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Rethinking Everlane on the Nine by Nine Report: Part 2 of Nine by Nine Retrospect

Future Commerce
Future Commerce
Episode • Jul 31, 2020 • 48m

What makes a brand meaningful? We sought to answer this question in our recent report, Nine by Nine: 81 Brands Changing Our World. In this episode, Part 2 of 2, we sit down and reflect on the report and the categories included.


 

See Part 1: Episode 165: What Makes A Brand Meaningful?

Purpose Driven Brands

  • Purpose driven brands are focused on having alignment with their worldview. They state a purpose behind their brand and provide that to their customers. They make it clear what kind of world they want to build and are actively working to achieve that world.
  • For these consumers, they base their purchasing on their lens through which they see their world, which is especially true for Gen Z and millennials.
  • CEO and co-founder of Good On You says in the report that “It just goes back to having a core purpose and a core connection to the person that your brand is intended to serve and the problem that your brand is intending to solve.”
  • REI is number one on our list because they’re doing so much more than just sustainability and ecology - even if they are a retailer and not a DTC brand.
  • Bowery Farming is on the list - they do indoor farming without pesticides. Bowery Farming is tech centric and tech forward, using less water and producing more food in a more sustainable way.
  • Sunday, who was recently on the podcast, gives a better understanding of home and garden from a philosophical perspective.

Late Stage Retail

  • As retail has developed, we’ve seen more companies move to capture attention through subversive techniques, FOMO, etc. for conversion rate optimization.
  • From the report: “These retail heroes are seeking to uplift underserved communities, create and market sustainable products, pay their employees a living wage and treat their suppliers ethically and fairly. They’re the founders of numerous DTC brands who are focusing on sustainable and ethical products, B Corp certified companies and even members of the Business Roundtable, which recently redefined the purpose of a corporation that speaks directly to our Future Commerce values.”
  • Patagonia is at the top of this list for many reasons - they have stood against the encroachment of federal property on native lands, they’ve stood for Black Lives Matter, and they’ve led the movement of countercultural anti Black Friday events.
  • This category is all about doing right by all people all the way across the board - even to your own detriment.
  • After releasing the report, Everlane has undergone heavy criticism because of their practices - which in rethinking our list, they should not be included.

Audience First

  • This category belongs to those brands who create an audience and then market products, goods, or services to them - like Kanye and Yeezy, Emily Weiss and Glossier, Virgil Abloh and Off-White, Ryan Kaji and Ryan’s World, Marie Kondo, and of course, five different Jenner/Kardashian brands.
  • Joanna Gaines and Magnolia stands out - truly leading with content and then taking the steps to give their audience ways to buy in.

Local Heroes

  • Chick-Fil-A tops this list. We wanted to cover more than just venture-backed or private equity backed brands. Chick-Fil-A, as a franchise model, has a great record in investing into its local communities. They’ve given an incredible amount of money back towards COVID relief.
  • Ace Hardware is another on this list, allowing for local ownership just as much as Chick-Fil-A.
  • Thistle Farms, with Becca Stevens, have created a brand carried in a lot of retailers including Whole Foods. Thistle Farms creates products that give work to survivors of abuse, having a 100% female employee base.
  • Costco made the list for being a pioneer in wages and supporting their local communities.

100 Club

  • These businesses are defined as having raised no outside capital in exchange for giving up an ownership stake in the business. These businesses are on the long path to prominence.
  • Many businesses in this category have been on our podcast, including - Industry West’s CMO Ian Leslie, Frank & Eileen’s Founder Audrey McLoghlin, and Farm Girl Flowers’s CEO and Founder Christina Stembel.
  • “The 100 Club has the ability to stick to the core tenets of your brand and not sacrifice them for a bunch of suits.” - Brian Lange


 

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If you have any comments or questions about this episode, you can reach out to us at hello@futurecommerce.fm or any of our social channels. We love hearing from our listeners!


 

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