BoF: The Future of Multi-Brand Retail

BOF | LAUREN SHERMAN & CATHALEEN CHEN

The pandemic amplified shifts in the retail landscape that already had many brands questioning their relationship with wholesale partners. In the latest #BoFLIVE, a host of experts argue the model still has some value.

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When department stores cancelled orders and delayed payments in response to the pandemic, it raised fresh scrutiny on the value of wholesale. But the system isn’t irreparably broken and brands — and consumers — still have a lot to gain from multi-brand retail partners.

In the latest #BoFLIVE event, chief correspondent Lauren Sherman led a conversation with BoF senior associate Cathaleen Chen and retail experts Robert Burke, founder of Robert Burke Associates, Abigail Holtz, founder and chief executive of The Lobby and Sherri McMullen, founder of McMullen, on the model’s value. Ultimately, fashion needs taste makers, they argue.

“The reason [consumers] come to retailers often is because of their edit... and people are very much feeling that bigger is not better right now,” said Burke. “Time is money, and the customer doesn’t have unlimited time.”