🤬 Sean Frank shares about ecommerce year to date and how Ridge is still “rolling”
📊 Connor MacDonald reveals the results from Memorial Day and Father’s Day
🗞️ Five biggest headlines from this week in consumer news with summaries
And an update (at the end) on last week’s Operators Assemble recordings + resources … they’re coming!
Now We Build. Survival (Ecom YTD)
Last week at the operators event, somebody asked about our "north star" metric.
The guys said smart things, but when it got to me I just said: survival.
You've probably had a hell of a year.
Me too.
Remember the word “UNPRECEDENTED”?
People shouted it at you all of 2020.
Well, in the 5 years that followed, unprecedented became… precedented, I guess.
2020 we had covid, and all that came with it.
If you are reading this newsletter, you probably came out ahead.
The ecom boom was supersonic-
loud, fast, out of nowhere.
And that gets us to 2021:
Euphoria sets in.
Ridge gets offers for $300,000,000 to buy our little wallet company. Monkey pics are selling for a cool seven figures.
SPAC mania is here to break you out of the matrix.
2022 is the wakeup call.
Market corrects. In Q1 Russia invaded Ukraine.
Stimi money is drying up and we set into the post covid world.
High inflation, wars, and logistics messes that still haven't been cleaned up
(red sea?)
All that repeated in 2023.
Skipping straight to 2024 and we have high interest rates, sector specific recessions, and an election.
We were still dealing with a post boom bust-
Halfway through a brand killing bust.
And 2025 opens with more unprecedented… everything:
Tariffs are the NEW thing.
Trump ran on them, but idk if anyone planned on them being this fast, this overarching, and this f****** chaotic.
All investments Ridge was going to make are on hold.
If the world can snap between 30-187% tariffs in a couple of tweets…
I can't ration fruit snacks correctly-
let alone several million dollars in new hires or a factory.
“MAKE IT IN AMERICA BRO”
You sweet little baby summer child.
I wrote about this a bunch.
The tldr is- nothing is actually “MADE IN AMERICA”
If you use that verbiage, you can be sued.
“Well my bags are”
Are you sure your string is?
What about the zipper?
What about the elastic on the water bottle pocket?
The current law is nonsense, but it reads EVERY LITTLE PIECE NEEDS TO BE TRACED AND SOURCED BACK TO AMERICA
Change the law, make it easier, and you will see more made here.
And for most people- something is coming abroad.
So tariffs suck.
On top of that we have the closure of section 321.
Depending where you sit- you are either destroyed or giddy this is gone.
Temu and shein have been crippled, so ads have gotten cheaper.
But now in 2025
We are seeing more wars, more conflict, more pressure on the global system.
And to tie it back to ecom, we are all consumers.
We are boogie boarding on the back of trillion dollar companies (amazon, meta) in the ocean of GLOBAL DISCRETIONARY INCOME
Ridge saw sales get kicked in the teeth in Q2 2022 when gas prices spiked because of the Ukraine war.
Are you going to fill up your tank or buy a cool new wallet?
We are operating inside of that.
It was hard in 2020, it was hard in 2022, and it's hard now.
2025 has been the hardest year of my career.
We had 2 million+ in tariff costs we didn't plan for.
We have seen wholesale accounts panic.
Sales have been good… but every week it seems there is another wave trying to derail us.
We did a RIF (reduction in force)
We cut 12 full time staff.
Those roles aren't coming back in the world of tariffs and ai.
I don't have any cool new tips on how to deal with this.
Your job is 300% harder than 2019.
You have had to get 300% better.
And you had to get lucky.
Ridge feels like a lucky shooter at a craps table sometimes.
Every year, every launch even, it is a new roll of the dice.
We have had a hot streak.
Not because we are better- I happen to think we are very good- but because we keep avoiding those 7s.
Here is what Ridge is doing, maybe it can help you roll a few more times:
Cut non core initiatives
- I bought everydaycarry(.)com for $1 million.
- I gave it to the editor and chief
- It was fun, it was a good business, but selling wallets is my MAIN business. No time for side quests
Remove any doubled roles
- We had very talented people in secondary roles
- They were support and the next generation of talent
- On liberation day, we didn't know if we were going to get news that would cripple the company, so we had to make the call to cut these people:
- Fire people when you can afford to be generous
- Muscling it out, hoping it works, isn't a strategy
Plan on what is out of your control to go bad
- We love our wholesale accounts
- But the reality is it has been HARD to run a brick and mortar business for 20 years now
- Macy's revenue peaked in 2007. It's still 50% below that peak.
- A PO from Macy's used to change your life, now it might not get paid.
Refocus on what got us here.
Trim costs, plan on growth to be slower and to not come from outside help.
Amazon stock hit $5.60 on December 10th, 1999.
It wouldn’t hit that price again until 2009.
A decade went by.
