Welcome to The Week in Direct-to-Consumer, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights that sums up the latest news in the DTC space.
Levi’s sees strong DTC revenue rise in Q1
As part of its Q1 2024 earnings, Levi Strauss & Co. reported global DTC net revenue rose 7%, amounting to a company-record 48% of total revenue. “We are on our way to transforming this company into a best-in-class DTC-first apparel retailer, setting the stage for our next phase of sustainable profitable growth,” President & CEO Michelle Gass said in the earnings announcement.
See also: As part of its Q4 2023 earnings, Levi’s detailed its shift to a DTC-first business model, as we noted in an earlier installment of The Week in Direct-to-Consumer.
See also: Last week, Levi’s stock saw a 20% single-day rise that was partially attributed to the success of Beyoncé and Post Malone’s “Levii’s Jeans” — a song from Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album. Since its release, “Cowboy Carter” has lassoed Spotify’s top 50 streaming chart, as we noted in last week’s edition of “10 marketing, media and industry statistics to know now.”
Lululemon releases first enzymatically recycled polyester product
Ahead of Earth Day (April 22), DTC athleisure brand Lululemon just released its first product made with enzymatically recycled polyester — a limited-edition anorak jacket, Fashion Dive’s Laurel Deppen reports. The jacket’s recycled fabric — the result of the brand’s partnerships with recycling-tech company Samsara Eco and recycled carbon company LanzaTech — is produced from “mixed plastic waste, Lululemon apparel at the ‘end-of-life stage’ and converted carbon emissions,” Deppen notes. The Packable Anorak Earth Day jacket is priced at $188.
The takeaway: With this release, Lululemon continues to level up its sustainability efforts with cutting-edge fabric-to-fabric recycling tech.
See also: This release follows Lululemon’s February announcement that it was developing and testing recycled nylon garments with Samsara Eco, as we noted in an earlier installment of The Week in Direct-to-Consumer.
PatBO leans on limited-edition drops to grow DTC business
Brazilian fashion brand PatBO is leaning on limited-edition drops to grow its DTC business, Glossy’s Zofia Zwieglinska reports. The brand’s wholesale partnerships — which include Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus and others — currently account for 50% of revenue, but its flagship U.S. DTC store in Miami has caught the attention of consumers with its limited-edition runway pieces, Zwieglinska notes. “[Wholesale] validates the brand, but the future is definitely more DTC because of how closely you can talk with your clients,” PatBo Founder and Designer Patricia Bonaldi told Glossy. Read the full story here.
Solo Stove livestreams ‘Deepest Dish,’ a deep dish pizza cooking class set 10 stories beneath the Earth’s crust
ICYMI: DTC culinary equipment brand Solo Stove just descended 10 stories below the Earth’s crust in Alabama’s Majestic Caverns for “Deepest Dish,” a livestreamed pizza cooking class celebrating Deep Dish Pizza Day (April 5). In what the company said “is likely the deepest location that any deep dish pizza has ever been made or consumed,” chef Matt Frampton used Solo Stove’s Pi Prime Pizza Oven and Pi Cast Iron Cookware Set while walking viewers through the making of the perfect deep dish pizza. The event also featured special discounts, giveaways and prizes for viewers.
See also: Livestream shopping — which is often built around attention-getting events like this Solo Stove stunt — is growing fast, as we noted in “Why marketers need to rethink the ‘digital shelf’ in 2024.”
Further reading
DTC launches:
- “Lids co-founder launches online headwear platform Make My Cap” (Chain Store Age)
- “Nike releases Masters-inspired golf shoes paying homage to big hitters throughout the years” (Golf Digest)
- “Knix launches mesh collection” (Retail Dive)
DTC partnerships:
- “P.F. Flyers’ Rebrand Includes a New Partnership With Revolve” (Footwear News)
DTC trends:
- “Why Mergers Might Be the Next Wave of DTC Exits” (Business of Fashion)
DTC product expansion:
- “Rapidly growing DTC bedding brand makes its move into organic cotton” (Home Textiles Today)
DTC strategy:
- “L.O.L. Surprise! Parent Company Goes DTC, Debuts Loyalty Program” (Retail TouchPoints)
DTC brick-and-mortar expansion:
