Put Your Best Foot Forward w/ Chinese Laundry’s CMO
How to Master the Marketing Game
July 30th, 2024 • 5 min read
Sarah Zurell, a marketing powerhouse and two-time Co-Founder, is making waves as the Chief Marketing Officer at CELS Brands. Overseeing trendy labels like Chinese Laundry and Dirty Laundry, Sarah’s impact is everywhere—pop icon Taylor Swift was recently spotted rocking Chinese Laundry heels, solidifying the brand's status as a must-have in the fashion world.
Sarah’s strategic vision is her superpower. She excels at identifying market gaps and crafting products that meet retailers' specific needs. Her approach has allowed Chinese Laundry to stay ahead of trends and continuously offer fresh, desirable footwear with the nod to nostalgia that they are famous for.
“The market is constantly changing… The question I take to the buyers is, 'What is the white space on your floor and how can we build products that will specifically fit your needs?' So for us, In footwear, because the trends are constantly changing, and we're a trend-forward company, knowing and understanding exactly what the retailer needs and what they're trying to deliver to their customer, and being really specific, and then having the ability to execute that is where we've seen the greatest success in getting endorsed.” Sarah explains.
Chinese Laundry operates four distinct labels, each targeting specific retailers. This targeted approach ensures that the brand remains relevant and adaptable.
“We have four labels and of those four labels, we target very specific retailers…one of them we actually decided to put a pause on and that meant we needed to liquidate inventory. So, I had a lot of success by then - looking at, okay, if we know we're going to bring this brand back but I need to clear out old inventory before I relaunch it, what is a retailer that I can liquidate it on that isn't going to degrade the brand? So we're doing that with TJ Maxx because that's a retailer where people still go for premium products at a discount. So that when I relaunch it, I'm not going to be in a conflict with Nordstrom that's going to say, 'Oh hey, we actually don't want your product because you liquidated at Burlington Coat Factory or you put it at Ross.' Being really specific about how you handle product and having the strategy from the get-go as you look (at) the five-year plan for your brand - I think is really important.” she shares.
Sarah’s philosophy is all about respect and long-term thinking: “The relationships that you build are going to be the most important thing that you do for your business. I can't stress it enough. I stepped into a legacy company that's been around for 53 years, so I actually had to go in and rebuild some relationships and that is the number one way to open doors, and also knowing that the person that you talk to that might be an assistant one day, is gonna’ be the DMM later and so to always operate with the highest level of respect and to really address them with ‘How can I help you?’ rather than asking ‘What do you need?’. Instead of just trying to sell, sell, sell!
I think that taking that softer approach is going to get you so much further when playing the long game. Instead of being shortsighted and saying ‘Oh I really need this meeting right now!’ Just be as delightful and easy to work with as possible!”
Awareness of industry norms and buyer preferences is crucial. “A lot of buyers can't receive presents and gifts… if that's something that you don't know and then you're sending flowers or always sending stuff it can actually really turn them off - so it's just something to be aware of!” she adds.
In the highly competitive fashion market, differentiation is key. Sarah emphasizes the importance of innovative marketing: “It's very difficult ‘cause it's oversaturated… The consumer has so much choice, retailers have so much choice! So one thing that I'm doing is I'm launching an entire virtual reality experience …showing our shoes in a 360 view, where we're working with an artist out of Ukraine to be able to allow folks that are going to our website (or for retailers) to use the videos to be able to see the shoe twirl around from all angles.
Then for Spring I did it with the shoes actually blooming out of flowers, which then gave me earned media. So, Women's Wear Daily covered it, Footwear News covered it, Yahoo covered it. So, anything that you can do in addition to just having a great product, which I think is first and the most important thing, you have to have a good product that people actually want and resonate with - is to then market it in such a way that is disruptive and that is different than the way your competitors are marketing.”
Sarah’s final piece of advice for entering new markets includes leveraging collaborations and pop-ups. “If you’re trying to get in store specifically offering some sort of collaboration, or are going to bring influencers in, or you're going to do a popup - what's the best way to test a product? (It's) a great way to get into those doors…Like a popup, it's sometimes an easier sell than saying, ‘I need you to go deep on my inventory and carry me year-round,’ but you have to go with a fully baked idea to be able to do that.”
If you’ve learned something from Sarah's story, make sure you're subscribed to Weekly Insights mailer for fresh Founder Stories delivered straight to your inbox every week! Dive deeper into more success strategies by reading more exclusive snippets from our show’s, or join us in person to experience it firsthand!