The Role of Digital in Brand Building

At Chubbies we built our ecommerce business to 8 figures of revenue before we really understood the role of Digital for consumer brands.

For the first few years of business at Chubbies we were fully bought into the ecommerce revolution.

We thought the role of digital was to offer a convenient place to purchase items you love without the hassle of going to a retail store.

We thought online retailers were competitors.

We wanted to own the transaction.

Then we almost went out of business.

As we deconstructed our business to find scalable profitable growth, we began to realize the true value that the internet brought to consumer brands.

It was was not just a vehicle for transactions.

The value of the internet to consumer brands was that the internet had become the House of Brand.

The internet was the place where consumers could connect with brands they love in a scalable and comprehensive way - across various social networks, mailing lists, brand websites, etc.

The internet was the place consumers share their thoughts and emotions towards brands freely and openly in a way that billions of people could consume.

The internet was the place where consumers came to learn more about their favorite companies and products. Where they could dive deep into a brand's story and purpose.

Our realization was that this basket of digital behaviors towards our Brand was our Brand.

We shouldn't be fighting to own the transaction.

We should be fighting to own the connection.

The more digital connections we can make, the more digital community we can build, the larger, more resilient, and more profitable we can be.

This fundamental realization was the critical step in taking chubbies from an 8-figure, negative-profit ecommerce store to a 9 figure, highly profitable and resilient lifestyle Brand.
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