How to Build Your First Retail Store and Scale to More

0:00Create wealth with women for women. that's my purpose.

0:09Hey there, I'm your host Serena Smith and welcome to Shopify Masters, your companion for starting and building a business. Imagine being one of the first 100 employees at Lululemon. You launch 20 retail stores in a single year and then you think, what's next? Meet Natalie Westlake, an entrepreneur who took a leap of faith and stepped in as VP of Marketing and Operations for Blue Boho, one of Canada's most successful independently owned jewelry brands, known for striking the balance between raw and refined designs. We're the number one sustainable fine jewelry company in Canada, and I think the thing that we do better than anybody else is explain why.

0:47Natalie was recruited for her ability to build customer loyalty, scale up growth, and expand retail presence. I'm extremely competitive when it comes to making it as personal and intimate for each person as possible. Today, we're covering her bold marketing tactics and how to grow from zero to five stores. Natalie, thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. You were a part of a company that is now like in the category of mythical, Lululemon. You were one of the first hundred employees. Was it already a rocket ship when you joined? Not yet. No. No, I think at that time we had about 10 retail stores.

1:23So still pretty small, all in Canada. And I actually learned about it at a yoga class. I met somebody there who was head to toe in an outfit. It was a beautiful outfit. I remember she was wearing all green. And I asked her, where is it from? And she told me Lululemon. That's the very first time I had ever heard that name. So it was still pretty small, still pretty scrappy. and I learned about it organically through somebody wearing the product in a class. It was kind of a cool time to learn about Lululemon. And I feel like that still to some degree informs some of your marketing tactics today.

2:00Definitely. To keep a brand feeling small and organic and learning about it through a referral, through somebody you admire or respect or somebody whose word means something to you, that always left a very lasting impression on me. You spent nearly two decades at Blue Lemon before deciding to jump ship. That's a really difficult decision to make. 20 years of anything is a huge chunk of your life and identity. What got you to that decision-making point that it was time to leave? There was no specific finish line that I was looking for. It was more a feeling. And I always sort of knew going into Lululemon, we were mentored in store to always think nobody's coming to save you.

2:54Nobody's going to hand you a free ticket. If you want something, you have to go for it. You have to work hard for it. And so Lululemon for me, I always, you know, I thought of it as this is a great place to learn. I honestly thought I would be there for months. I did not think I would be there for nearly two decades. But I was always sort of in the mind frame. What can I learn? What can I take with me? Who do I need to know? Who could I emulate? Who could mentor me? I always saw it as a place like a university. I was there to learn, take what stuck and move on. Knowing when to stay and when to go can be such a difficult decision to make.

3:34It is, yeah. We hit$10 billion. And once we hit$10 billion at Lululemon, things were different. Things felt different. Things felt much more centralized. What was once, you know, an opportunity in a role to have a very wide scope became very singular. and we were looking to get very specific with roles so that you were extraordinarily gifted at one thing. And once we got to that place, I knew I had outgrown it because I was really mentored to be an entrepreneur. If I touched something, I was responsible for it. And I couldn't let that go. You know, I wanted to have my hands and more in the business.

4:18So once we sort of hit that milestone, I knew, okay, if I want to keep expanding, myself, I'm going to need to move on. It's interesting that journey of being able to be something more of a generalist and then having to become more of a specialist. That was really hard for me. I wanted to be in brand innovation. I wanted to do different things with community. I wanted to look at real estate differently. And I had always had that space to do that. And so once Once we got that big and became very specific about roles, that was time for me to move, to continue to grow and spread my wings. I knew I had to go somewhere else.

4:57Do you have the space to do that at Blue Boho? Absolutely. Yeah, it's a totally different role. We are at a completely different level in our growth. And I get to have my hands in a lot more. And so, you know, that really fills my cup. I want to work in brand innovation. I want to work in community. I want to help retail stores. And most of all, I want to spend time with our guests and our store team. Right. Yes. This reminds me, when you first joined Blue Boho, though you were coming in in an executive capacity, you didn't quite start there, right? I did not. No. So Maggie and I had known each other for years.

