The Stash Edge — Marketing That Moves Physical Product

Pinned · Editor's pick

Why Banks Are Losing the Room

The fee story and the rate story are well covered. The vendor estate banks and their suppliers gorged on in the eighties and nineties is still running, largely unexamined, and it is the part that will not survive scrutiny.

The vendor estate banks and suppliers built in the eighties and nineties is still running on original agreements: accountability that cannot be outsourced, regulators conceding banks cannot leave, oversight by questionnaire rather than custody record, and permissions over shareholder data written before the data existed.

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ISABELLA'S ISLAY Influencer & Seeding Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Molson Coors

Digiday ↗

Dismantled TV workflow, quadrupled creator engagement in one rebuild

Molson Coors partnered with Movers+Shakers to overhaul its creator approach and quadrupled engagement, per Digiday.

ReadingThe steal: every legacy brand has a bottleneck between the CMO and the creator. Molson Coors cut it. The move is to identify your approval stack (legal, brand, compliance, social media manager review) and collapse it into ONE async sign-off window per week, not per asset. Tell creators: 'You ship Tuesday through Thursday. Wednesday morning we approve the batch. No notes, no revisions — we trust the vibe.' One week of that velocity will show you the lift.

MY STASH TAKEThis is the most real thing I've read about how big brands actually move slower than they think. Molson Coors didn't hire more creators or spend more money — it just got out of the way. That's the opposite of what every CMO tells you to do. The quadrupled number is huge, but the actual win is smaller: prove to your org that the approval layer, not the creative, is the bottleneck. Run one test with a single creator on a weekly batch model. You will ship 4x more in 30 days. Then you can bill it as 'creator velocity testing' instead of 'we're too slow.'

WatchWatch for Molson Coors to expand this model to in-house creators or to measure cost-per-engagement on the fast-shipped assets versus the old polished ones.

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HENRI IV Distribution Play Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Caliwater

BevNet ↗

Cactus water brand enters largest retail expansion as $751M category grows

Caliwater, the No. 1 cactus water brand in U.S. multi-outlet retail, is executing its largest retail expansion to date in a plant-based hydration category now valued at $751 million, per BevNet.

ReadingThe steal: category growth is your distribution argument. If you're in an emerging sub-category (mushroom coffee, adaptogens, cactus hydration), do NOT lead with your brand story in retail conversations. Lead with the category size and growth rate. Get a third-party source for that number — Nielsen, Euromonitor, any analyst report — and use it in every pitch. 'The category is $751M and growing 30% YoY. You're stocked with zero shelf feet. Here's why that's a problem for your comp.' Retailers fear missing a trend more than they fear trying a brand. Make them fear missing YOUR category.

MY STASH TAKEThis is boring in the best way. Caliwater didn't need a viral moment or a celebrity co-sign. It just needed the category to prove it was real. That happens on its own timeline, and Caliwater rode it. The expansion play is simple: once the category validator (a big analyst report, a major retailer win, a trade publication calling it a trend) lands, the next 60 days are your window to push every conversation with retail buyers toward shelf expansion. They're not saying no anymore; they're saying 'how much can we fit.' Capitalize on that in weeks, not months.

WatchWatch for Caliwater to announce a major retailer expansion (Whole Foods, Target, Kroger multi-state rollout) or a production facility investment in the next two quarters.

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MACALLAN 1926 Influencer & Seeding Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Old Navy

Marketing Dive ↗

MrBeast back-to-school campaign drove traffic lift amid creator-first pivot

Old Navy partnered with top YouTuber MrBeast on a back-to-school campaign showing early traffic gains, as Gap Inc. retailer shifts to a creator-forward marketing model, per Marketing Dive.

ReadingThe steal: do not measure creator campaigns on awareness or impressions. Measure on traffic and transaction. Old Navy had a specific ask (drive back-to-school foot traffic and online visits) and paired it with a creator proven to move commerce (MrBeast has a track record of direct sales conversion). The play is to identify ONE metric you need to move (traffic, AOV, conversion, repeat rate), find the creator with the highest correlation to that metric in your category, and negotiate a performance tie-in. Pay them based on results, not reach. If MrBeast brought in 50,000 visitors, he gets paid X per visitor, not a flat fee.

MY STASH TAKEMost brands still think YouTube's top creators are too expensive or too niche. Old Navy proved the opposite — if the creator has a commerce-proven audience, the cost-per-traffic-acquisition is actually lower than influencer marketing to micro-creators. The real move is to stop thinking about creator size and start thinking about creator audience composition and purchase intent. MrBeast's audience buys things. That's why a campaign with him moved traffic. Your creator partner should have a prior history of selling to their audience, not just entertaining them.

WatchWatch for Old Navy to publish repeat-rate data from the MrBeast campaign or to announce a second creator partnership tied to a different shopping occasion.

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LOUIS XIII Event & Experiential Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Westman Atelier

Glossy ↗

Pop-up affiliate model brings founder credibility into physical retail

Westman Atelier partnered with ShopMy to run a multi-day pop-up that monetizes the founder's taste credentials through affiliate shopping, per Glossy.

