g., if a clerk misses 2 customers per day it's a missed opportunity of $400k per year.
• Measure your store like an e-commerce site. How many visited vs. purchased per day? AOV, New vs. returning. Capture phone number to build SMS list, etc.
• Having a consistent experience is hard outside of your DTC and brand store. Steven often says no to wholesale inquiries, where CUTS can’t control the experience.
• Merchandising is a learning curve. Steven learned not dedicate as much space to filler products vs. hero. Learning how to merchandise in-store can help you optimize your DTC experience and merchandising. 
• There is a ton of nuance in the store layout and merchandise presentation. Ie. depth of racks, and placements of tables.  

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Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

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Where to find Steven:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/borrellisteven/

​Website: https://www.cutsclothing.com/

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Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

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