Coworking with Kimberley Walker

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Kimberley Walker leads brand partnerships for Hike, an Amazon marketing agency.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? My role at Hike centers on building and growing our brand partnerships. I connect with brands looking to launch, scale, or strengthen their Amazon business in the US, UK, EU or Japan, via attending trade shows and industry events. My focus is to understand what a brands’ priorities are, their needs and goals, so as to ensure they are set up for partnership and growth success! I’m also an ongoing resource for our existing brand partners, helping shape strategies for long-term sustainable growth. Those conversations operate within the Amazon ecosystem (purchasing, assortment planning, inventory management, etc.), however, they often also extend beyond Amazon. This can be overall brand consulting, assortment roadmapping, new distribution introductions (e.g. Walmart) or preparing materials for launching into new doors. We are the go-to crew for e-commerce expertise and expansion.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? For someone whose work primarily focuses on e-commerce, I spend a fair amount of time following what’s happening outside of e-comm platforms, reading up on wider retail news. Big store openings, brand acquisitions, or a shift in tariffs can influence a brand’s priorities at any point in time. Understanding their wider world helps me recognize when to push an opportunity or investment, when to rethink it, and when timing simply isn’t right to make drastic changes regarding certain product or marketing opportunities online.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorite projects has been partnering with a watch group that I knew from my time in the watch industry in Asia, before joining Hike. I helped them understand how valuable investing in Amazon as a channel would be to their portfolio, and how our team could build this strategy to scale their brands. Since partnering, we’ve grown their US business 3x, and we’re now working together expanding their UK and EU marketplace business. It brings together two chapters of my career: the relationships and category knowledge from my watch industry days, and the expertise and opportunities our team deliver at Hike. Seeing that connection turn into a successful, growing partnership has been very rewarding!

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? I love the growing trend of “third spaces” or third-space retail—environments and stores that become places to spend time and connect beyond home and work. Flagship stores that bring hospitality into the experience, whether through a café, a run or fitness club, or, events that give people a reason to stay a little longer and meet someone new. What makes it compelling is when the products fit naturally into that experience: supporting a shared activity, improving a routine, or giving people something to discover together. The store becomes part of someone’s lifestyle and local community. Creating a place people look forward to returning to, where their connection to the brand grows through experiences they value. I love it!

What’s your go-to coffee order? An oat milk flat white (I’m Aussie, we love our FWs!)

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? “Have a five-year plan and stick to it.” Have a direction and framework, absolutely. But leave room for the unexpected. Or as I like to call it, spontaneous time! If I stuck to my five-year plan from five years ago, I would never have the experiences, knowledge, magic, and successful moments I’ve had in my life now. Both in business and in my personal life. Leave room for the gray and for new paths that may appear.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? At 15, I’d say my inflatable bedroom chair/furniture (IYKYK) and teen magazine subscriptions! Right now, I’m currently obsessed with a new fragrance I purchased from Frederic Malle called Portrait Of A Lady. It is divine! And, I’d also have to say my Loewe large puzzle bag. It fits my laptop—it’s the best for my work ‘fits and trips.