Marketing
29 March 2022
Loyalty and listening: Olaplex CEO JuE Wong on the power of community
At ShopTalk, Wong offered tips for brands seeking to build connection with their audience.
At ShopTalk, Wong offered tips for brands seeking to build connection with their audience.
For brands, building a community offers the opportunity to engage with consumers, create loyalty and gain insights from listening to what they say.
Those were some of the insights shared by Olaplex CEO JuE Wong during a keynote at ShopTalk this week. With 2.2 million followers on Instagram and a growing presence on TikTok, the haircare brand has developed significant communities on social media after the team decided to invest in building.
With community, brands can forge deeper ties with consumers. Alongside offering information about what a product does and showing it, there is a chance to speak directly with consumers. The best communities also create a space where its members can connect to each other.
In the end, this creates a bond that goes beyond a single purchase.
“When you are able to cross the functional aspects of your brand into the emotional relationship and emotional connection, what ends up happening is you create an ecosystem of longevity and loyalty,” Wong said.
Alongside engagement, there is also the opportunity to learn. Pay attention to what these loyal consumers say, and it can inform the actions a brand takes. This "social listening" can be just as powerful as focus groups, Wong said. Consumers are there to give praise, or negative feedback. It's all valuable intelligence.
So where should a brand start? For brands considering building a community, Wong said it’s important to “understand your brand’s super power. What is your brand’s DNA?”
That can guide how the community develops, and what is shared within it. Olaplex's treatment to rebuild broken hair bonds grew up at salons, where product recommendations often take place. Its community reflects this.
Next, it’s important to decide where to engage in a way that is authentic and genuine. That could be a social media platform. Other brands have started communities on platforms such as Discord and Slack. Wherever it lands, it’s important to be true oneself.
“Try not being everything to everyone because you’ll end up being nothing to anyone,” she said.
The community that Olaplex has built led Wong to recall a phrase she saw on a bomber jacket: “The power of the people is greater than all of the people in power.”
“This is what our community is: the power of the people,” she said.
On the Move has the latest from Amazon, Lovesac and more.
This week, leadership is changing at GameStop, Sorel and Beautycounter. Meanwhile, key executives are departing at Amazon, Wayfair and Lovesac.
Here’s a look at the latest shuffles:
GameStop announced the termination of Matthew Furlong as CEO on Wednesday. A brief statement did not provide a reason for the firing.
With the move, Chewy founder and activist investor Ryan Cohen was named executive chairman of the video game retailer. Cohen will be responsible for capital allocation and overseeing management.
It came as the company reported a 10% year-over-year decline in net sales for the first quarter. Meanwhile, the company’s net loss improved by 62%.
In an SEC filing, GameStop further added this “We believe the combination of these efforts to stabilize and optimize our core business and achieve sustained profitability while also focusing on capital allocation under Mr. Cohen’s leadership will further unlock long-term value creation for our stockholders.”
Cohen was revealed as GameStop's largest shareholder when he disclosed a 10% stake in the retailer in 2020. GameStop went on to become a leading name in the meme stock rise of 2021.
Mark Nenow is stepping down as president of the Sorel brand in order to focus on his health.
After rising to the role in 2015, Nenow spearheaded a transformation of Columbia Sportswear-owned Sorel from a men’s workwear brand to a fashion-focused brand that led with a women’s offering of boots, sandals and sneakers.
“Mark led the brand to sales of $347 million in net sales in 2022,” said Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, in a statement. “His leadership has been invaluable to this company, and we wish him the very best.”
Columbia will conduct a search for Nenow’s replacement. Craig Zanon, the company’s SVP of emerging brands, will lead Sorel in the interim.
Beautycounter appointed board member Mindy Mackenzie as interim CEO, succeeding Marc Rey. According to the brand, Rey and the board “mutually decided to transition to a new phase of leadership for Beautycounter.”
McKenzie, a former executive at Carlyle, McKinsey and Jim Beam, will lead the company as it conducts a search for a permanent CEO. Additionally, former Natura & Co CEO Roberto Marques will join Beautycounter’s board as chair.
As part of the transition, Nicole Malozi is also joining the company as chief financial officer. She brings experience from Tatcha, Nike, and DFS Group Limited.
Melissa Nick, a VP of customer fulfillment for North America at Amazon, will leave the company, effective June 16, CNBC reported. Nick joined the company in 2014, and oversaw a region that included nearly 300 fulfillment centers. After doubling its supply chain footprint during the pandemic, Amazon recently reorganized its fulfillment operations to take a regional approach, as opposed to a national model that often resulted in items shipping across the country.
Jon Blotner (Courtesy photo)
Steve Oblak will retire from the role of chief commercial officer at home goods marketplace Wayfair. With the move, Jon Blotner will be promoted to chief commercial officer.
"Steve has served as a critical part of our leadership team and played a pivotal role in Wayfair's growth, helping us grow from a $250 million business when he joined to $12 billion in net revenue today,” said Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, in a statement. “He oversaw countless milestones, from helping to launch the Wayfair brand as we brought together hundreds of sites into a single platform, to launching new categories, business lines, and geographies while overseeing our North American and European businesses, to leading our debut into physical retail.”
Blotner previously oversaw exclusive and specialty retail brands, as well as digital media at Wayfair. Before joining the company, he served as president of Gemvara.com prior to its 2016 acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway.
Furniture retailer Lovesac said Donna Dellomo will retire as EVP and CFO, and move to an advisory role, effective June 30. Dellomo was with Lovesac for six years.
Keith Siegner was appointed as the next EVP and CFO. He brings experience as CFO of esports company Vindex, as well as executive roles at Yum! Brands, UBS Securities and Credit Suisse.
Additionally, Jack Krause will retire from the role of chief strategy officer, effective June 30. His responsibilities will be divided between CEO Shawn Nelson and president Mary Fox.
“Since joining Lovesac, Jack has played an instrumental role in transforming the Company into a true omni channel retailer by helping expand our physical touchpoints and digital platform as we continue to disrupt the industry,” said Nelson, in a statement.
The National Retail Federation announced the addition of five new board members. They include: