J.D. Ostrow, chief marketing officer at Theory, joined Glossy+ members for a Slack Chat on Aug. 7. The industry veteran — who has held senior marketing positions at Burberry, Nike and Donna Karan — discussed the importance of creating a community, providing experiences in stores, and streamlining processes and communication in-house.
The full conversation is available exclusively to Glossy+ members, but lightly edited excerpts appear below. Click here to join Glossy+.
On Theory 2.0‘s first year:
“Theory 2.0 has been exceptional — it’s created a new and exciting energy in the company that is driving us forward on a number of levels. Customers are responding to the capsule collection. We’ve had great feedback in stores and via our digital/social platforms. We just dropped Fall this past week, and early results are good — the team is gaining confidence and continues to refine what the collection stands for and what our customer is responding to. From a more holistic perspective, the mindset of 2.0 has our teams more motivated than ever to accelerate the agenda of what the company and our brand stand for, whether that’s sustainability, women’s leadership or a great mentorship program.”
On the place of IRL experiences in fashion retail:
“Experiential marketing does play a critical role in fashion retail — it’s an incredible way to build loyalty and connect with customers on a level beyond just buying clothes. If you’re not creating interesting experiences at your physical stores, people just won’t come. Our Be Heard initiative is a good example of that: We are extending our Theory community by partnering with some of the most inspiring women in the worlds of business and entrepreneurship.”
On incorporating innovation and technology into experiences:
“We have more work to do here. We have brought on some great people to challenge the ways we serve our customer, and build our business with better innovation and technology. At times, the biggest hurdle is ignoring the fact you’ve built a successful business without it.”
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