5:38We actually met and worked together at Lululemon, the founder of Blue Boho. I had had a very early experience with her, so I kind of knew the seeds of the brand. But I didn't know her guest experience. And so one of the very first things her and I aligned on is I wanted to spend time in the store. I wanted to get as close to the guest as I possibly could. So the first thing I did was become a store manager. I hired a team. I onboarded them. I recruited them. I trained them. I spent time in the store as close to the guest as I possibly could, understanding the intentions behind every collection we make and how we bring it to life in an experience in the retail store.

6:24What was your first big goal and strategic move when you joined Blue Boho? My first goal was to understand the guest experience better than anybody in the company, which was a pretty big ask because I was brand new and there were people that had been there for years. But I really wanted to fast forward. You know, I was super hungry and very curious to know. I hosted one of the first ever Tupperware parties. That had been 15 years prior. So I wanted to get as close as I could to how has it evolved? What does it look like now? What are the touch points that every guest will receive, whether they're online, whether it's in person?

7:01So one of the very first things I did was spend a year as a store manager at our Queen Street location. It's our flagship location. So I had the luxury of understanding our engagement ring, which we call Beloved. So all wedding bands and engagement rings, we carry all of them at that store. I wanted to know what that experience looked like. She was driving him in. Well, what was the difference between talking to him versus talking to her? And what did our core product look like? What was that experience like? So I spent a good year in the store just asking as many questions as I possibly could and getting as close to the guest experience as I could.

7:41Were there things you learned that surprised you? Absolutely. In terms of beloved engagement rings, she is looking for an aesthetic. She wants something beautiful, something that she connects with. He wants to know the specs. Why is it this much money? Tell me about the construction of this ring. Give me those four C's. Yeah. So two totally different reasons why you're looking at a ring and you like a ring. And I needed to adjust from talking about four-way stretch and running to, wow, this is an emotional major milestone in your life. You're about to propose to somebody and you want to feel taken care of, But you want quick, easy answers so you can make a decisive decision quickly.

8:25What were some of the core learnings that you took out of that year and then parlayed into your executive role? So the first thing was, you know, I think I came from Lululemon thinking, I understand retail guest experience effortlessly. And what a massive learning curve it was to go from athletic wear to jewelry. It is so much more emotional. The guest doesn't care about quick tips on four-way stretch, sweat wicking. They're coming in to mark something special in their lives. And so, you know, they want more care. They want to understand what is the intention behind the piece? What is the storytelling?

9:09Does it connect to them personally? So a very, very, very different perspective and psychology of the guest. That was a big difference for me. And that took some humbling. I needed to take some time. How do I adjust me and my approach with others when I'm bringing to life a story about why this product even exists? That was a big learning curve. Also, I think just the size of the organization. You know, it's a much smaller organization and Lululemon grew so quickly and had such a matrix structure. That was a big difference for me as well. Going over to Blue Boho, we have quite a flat structure.

9:49It's an open door policy. I receive feedback immediately. I'm able to pick up a phone and talk to anyone right away. So it's much scrappier. And that for me is a lot more fun. A flat structure is becoming more common, but like still outside the norm. Yeah. Is there a learning curve as you're bringing new employees and new talent into the organization who maybe didn't come from a flat org prior in terms of them getting comfortable with giving and receiving feedback in that way? Absolutely. You know, one of the first things I do is I meet with every single person we are interviewing, every single person, whether it's a store role or it's an office role.

10:31I want to meet you. I want to know who you are. I think we spend an extraordinarily a lot of time with people at work. And so you want to really enjoy your workplace. You want to enjoy the people you're spending all of this time with. So number one, I meet with everybody. The second thing I do is called a pecha kucha, or it's a version of a pecha kucha, which essentially is like five quick slides or pictures, something personal from your life where you get to storytell why this picture is important, why you've marked this moment, and then bring it to life to a stranger in a way that feels really personal.