The business got better, it executed, it grew.
But if you held shares in the 90s you were underwater for 10 years.
Brands are going through the same thing.
Brands today are better than 2021. But we are in the wilderness.
Cycles take time. We had a boom, we are past the bust.
I'm still rolling in 2025.
The table is thinning, less people are playing with me.
But that means lots of spots at the table.
Use the next 4 years of this bursted bubble to build something great.
Just survive (your business and you)
This has all wrecked my health.
Bad sleep, lots of stress, lots of anxiety
But I am still one lucky roller.
In these horrible hopeless times, the next great brands will be built.
Because of lack of competition and the grit it takes.
Consumer does feel impossible…
But I wouldn’t want to be selling saas with ai.
Maybe consumer will be the only thing left.
Now we build.
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Connor MacDonald
Ridge, CMO
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Adding Over $1.5M During Ridge’s Memorial + Father’s Day Sale With Signed-In Shopping
Father’s Day is one of our biggest campaigns of the year.
During sale periods like this, existing customers get an extra 10% off on top of whatever deal we’re running.
In the past, this created a big pain point around messaging the offer to relevant customers.
We could segment these existing customers in our emails and SMS … but once they hit the site, we would completely lose the ability to show them the extra 10% off.
This year, we’ve been using Rivo to automatically handle all of this and deliver a much better customer experience.
We’re now instantly identifying customers who click directly from email and SMS, showing them personalized on-site messaging, and finally auto-applying discounts — all based on whether they’re eligible for the offer or not.
I’ve been a believer in moving towards personalized, signed-in shopping to drive retention for a while now.
We tracked over $1.5M and 12k repeat purchases from the Rivo code during this sale period.
To find out what it can do for you …
ADHD, Maine, and Muscle: Building Origin USA & Jocko Fuel
Does Conversion Rate Matter? Dylan Ander on CRO Best Practices & Smarter Web Analytics
Curated by the editor of CPG Wire, this week’s biggest consumer-news headlines.
1. Unilever Acquires Dr. Squatch: Marketing Dive
Unilever’s buying spree continues. After acquiring Wild and K18 over the past two years, Unilever announced that it’s purchasing men’s personal care brand Dr. Squatch for an undisclosed sum. Jack Haldrup launched Dr. Squatch in 2013 and sold a majority stake to Summit Partners in 2022.
Dr. Squatch’s revenue last year was in the $400 million range, while EBITDA was reportedly around $90 million. Summit Partners was aiming for a $2 billion valuation when it began shopping the brand in 2024.
2. Once Upon a Farm Files for IPO: Reuters
According to a report from Reuters, Once Upon a Farm is working with investment bankers on a possible IPO. The fast-growing children’s nutrition platform could be valued at $1 billion.
Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz launched Once Upon a Farm in 2015. In 2017, Jennifer Garner and former Annie’s CEO John Foraker joined the business as co-founders. The brand retails at over 18,000 stores across the country and, as of last year, was doing well north of $100 million in annual revenue.
3. David Beckham Launches Clean Candy Brand: Food Dive
David Beckham has partnered with serial entrepreneur Shaun Neff to launch BEEUP, a better-for-you candy brand. BEEUP’s debut product is a honey-based fruit snack that’s non-GMO and free of synthetic dyes and fake flavors. The new line is available exclusively at Target.
Prior to launching BEEUP, Shaun Neff co-founded Beach House Group, a successful brand incubator, and co-owned the iconic suncare brand Sun Bum.
4. Lavazza Explores Possible Merger: World Coffee Portal
Italian coffee maker Lavazza is exploring a merger with Dallmayr, a German coffee producer with annual revenues exceeding €1 billion. The deal would create a global coffee giant with nearly €5 billion of annual revenue. Joining forces would also enable both companies to better cope with surging coffee prices.
5. Huel Hits Impressive Milestone: LinkedIn
UK-based meal replacement brand Huel just announced a very impressive milestone: $1 billion in lifetime revenue since launching a decade ago. Founded in Central England by Julian Hearn and James Collier, Huel sells its products in the UK, Europe, and the United States.
Operators Assemble: Recordings?
Massive thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s Operators Assemble event.
Speakers, keynoters, panelists, partners, and attendees.
I have never in my life been flooded with requests — nay, demands — for the recordings + resources.
Good news! They are almost ready.
The first batch of Leadership, Marketing, and Finance breakout sessions — along with all the decks and tools — should hit your inbox tomorrow.
But only if you signed up.
🥳 Oh, and one last thing …
Even more massive congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike Beckham, and the team at Simple Modern for last night’s NBA championship.
In next Monday’s newsletter, Mike will reveal Simple Modern’s history with the franchise and the lessons he learned from this season’s historic partnership.
With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor
PS (Disclaimer): Special thanks to Rivo for sponsoring this week’s newsletter.