Staying Agile While Staying True with Ashley Merrill

June 29, 2021

 

Summary

Our special guest, Ashley Merrill, joins us to walk us through Lunya’s story and how she’s been able to stay agile whilst staying true to the brand.

What is the inspiration behind Lunya? How can digitally native brands compete in a hyper-competitive world? How can a brand remain agile without compromising on its mission and story? What are fast-fashion brands really doing to the retail industry?

  • We ask these questions and more of our special guest, Ashley Merrill, founder and CEO of Lunya. Ashley walks us through her brand story and why she’s been able to keep experiencing success even in the toughest of conditions. 
  • She strongly believes that it’s a combination of agility and confidence in her brand mission and value. She is constantly looking for ways to adapt and evolve based on client feedback without compromising on the brand she wants to build.

Conversation Rundown

[ 4:03-6:00 ] Lunya’s growth strategy
Anil Patel loves talking to business owners about their experience launching eCommerce brands. Ashley Merrill shares her experience launching Lunya. She talks about some of the advantages she had as compared to new brand owners entering a very crowded space today. She also gives some fantastic advice for brands looking to follow her growth trajectory.

[ 9:07-10:14 ] Early-stage business challenges
It's often difficult for small eCommerce brands to evolve and grow because they have such a small data sample to work with. They're also operating in a very crowded space, competing against competitors with more data and more funds. Ashley Merrill talks about common challenges startup founders encounter today.

[ 11:08-14:21 ] Advice for digitally native brands
Ashley Merrill believed digitally-native is an approach but not a long-term strategy. Her brand, Lunya, started online, as many retailers today do. But they've since expanded since Ashley realized that retailers simply must meet customers where they are. Her advice for other retailers looking to grow? Nail down who your customer is and then be willing to be flexible with how you reach them. Test different channels instead of restricting yourself.

[ 21:19-24:08 ] Fast fashion and the copycat trend
Ashley Merrill talks about her take on sustainability in fashion. It's easy to say that sustainability should be championed in this industry and that fast fashion is bad for the environment. But the reality is that consumers are just as much to blame as retailers are. After all, retailers are responding to a demand. Sustainability has to be a holistic process that we all commit to - the customers with their wallets, and the retailers with everything from their production process to their logistics.

Meet the Experts

Ashley Merrill, founder and CEO of Lunya & Lahgo. She strongly believes that it’s a combination of agility and confidence in her brand mission and value. She is constantly looking for ways to adapt and evolve based on client feedback without compromising on the brand she wants to build.

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