11:14Because essentially, that's what you're doing on the floor is you're talking about yourself, your own life experiences, and how these pieces bring some of those moments to life. So that's one of the tricks, I guess, of really knowing who our team is and really investing in them in their lives. What's one thing that's in your Pecha Kucha? My grandparents, Harry and Flo. I have a picture of them always in my Pecha Kucha because they taught me kindness and the true meaning of family. That's beautiful. Do you have any advice for how to get good at giving and receiving feedback? I do. I see it as a gift for sure.

11:55I think like growing up, I'm the youngest of five kids. I played sports, definitely needed to survive in a family of five kids. You know, and I grew up understanding the more feedback I got, the better that was. If my coach saw me, they were investing in me, giving me tips, acknowledging what was working, giving me some constructive criticism around things I could do better. I wanted that feedback. You know, for me, it was a temperature check of where am I at? How am I doing? Could I be better? Is there something I need to take the gas off of? Bring it to me, coach. Give it to me. Give it to me.

12:32I think of it still that way. The more feedback I get from my team, the closer I feel they are to me, the more they trust me. Feedback is all about trust and it's a gift. So I try to deliver it in that way where you do feel like I see you. I see the contribution you're making and who I'm being is somebody who's invested in you and your greatness. And I hope that the rest of the team feels the same way coming to me because it is an open door policy. You know, we're only as good as we feel comfortable giving feedback. So I spend a lot of time asking for it as well, going direct to people and asking, how are we doing?

13:14Do you have ideas? and sharing as much as I possibly can about strategies, products, things that are going to come so that I can get as much input from our whole team as possible. Really letting people into the process. Absolutely. Yeah, I feel like the more they know, the more skin in the game they have, they feel like, I made a decision on that. We chose that product because I said. And so I feel like it increases productivity. It makes people feel like I can actually impact what we're doing here and the bottom line. So I really do. I go out of my way to ask for it. That's lovely. You are something of a retail whiz.

13:56You helped open all these stores at Lululemon. You've been expanding the retail footprint of Blue Boho. Take us into your decision-making process. Like, Let's start with finding a location. Yeah. So important. You know, I really do believe in being in that neighborhood. So if you have your eye on a place, spend time there. Go for coffee. Work there during the day. Meet people. Go into the shops. The better you understand your guest, what else is your guest looking for? What else would they shop for? Are there amenities close by that match your product? Is there an experience close by that would enhance your product?

14:36Really know your guest and spend time in that area. Spend time in that neighborhood. Get to know who the people are, key players, key brands, so that it makes sense to you. That's absolutely where I would start. And then I would just be obsessed with being the best at what you do. What is the journey you want your guest to experience? and does this neighborhood, does this space bring it to life? That's where I would start. What is it that you think Blue Boho does so singularly? Well, I think we're the number one sustainable fine jewelry company in Canada. And I think the thing that we do better than anybody else is explain why.

15:19Why did we make this piece? Why does this collection matter? What life moment does it mark? And why do you need it? With a brand like Lululemon, it's like we probably have 20 pairs of leggings in our closets. You know, it's something that you're constantly buying more of. Fine jewelry, not so much the case necessarily. So how do you go about building customer retention and loyalty so that they're wanting to come back and back? Make it as personal as possible. Know your name. Know what's on your wish list. Know who your friends are. Know what events of hours you attend so that every time I speak to you, I can draw back on any of those things and bring something new to life in a way that's really relevant.

16:08Being guest obsessed, you know, what we, I like to describe it as being guest centric. If there's anything that we are doing that doesn't impact the guest in a positive way, we shouldn't be doing it. It's a waste of time. If it brings value to the guest. I want to do it better than anybody else. I'm extremely competitive when it comes to being guest obsessed and making it as personal and intimate for each person as possible. Are there things that you have tested that have not succeeded and you had to pivot? Absolutely. Yeah. You know, I'll share about events. I do believe that events help bring your brand to life.

16:48A, they show what you value. And B, there's an opportunity to bring product to life in a different way that people wouldn't necessarily have or experience unless you had this event. So something we've been working on is having a monthly full moon event. I like it. Yeah. It's, you know, always attached to kind of the cosmos and change. At Lululemon, we had Sunday morning yoga for years and years and years, like 15 years. Every store would shut down Sunday morning before open and we would host a yoga class. We started with like two or three people. There was nobody there. And for a while, you know, I even doubted why are we doing this?

