This #BoFLIVE event was based on the ‘DTC vs Wholesale: Striking the Right Balance’ article. Click here to read our full analysis.

Striking the right balance between the industry’s diverse sales channels is getting more and more complicated. Department stores that were once sanctuaries for up-and-coming brands are struggling, while direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales channels that have proved a powerful motor for emerging labels, come with their own challenges. This week on #BoFLIVE, reporters Chantal Fernandez and Lauren Sherman discuss strategies for finding that ideal formula with Rainbowwave founder Maria Lemos and House of Aama founders Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka.

Finding the right balance can be powerful: operating DTC allows for a brand to have more control over product and presentation, and capture more of the margins, but interacting with other channels is an opportunity for growth and exposure.

“When you do these partnerships or these deals with companies or wholesale orders… it allows for you to use their marketing money and their marketing dollars,” Shabaka said.

Related Articles:

One Big Way Direct-to-Consumer Retail Is Changing

How to Go From Wholesale to Direct-To-Consumer

How Digital Brands Make Wholesale Work

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