Bant Breen:
Rob is the President, CEO, and Director of Vera Bradley. Vera Bradley has invented over the years the basics from the original luggage products to what it’s doing today. Tell us a little bit about what is moving forward for you guys?
Robert Wallstrom:
Vera Bradley, we’re almost 40 years old. We’ve been around for a while. Part of it, I always say, was kind of the original millennial brand. It built a great customer following we have such engaged customers, they just love being part of the brand. Just about two years ago, we went ahead and acquired Pura Vida, and they came into our portfolio. They’re the same way they have an incredibly loyal and passionate customer following. That process has made us so exciting and brought two great vibrant brands together. We think there’s an opportunity to bring more brands into this family to engage customers across different categories and ages. We’re very excited about the future.
Bant Breen:
How are you guys remodeling and restructuring to face that consumer change?
Robert Wallstrom:
I think one is a lot of retailers leaning into digital. When people hear digital, I think too many people think of just e-commerce and, even though that’s important, I would say what’s happening now is more exciting, because digital is about how do we understand our customers? How do we look at data? How do we connect with our customers digitally? Through social media, advertising, providing her and him with what they need. I think it’s that transformation of that ecosystem becomes super important. We’ve been doing it under both, and the platforms continue to change rapidly. A few years ago, it was Facebook, and then on to Instagram, and now on to Tik Tok. Who knows what’s going to be next. This is an industry now that I think is becoming very technology-enabled independent. Yes, technology has become less expensive. I think retailers have begun to leverage that out, which I think is going to be truly transformational in the years ahead.
Bant Breen:
it’s been a crazy year. Tell me a little bit about what’s keeping you sane, what’s keeping you happy?
Robert Wallstrom:
On the day-to-day, I think there are two parts to that. One is just the best thing in life always is family. It starts with family and starts with where you’re at. I think as a company, what’s excited me so much through this year is how our associates have supported each other and taken care of each other taking care of the customer. It’s been exciting to watch because we’ve seen engagement scores across customers and associates increase this year, which you wouldn’t expect during the middle of a pandemic. Seeing that community thrive has been so encouraging. Just watching everybody willing to come together, be inventive, be tenacious, and it’s put our company in a good position as we go forward.
Bant Breen:
Rob, thank you so much for being on UNCAGED today and we look forward to having you back.
To see the full interview on the Uncaged YouTube channel, go to: