“So you can’t see that we’re not 6 foot, 10 [inches], but we’re not 6 foot, 10 [inches],” Adam Goldston, told Retail Brew matter-of-factly over Zoom with his brother, Ryan Goldston. “We played basketball…in college at USC, and our passion was always to push ourselves to get to the next level physically.”

In 2009, the identical twins decided to put their money where their foot was by launching Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), an athletic footwear brand they describe as “luxury performance” for its ability to “instantly make you jump higher.”

“We knew that we had to start within a micro niche where we had true credibility and authenticity, to kind of lay the groundwork for what we’re trying to do in the future,” Adam explained. “And when it came to basketball shoes that instantly make you jump higher, us being sport collegiate athletes at USC, it made sense.”

The message seems to have reached far and wide, including as far as the NBA. For its 2010–2011 season, the NBA banned APL’s Concept 1 shoes for giving players a “competitive advantage,” the twins tell Retail Brew proudly.

• Since then, the duo have also been inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), while sales grew 102% YoY in 2020 and over 70% in 2021.
• The brand also has a presence across the globe through partnerships with Nordstrom, Selfridges Net-A-Porter, ShopBop.com, Lane Crawford, and Harvey Nichols. Over 70% of its sales, however, come through its own website and stores.

Adam added that the company has also “never raised $1 of outside capital” and remains completely independent, which makes creating new products even more challenging as it expands its presence across the market.

Keep reading here.—JS

October brought with it another month of C-suite comings and goings. Beyond Beyond Meat, which added to September’s chaos with, well, more chaos, here’s some of the most notable retail exec moves this month:

• Sue Grove was named CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond after serving in the interim role for four months since Mark Tritton stepped down.
• Speaking of BB&B, its former regional VP Mary-Farrell Tarbox joined REI as VP of physical stores and retail operations.
• Bonobos appointed The North Face and Nike vet John Hutchison as its CEO, following the end of Micky Onvural’s five-year stint as chief executive in January.
• Shipt made two additions to its C-suite. Former McCormick & Company exec Alia Kemet is now CMO, while Smrutha Ipparthi was promoted from VP of engineering to chief product officer.
• The Consumer Brands Association said David Chavern will take over as its president and CEO on January 3. He’s joining from media industry trade group News Media Alliance.
• After Richemont announced a deal to spin off Yoox Net-a-Porter to form a joint venture with Farfetch, Yoox Net-a-Porter this month named Alison Loehnis as interim CEO until the deal is closed.
• Belk added MaryAnne Morin, former Stein Mart president, as its new president and chief merchandising officer.
• Heather Wallace, former Revlon president of the Americas, stepped into the CEO role at skin care brand Curology as its former CEO, co-founder Dr. David Lortscher, moved to executive chair of the board.
• The Children’s Place will bring on Sheamus Toal as its CFO on November 7. He’s the second new CFO in less than two years for the company, which had a rough Q2 performance.
• Nordstrom’s five-year CFO is stepping down on December 2.

Keep reading here.—EC

“We spoke with [Soyoung Kang, CMO of beauty brand eos Products] about shifting the brand’s focus from mostly lip balm to personal care, millennials to Gen Z, and Tumblr to TikTok—all while having a little fun with it,” writes Marketing Brew’s Katie Hicks.

Last year, TikTok user @killjoy posted a video encouraging people to use eos shaving cream if they wanted to “bless [their] fucking cooch” and avoid razor bumps. In response, eos put the phrase on its limited-edition packaging and sold out of it in less than 24 hours.

“When we first saw the content, we knew that it was gold, and we wanted to figure out a way that we could work with that creator and hopefully continue to fan the flames of that particular content on TikTok,” Kang said.

“Now we’re in an era, I would say, where young people are craving, more than anything, authenticity and realness—even if that realness comes at the expense of perfect and polished and precious,” she said.

Read the whole story here on Marketing Brew.—KH

Today’s top retail reads.

Happy spiel: The inventor of the Happy Meal in 1977 explains its impetus. “We were losing our endorsement of the kids,” Bob Bernstein said. “We wanted to reestablish ourselves with kids and the family and say we were kid friendly.” (CNN)

Chick magnet: How a Chick-fil-A in Miami switched to a three-day workweek (with 13- to 14-hour shifts) and saw its worker retention rate and job applications go through the roof. (Insider)

Sneakerdread: Ye’s shoe line had been a hot seller in the resale market, but now Google searches for “sell Yeezy” are skyrocketing, and whether they’ll become collectors items or shunned and unsold is up in the air. (Glossy)

Hey retail readers, have you heard?

Marketing Brew is hosting a full-day affair of industry exploration and navigation on Nov. 15 in NYC. Complete with brand leaders and industry connections, The Brief: A Summit Presented by Marketing Brew is an event that cannot be missed.

Incredible speakers from HBO, REI, Vans, and more will take to the stage to tackle the dizzying industry topics we love so dearly. Get 15% off your tickets using code RetailMarketers at checkout!

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

Following his antisemitic remarks, brands have been cutting ties with Kanye West, who prefers to be called Ye.

• Adidas severed its partnership contracts with Ye, as has Balenciaga.
• Foot Locker said it would remove Yeezy shoes from stores.
• Consignment site TheRealReal said it would no longer stock his products.

You tell us: After his antisemitic comments, what’s your take on wearing Ye-branded apparel these days?

Circling back. The secondary market for luxury watches has been flooded with inventory lately. Some may have offloaded those watches because they’ve become more attached to their Apple Watch (or other smartwatch), of course. But some wear both traditional and smartwatches simultaneously, a custom known as “double wristing.”

We thought it was about time we asked you about time, and 36.1% of you told us you usually wear an Apple Watch or another smartwatch, while 34.4% usually wear a traditional wristwatch, and 27.9% rarely or never wear any watch. Only 1.6% of you are double wristing with both a traditional watch and a smartwatch.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Our takeaways from Retail Brew’s first annual summit
• A green alternative to Styrofoam lands $18 million in Series A funding
• Van Leeuwen slapped with significant fines for not accepting cash