Boll & Branch spent 12 years doing the unfashionable thing: perfecting the product first and figuring out distribution second. Chief Commercial Officer Katia Unlu joins Phillip and Brian on today’s episode to discuss Boll & Branch’s store expansion strategy, an AI-generated damage claim that went viral, and the case for stimulation over substitution.

That’s Not How the Waffle Blanket Tears

Key takeaways:

Brands of the DTC era that failed were distracted by over-indexing on one hero product and not focusing on customer experiences that drive retention and brand love.
Boll & Branch opens stores where their customers and ICP already live.
A human CX team caught an AI-generated image in a fraudulent damage claim thanks to the team’s sharp knowledge of the brand’s fabric and tear patterns. This is human expertise and technological advancement meeting in the middle.
Boll & Branch’s AI tools aim to stimulate the customer relationship rather than flatten it.
The 2027 playbook is boring, but it works. Focusing on the fundamentals is key.
[00:23:12] "People might buy something they enjoy, but they will actually defend what they love." – Brian Lange
[00:29:45] "There's no shortcut for what real-life consumer insights can give you when you just go and talk to people in stores." – Katia Unlu
[00:43:50] "We very much don’t want to substitute. We don't have an AI bot on our website that you can even ask questions to." – Katia Unlu

Associated Links:

Boll & Branch
Scott Tannen's LinkedIn post on AI-generated return fraud at Boll & Branch
Read our in-store retail space analyses: Field Notes on Future Commerce
More on human vs. agent: Episode 447: The Agent Has Left the Building
Explore our Word of Mouth Index
Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
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Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

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Bedfellows: How Boll & Branch Keeps Humans and AI in the Same Sheets

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Bedfellows: How Boll & Branch Keeps Humans and AI in the Same Sheets