Why Coterie and Tecovas think stores matter more than ever

Physical retail may no longer be the first place customers discover a brand, but it’s increasingly becoming the place they decide whether to stay with one.

At Retail Brew’s Clicks, Bricks, and Everything in Between event earlier this month, executives from premium diaper brand Coterie and Western-wear retailer Tecovas discussed how stores fit into the increasingly omnichannel shopping journey.

While they have taken different approaches to brick-and-mortar—Coterie through wholesale partnerships and Tecovas through its own stores—both brands believe physical retail has become a powerful growth driver.

For Coterie, physical retail has helped introduce the brand to new parents before funneling them into its subscription business, with 10%–12% of new customers acquired through retail over the last two years. Meanwhile, Tecovas customers who shop across channels generate 32% higher lifetime value.

ICYMI, here’s a recap of Retail Brew’s conversation with Kara Silver, VP of e-commerce at Tecovas, and Grace Weingard, president of Coterie.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How has the role of physical retail evolved for you over the years?

Grace: We launched in 2019, DTC-first, subscription-based...In 2022, we were starting to get a lot of inbounds and had to say a lot of no’s at first, but decided to be very strategic about the partners that we entered with. We started to open up the gates with Whole Foods, Wegmans, Erewhon, and some baby registry sites. Baby diapers…it’s a fragile stage. Moms and dads are still doing research, they’re putting this product on their baby, and so for us, retail presence was important in addition to DTC subscription because it’s that sensitive time. If a parent wanted to try Coterie, they’d heard about it from a friend, it was a great entryway point for our customers to pick up a pack [and] try it. Does it work on my babies? Is this the right size?

It’s also been great for our CX team. If for some reason a customer is going out of town last minute and we can’t get the package to them, we’ve actually also used retail—exception, not the rule—where our CX team will ship [to] a Whole Foods via Amazon and get it delivered the same day to our customers.

Kara: The big push around Tecovas has always been about comfort. It’s a big thing in Western brands. It takes six months to break in a cowboy boot, and we really tried to literally break the mold on that and make sure that the boots were comfortable from the start. The store became an opportunity for customers to really be welcomed into the Western space who maybe are buying their first boot or their first pair of Tecovas and have been curious, but are daunted by a store of just racks of boots and no direction.

It’s now at 60 stores and counting. It’s now actually our largest channel for the business, so any concerns around cannibalization have been proven not to be an issue, and it’s a huge driver of growth.

When people come into stores, they’ve already read the reviews, they’ve seen the TikTok videos, so what purpose is the store fulfilling that e-commerce can’t?

Grace: It serves as a channel for discovery. One of the missions of Coterie is to make parents’ lives easier, and the worst thing that can happen as a parent is it’s late at night or in the morning, and you’re running out of diapers. Having that instant access for our loyal customers has been incredible and huge. The reality is, there are just some customers who prefer that brick-and-mortar, in-person experience, and can pick up a pack when they’re going grocery shopping.

Kara: For Tecovas as a luxury item, it’s less about convenience. People typically might have been to the website 10–20 times, learning about our assortment and really educating themselves on the product before entering the store, so it’s a very high-intent audience. One of our core tenants, internally and externally, is about radical hospitality. Our stores are our truest expression of that. You can come in, we have a bar, get a free cocktail there, comfortable seating, warm lighting. There’s really friendly staff that make you feel at home and make it just a very easy environment to try something new and get introduced to Western [footwear]. Customers really take that time to make sure they get the right fit and feel good about the purchase, and then, of course, later, if they want to buy another color, they know exactly what boots they like and how they fit. We also offer customizations in store, so it has a pretty multifaceted experience where if you buy a hat, there’s a hat bar. The store associates will help you pick out accessories or put dried flowers in it. We have a branding and boot-painting station, so you can get your wedding date branded on your boots. It’s truly more about the full experience and enjoying it as a destination.

What has been the biggest growth driver for both of your brands?

Kara: Brand affinity—broad reach media has been one of the largest levers we have around brand awareness. Our partnerships team has also been great. We just recently signed with an F1 driver. Those moments have really driven a lot more brand awareness for us, especially as a Western brand—not everyone is familiar—and we had our first Super Bowl commercial this year. That’s been one of the largest efforts that have brought people into the funnel, and the stores have served as a really important experience, driving loyalty.

Grace: It’s a mix of things—brand awareness, but retail has definitely helped with that. Being on a shelf, being in the faces of parents, but also, fortunately, it’s a very sticky category. Once you hook a parent, they typically keep coming back. We haven’t necessarily grown a whole bunch in our portfolio of SKUs. It is more just continuing to build upon that brand awareness. Forty percent of our customers actually come through word of mouth. It’s because at that time of life where you’re asking your friends, you’re asking your relatives, “What should I use on my future or current newborn baby?” The research is really being done. It’s a very discerning time for new parents.