Robert joined our team in December 2021 as our newest Director of Business Development. Robert has decades of experience of growing companies and managing high performance teams. We are very excited to have Robert join Retailbound. We sat down with Robert this month to get his thoughts about Retailbound.
What’s your personal mission and objectives for Retailbound?
My immediate objective with Retailbound is to bring high quality service offerings to innovative startup and early growth companies looking to crack the retail code. Many companies who are either just starting out, selling direct, or even on Amazon, don’t always understand the value and diversity of today’s multi-faceted retail channels. My goal this year is to create a broader awareness about the modern retail ecosystem and help young brands make better educated go-to-market decisions. Long term, however, my mission is to help Retailbound grow its service offerings to better support the startup community. The retail journey can be challenging and expensive and the earlier brands prepare for retail the more successful they will become. From funding to product development, delivery, support, shelf-space growth, and channel diversification, the goal at Retailbound is to be a one-stop-shop for companies who are serious about making the retail journey.
What excites you about Retailbound and how did you first hear about them?
I heard about Retailbound through social media. Yohan and his team are a highly visible, connected, and reputable group. For me, the most exciting aspect about being able to work at Retailbound, besides working with a great team, is that it allows me to bring together key areas of my business skill set. For example, I have spent that last 15 years connecting great services with high quality companies in both the US and Europe. As the premier retail agency solution in the market, Retailbound allows me to continue to grow by offering a high-quality product that can help companies achieve their dreams. But equally exciting however, is the ability to work with startups and early growth companies. Over the last 10 years I helped set up 5 startup companies and have created more investors decks, proposals, and GTM strategies than I care to remember! I have successfully pitched and raised funds, so the ability to work with the next generation of innovative new startups and early-stage companies is truly a treat for me. Lastly, retail. Early in my career I worked as a buyer for a prominent retail chain and as a retail store agent for a premier shopping center company. One of the best parts of my job was sitting on the other side of the desk talking to companies and helping them to better understand what it takes to succeed in retail. Retail has been, and remains, a passion for me.
How would you describe what Retailbound does in one sentence?
A retail solutions agency dedicated to helping companies not just enter but succeed in retail.
How do you see the retail industry changing, and where does Retailbound fit into this?
As Mark Twain once said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”; similarly, the death of brick and mortar has been predicted for the last 20 years, and by all reports, retail sales are up in 2021 and stores are expanding. For me, the future of retail is not just one channel but a well-orchestrated mix of revenue streams that collectively make up the modern retail market strategy. Mobile, for example, will continue to rapidly grow as a significant purchasing channel, but like media (i.e., TV, radio, YouTube, social media, and Cable) retail will also continue to lean on physical stores, catalog, online, cable shopping networks, and even incentive and reward outlets for many years to come. Experts who can help you navigate these channels and create the optimal mix for success will be a huge area of opportunity going forward.
How is Retailbound different from other retail agencies out there?
Retailbound is different because we are not distributors, reps, or digital marketers. We are a team of ex-large chain buyers who understand what makes retailers tick and how to crack the retail code.
Interested in scaling your brand in retail but don’t have the time, the experience, or even the connections with retail buyers? Contact Robert at rbruza@retailbound.com to schedule a call.
