Naturally Vain had established strong demand through retail partners.

That success shaped the business. Planning cycles, promotional behavior, and growth expectations were increasingly influenced by wholesale cadence and economics.

Direct-to-consumer existed as a channel, but not yet as a standalone system. Decisions in DTC were often made in response to retail needs rather than DTC-specific learning.

As the brand matured, this dynamic became limiting.

The question was no longer whether DTC could grow — it was whether it could grow on its own terms.

The core problem was dependency.

DTC growth was too tightly coupled to retail performance and timelines. That coupling introduced subtle risks:

• Promotional behavior that didn’t reflect long-term DTC intent
• Acquisition decisions shaped by short-term pressure
• Lifecycle activity compensating for volatility rather than revealing signal
• Difficulty interpreting DTC performance in isolation

Without intervention, DTC would continue to grow — but without independence or durability.

We approached the work by separating channels at the decision level, not the execution level.

The goal was not to deprioritize retail, but to ensure DTC was governed independently.

That required slowing the system down long enough to introduce structure.

We focused on:

• Clarifying the role DTC played within the broader business
• Establishing decision ownership specific to DTC growth
• Defining constraints that insulated DTC decisions from retail pressure
• Aligning acquisition, conversion, and lifecycle around long-term DTC health
• Creating a decision cadence that allowed learning to compound

Only once those conditions were in place did execution accelerate.

The outcome of the work was not a campaign or a channel strategy.

It was a governed DTC growth system.

Specifically:

• A clear decision model for DTC growth, independent of wholesale timelines
• Acquisition and lifecycle systems designed to reinforce customer quality
• Conversion behavior aligned with brand posture rather than short-term lift
• Constraints that reduced noise and clarified signal
• A cadence that prevented reactive decision-making

The system could now hold as volume increased.

As structure settled, DTC behavior changed.

• Decisions became easier to make without referencing retail performance
• Acquisition signal became clearer and more interpretable
• Promotional activity became intentional rather than reactive
• Lifecycle reinforced independence instead of compensating for instability
• Confidence in DTC as a primary growth engine increased

Growth became calmer — and more durable.