Online D2C brands are having a moment. Venture capital has invested $4 billion in D2C brands since 2012 in a broad array of consumer categories: everything from mattresses to suitcases to sofas. D2C entrepreneurs have developed a new brand-building playbook designed to exploit the vulnerability of legacy brands sold through brick-and-mortar retailers.
While it’s clear D2C brands are successfully disrupting legacy brands, we believe D2C brands can also learn from the “old school.” D2C is becoming hyper-competitive in its own right. Additionally, D2C brands are beginning to migrate to retail stores to build mass. Both of these developments mean that traditional brand-building methods are increasingly relevant to D2C brands.