Hi {{first_name|there}},
At eTail Boston, leaders from Samsonite, Nuts.com, and New Balance laid out the playbooks. The common thread: heritage alone doesn’t sell. Relevance comes from service, clarity, and smart bets on technology.
Here’s what stood out from more sessions:
🧠 Session Download
Modernizing an Iconic Brand: Winning Over A New Generation When You Have 115 Years of Heritage
David Oksman (VP, Marketing & DTC, Samsonite)
Samsonite may be 115 years old, but David Oksman made it clear at eTail Boston: heritage doesn’t guarantee relevance. Winning over Gen Z and Millennial shoppers means pairing craftsmanship with agility.
“Brand love is earned… the worst thing you can do in our category is let the consumer down.”
Here’s how Samsonite is staying in the game:
Loyalty built on service. Forget points. Samsonite brought customer service back in-house and doubled down on repairability - making parts like wheels self-fixable - to turn durability into a loyalty engine.
A portfolio for every pocket. Samsonite anchors the premium tier, while American Tourister plays at the accessible, trend-driven end. The unifying factor? Value = price + quality + emotional connection.
From SEO to AIO. Oksman said it bluntly: “We used to call it SEO, now we call it AIO.” The shift is toward natural-language queries, where brands must surface in AI-driven answers.
AI as a creativity accelerator. Rather than replacing jobs, AI is “coming for your busy work.” Oksman called prompting itself a form of creativity, enabling faster and more original outputs.
Sustainability as strategy. Samsonite’s goal is to become “the most sustainable brand in the category,” backed by repairability and products built to last decades.
And because even luggage marketing needs a lift-off: Samsonite literally sent a suitcase into space as part of a recent campaign — a cheeky upgrade from the usual “run it over with a car” stress tests.
Respecting Brand Heritage While Focusing on Innovation and Growth: The Nuts.com Story
At eTail Boston, PJ Oleksak, CEO of Nuts.com, unpacked what it takes to modernize a 100-year-old family brand without losing the DNA that made it iconic.
Her growth mandate? Simple: triple the business. The roadmap? Simplify. Strengthen. Scale.
🔎 Simplify to Speed Up
Nuts.com cut 25% of its product catalog in the past year. Why? Because “complexity is the silent killer of growth,” Oleksak explained. From SKU rationalization to sharpening the brand message (“our nuts are bigger and better”), simplification created the clarity needed to move fast.
💪 Strengthen the Core First
Before chasing new markets, Oleksak doubled down on tech modernization, quality control, and leadership talent. “You can’t scale broken processes,” she told the room. For Nuts.com, that meant upgrading its tech stack, investing in automation, and reinforcing its people-first culture.
📈 Scale with Intention
Rather than “growth at all costs,” Oleksak is expanding strategically. The launch of Pop & Soul in Target and Fresh Market gives Nuts.com a retail presence that’s bold, youthful, and modern - while still honoring its founder, Poppy Soul. The playbook is about finding the sweet spot where heritage and innovation meet.
💡 Takeaway for Retail Leaders
Heritage doesn’t guarantee relevance. But when you simplify what you stand for, strengthen the foundations, and scale with purpose, you can grow without losing yourself.
👟 Lacing Up for the Next Era of Growth: New Balance’s Winning Retail Playbook
How does a heritage brand become one of the most in-demand names across Gen Z and Gen Alpha while staying true to its roots? At eTail Boston, Melissa Worth, SVP Americas at New Balance, shared how the company is balancing heritage with innovation on its path to becoming a $10 billion global brand.
🏬 Flagship Stores as Storytelling Engines
Worth spotlighted New Balance’s elevated retail formats- from the Newbury Street concept store to new flagships in London and soon Tokyo. These are immersive spaces where storytelling, sport, and premium design collide, creating a halo effect that boosts both DTC and wholesale performance.
🤝 Wholesale Partners Still Matter
While DTC is a growing priority, Worth stressed that wholesale remains critical to the brand’s DNA. Partnerships with Foot Locker, JD Sports, and small independents globally continue to fuel consumer acquisition. “We’ve accelerated growth where we’ve aligned with partners on a shared five-year vision,” she explained.
📈 Untapped Growth in Apparel & Accessories
Footwear may be New Balance’s foundation, but Worth pointed to apparel and accessories as major opportunities still ahead. Expanding into these categories allows the brand to diversify its growth while staying consistent in how it shows up across markets.
🌟 More Insights
That’s where Fospha’s Halo comes in. It connects the dots between discovery and conversion, giving you daily visibility into the influence TikTok, Meta, Snap, and Google have on Amazon and .com performance. It’s the clarity you need to move spend out of the blind spots and into growth.
Thanks for reading our insights! Throughout the coming weeks, we’ll be dropping more insights and bold takes from retail leaders. Keep an eye on your inbox.
Unofficially eTail Boston Team
📲 Like what you’re seeing?
Make sure you don’t miss us.
To keep these insights in your main inbox, follow these quick steps:
Gmail:
Mobile: Tap the 3 dots top right → ‘Move to’ → ‘Primary’
Desktop: Drag this email to your ‘Primary’ tab
Apple Mail:
Tap our email at the top → ‘Add to VIPs’Other apps:
Add [email protected] to your address book
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Independently Created. Not affiliated with eTail Boston.
Unofficially eTail is a ClickZ Media publication in the Events division