Channel Mastery - Ep. 54: Dan Nordstrom, Co-Founder of Roundhouse Collective Investment

Roundhouse Collective Investment

**achieving the right balance for your brand**

“People are going to have basically what I call strategic specialty retail, [which is] specialty retail stores that are awesome. Brands want their products in those stores, and to some degree, they'll pay for it.”
- Dan Nordstrom

show highlights

Only a skier and mountaineer could bring this amount of chill to the charged world of e-commerce. Dan Nordstrom, previously of ski bumming, Nordstrom.com, and Outdoor Research and currently of Roundhouse Collective, is my guest today. He rarely gives interviews – let alone live interviews to a packed house – and this one is back-to-back genius.

Dan brings the perspective of experience with the open-mindedness of an innovator. The theme of our talk is the hybridization of sales channels. It’s not only a good thing; it’s the way of the future. As careful as Dan is never to speak in absolutes or make predictions, I was hanging on every word. There’s an underlying message for brands in everything Dan says: chart your own path. Don’t ignore what everyone else is doing, but keep your priorities on what is best for you.

featuring

dan nordstrom

Dan Nordstrom is a co-founder of Roundhouse Collective Investment, which invests in early-stage consumer product companies and emerging brands. Many of our listeners also know Dan as the owner and CEO Emeritus of Outdoor Research. Earlier in his career, he spent 17 years at the family business, Nordstrom, Inc., working his way from the stockroom to store manager to co-president. In 1993, he led the launch of what would become Nordstrom.com.

He currently serves as a board member for Truewerk, evo.com, Nuun Hydration, Forterra, and the American Mountain Guides Association. When he’s not working, he’s out in the mountains - climbing and skiing.

topics covered

Online consumer decision journey, ecommerce, mobile first strategy, online first strategy, strategic specialty retail, experiential retail

select quotes

“The idea that people want to interact physically with product in awesome settings, I just don't think that changes.”
“People are going to have basically what I call strategic specialty retail, [which is] specialty retail stores that are awesome. Brands want their products in those stores, and to some degree, they'll pay for it.”
“You're starting to see these [channel] models sort of blend and be hybridized.”
“One of the things that everyone has got to wrap their heads around is it's up to the brand to keep their own marketplace clean.”