Taking a D2C apparel brand to marketplaces and offline retail without eroding margin
The brand had to grow beyond its website but did not want to become a discount label.
Growth case- A D2C fashion and apparel brand
- Client
- D2C apparel
- Industry
- Growth Acceleration
- Solution
- 12 weeks
- Duration
Results
- Revenue in 12 months
- +45%
- Blended acquisition cost
- −25%
- Contribution margin held
- ±1 pt
The challenge
The brand had built a loyal following through its website and social media, but paid-social acquisition costs had risen by about 60% in two years. Marketplaces and offline retail were the obvious next steps, but founders worried about discounting, high returns, inventory lock-up and diluting the brand.
Our approach
How we applied the GROW Framework — from data to decisions and measurable growth.
Built unit economics by channel (acquisition cost, return rate, discounting and contribution margin) alongside customer cohorts and marketplace category data.
Marketplaces worked well for core basics as a low-cost acquisition channel, but fit-sensitive styles drove high returns there. Website demand was concentrated in a few cities, and physical presence in those cities was likely to lift online sales too.
Gave each channel a clear role. The website carries the full range and new drops. Marketplaces get a curated range of about 120 SKUs with their own price architecture. Offline starts with six shop-in-shops and two exclusive stores in the top three cities, with inventory and discount guardrails.
Set up a channel-level P&L dashboard and stage-gates for scaling each channel based on margin and return-rate thresholds.
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