ReadingThe steal: if you have a founder with a public reputation for taste or expertise, run a pop-up where attendees shop through your curation and you keep 10-20% commission on each basket. You do not need to own the inventory or the logistics. ShopMy handles the POS and fulfillment. Your job is to show up, talk about why you picked each item, and let attendees shop with your confidence attached. One day of this is worth six months of Instagram posts about your aesthetic.

MY STASH TAKEThis is a slick move because it doesn't pretend to be a brand experience — it's a personal shopping experience. Westman Atelier could have run a pop-up selling only Westman products. Instead, it ran a curation that included other brands. That mix is more credible and gives attendees a reason to show up: 'I want to see what Westman thinks is worth buying.' The affiliate model means the brand makes money and doesn't risk inventory. For a beauty founder with a public point of view, this is ahead of a traditional pop-up.

WatchWatch for Westman Atelier to announce repeat pop-ups in other markets or to publish AOV and repeat-shopper data from the first event.

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PAPPY 23 Pricing Play Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Kroger

Modern Retail ↗

Retail media profit hit highest level since 2021, outpacing store growth

Kroger's retail media business delivered its best profit growth since 2021, per Modern Retail, as the grocery chain scales the high-margin advertising channel faster than traditional store growth.

ReadingThe steal: if you sell through retail, your customer is not the shopper; it is the retailer's media platform. Kroger is now a media company that happens to sell groceries. This means your deal structure needs to shift: instead of negotiating purely on product placement or pricing, negotiate for media visibility and promotional support. Ask Kroger not 'Can you take more SKUs' but 'What media packages do you have that reach my target buyer.' Retailers with scaled media arms (Kroger, Target, Walmart) now make more money selling ads about your product than selling your product. Align with that incentive.

MY STASH TAKEThis is the thing everyone in CPG knows but nobody talks about in polite company. Retailers are becoming media companies. Their profit is shifting from goods sold to ads served. If you're a brand pushing product through Kroger, you're now competing for a slot in Kroger's ad platform, not just for a shelf slot. The old model was 'we pay for distribution.' The new model is 'we pay for media placement, which drives distribution.' Every negotiation with Kroger from now on should start with 'What's your media offering' before 'What's your case price.'

WatchWatch for Kroger to announce a publisher-grade media kit or to hire a former agency exec to lead retail media sales.

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JOHNNIE BLUE Distribution Play Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Derek Lam (Post-10 Crosby Sale)

Glossy ↗

Designer rebuilds full-price business via specialty retail and direct channels

Following the sale of 10 Crosby, Derek Lam is using NYFW to announce a rebuilt strategy focused on full-price shoppers, specialty stores, and direct channels, per Glossy.

ReadingThe steal: if you are a multi-brand operator and you sell one brand, the market will assume the remaining brands are next. Rebuild narrative immediately by raising positioning and price. Derek Lam is not competing on cost or volume; he is competing on taste and scarcity. Pick 10-15 specialty stores that align with the brand (not department stores, not discounters), negotiate exclusive or semi-exclusive windows, and publish a case study on the partnership. The move is to flood the market with evidence that this brand is getting rarer and more desirable, not weaker.

MY STASH TAKEThis is a smart defensive move. By repositioning Derek Lam into full-price and specialty retail, he's creating a narrative about the brand — 'we're getting smaller and more selective' — that actually strengthens it. If he had tried to maintain volume and discount presence, the market would have read the 10 Crosby sale as a sign that his namesake was next. Instead, he's chosen to publish 'we're scaling down and going premium.' That's a power move, not a retreat. It also means his remaining wholesale partners better be good, because he's going to drop the rest.

WatchWatch for Derek Lam to announce a direct-to-consumer showroom opening or a capsule collection with one heritage specialty retailer.

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WELL POUR Retail & Shelf Play Sep 12, 11:02 PM EDT

Bloomingdale's

Glossy ↗

Luxury retailer posting double-digit growth amid broader category slowdown

Bloomingdale's is reporting double-digit sales growth while the luxury retail sector faces headwinds, per Glossy Luxury Briefing, indicating successful curation and positioning at the buyer level.

ReadingThe steal: if you sell into a luxury retailer, ask for a local merchant conversation, not a centralized buying conversation. Bloomingdale's success appears to be driven by empowered local buyers who know their customer. Pitch regional merchants with customer data (traffic, repeat rate, price point cluster) rather than selling to a central buyer with a spreadsheet. You want your product in front of the buyer who knows their local customer intimately, not a category manager in New York.

MY STASH TAKEThis is early but notable. Bloomingdale's is winning when others are not, and the rumor is that it's because local merchants have more authority. That's a very old retail model coming back. If that's true, it means luxury brands should stop trying to close a national deal and instead map a city-by-city path, starting with Bloomingdale's strongest markets (NYC, LA, Chicago). One powerful regional merchant who gets your brand is worth more than a national buyer who is neutral. Watch and test.

WatchWatch for Bloomingdale's to hire a new chief merchant or to announce a 'merchant-led curation' initiative as a competitive advantage.

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