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Retail Edit | Actionable Advice to Grow and Scale Your DTC Retail Business
The essential podcast for founders who refuse to guess their way into retail.
Hosted by Kristin Engen, former Fortune 50 retail buyer, 15 years managing a $4 billion portfolio, now Chief Commercial Officer getting brands onto shelves.
Someone who's been on both sides of the table.
Each week: retail strategy, brand positioning, buyer psychology, the metrics that matter, the operational realities no one mentions, and the commercial intelligence that separates serious brands from hopeful ones.
No mythology. No sanitized theory. No advice from consultants who've never sat in the buyer's chair.
Just the unfiltered strategy that elite brands pay a pretty penny to access.
This is where branding meets buying power.
Retail Edit | Actionable Advice to Grow and Scale Your DTC Retail Business
02. The Unfiltered Truth About Getting Into Retail
So you’ve built a successful DTC brand and now retail feels like the next logical step but every buyer pitch feels like a dead end. In this episode of Retail & Shiz, Kristin Engin (former Fortune 50 retail buyer turned DTC scaling strategist) breaks down what it really takes to move from direct-to-consumer to store shelves without the sugarcoated advice.
Kristin shares:
- Who this show is really for (and who it’s not)
- Why your founder story alone won’t land you a purchase order
- The buyer’s love language (hint: it’s not Instagram aesthetics)
- Why retail is “war without the blood” and grit matters more than glamor
- The common mistakes founders make in buyer meetings and how to avoid them
If you’re ready to trade the “hope as a strategy” approach for data-driven decisions, this episode will help you speak the buyer’s language, come prepared with the right metrics, and finally crack the retail code.
Resources & Links
🎓 Ready to grow your retail business? Check out Kristin’s freebie → Get Retail Ready Course
If this episode made you think "finally, someone who gets it"—you def need my Retailish newsletter in your life.
📲 Hang out with Kristin on Instagram → @kristinaengen