Traditional home textile brands overproduce to meet customer demand. This leaves excess, unsold merchandise sitting in a warehouse, eating away at profit margins until sold at a loss or disposed of. To temper these costs, brands negotiate lower rates with their suppliers resulting in poverty wages and unsafe conditions for factory workers and farmers.
But Boll & Branch is a different company. Sustainability, transparency and ethical practices are core values behind every strategic decision. Committing to Fair Trade means their product comes with higher production costs. To maintain profit margins, Boll & Branch needed to build an ultra-efficient infrastructure and automate processes wherever possible.
When David Reid joined as the COO and CFO in 2016, his mission was to scale Boll & Branch for future growth, by adding new product lines and sales channels. Staying true to the brand while meeting customer demand required unconventional thinking and innovative systems.
The company was evolving from a single Shopify store and warehouse to a complex ecosystem of headless eCommerce, branded storefront and retail partners selling made-to-order and warehoused goods.