17:28But over time, we built a massive community of people that relied on us having a yoga class every single Sunday morning. It's something I'm really committed to at Blue Boho too. I want to be able to bring our brand to life in a different way that you wouldn't necessarily experience. Well, it takes time to do that. You know, we first started doing different things at different stores during those full moon events. And it didn't work really well because we couldn't speak to all of those different events on the same day. So what we've done is we all have a sound bath every single full moon. There's a journaling experience.

18:03It speaks directly to our product and really brings to life the intention behind everything we build. And it's going to take time to grow it. So even when you have what maybe you think is a failure, if you're really committed to something, stick with it. Stay with it. If you believe in it, it will grow. You know, you just you have to give things time to grow. I live in Venice, California, so you are very much speaking my language with the sound baths and intention setting and journaling exercises. It's beautiful. Oh, good. And I think we're in a moment right now where people are just like aching for community.

18:42I think when you are starting a business of your own or you're helping build somebody else's brand, I think there's such an art to assessing when to stick with your idea and when to pivot. Do you have any assessment strategies for that? Like when to call it. When to call it. When to call it and move on. Yeah, and when to trust in your gut and stay the course. Absolutely. Every single week we have a marketing meeting. And all we're doing is assessing numbers. We really are. We want to know what time of day works best to communicate. Is there a day that works best to communicate? Is there a way that works best to communicate?

19:23Is it social? Is it email marketing? And that's all analytics driven. It's all numbers. And, you know, there is a point where you can see, okay, this time, this day, this way of communicating, it isn't building or increasing our revenue. Time to abandon ship and look for the markers, the key indicators of what day, what time, what platform. I do feel like given the size of our organization, it's a strength because we can pivot very quickly and change the mode of communication. We can change the day. We aren't forever making decks, having them approved, going back, changing our approach back and forth with all the red tape.

20:03It's very easy for us as a small team to be able to say, OK, that didn't work. Great. Let's not spend too much time there. Let's learn what we can and move forward quickly. Maggie taught me a great lesson. When I first came on, she said, Nat, I try to be like 85 % accurate. If I can be 85 % accurate, 15 % is learning. Great. I'm going to take the 15%, move forward quickly. I've adopted it. And I really try to think in that way because it's so effective and it's so freeing to feel like, okay, 15 % error. Great. There's a lesson there. Let's take it and move on fast. I think that's so important, too, for the perfectionists among us to give yourself a little bit of breathing room.

20:45Absolutely. Yeah. Take me inside the texture a little bit of when you're launching a campaign for a new collection. Well, it's so tied to story, first of all. So way before we're even talking about a marketing campaign, we're talking about a amulet. What is the shape? What is the design? And why? Why are we making that? What meaning does it have? What lived experience is coming through this piece. So we're very connected to the story and intention of the product. To me, that's essential because why are we marketing anything if it doesn't have purpose and meaning? If it isn't a strong product with a very identifiable and accessible intention behind it, it's not going to resonate for anybody.

21:30So we really start there. In bringing it to life, it totally depends on the time of year. If it's holiday, that's a very different marketing strategy and a very different guest. They're just gift giving. And if it's engagement rings, well, that's an entirely different demographic as well. So we would speak very deliberately to who that guest is for that specific product. So you launch campaign and then talk to me about how you are measuring success from a metrics perspective and also how you measure success at Blue Boho from a non-metrics perspective. Yeah. So in terms of metrics, ultimately revenue, I want to know what sales looks like.

22:12And I want to know the channel that's driving that revenue. So I would say that's probably number one. And of course, all of the normal KPIs that retail would look at, like what sales per square foot in stores? What is AOV online? So I'm looking very specifically at different channels, have different key productivity indicators, but ultimately revenue at the end of the day tells me, okay, we made a product and we have a story that people can identify with. So I'll leave that there. In terms of holistically, what does success look like? I mean, ultimately, it's our people and our guests. I want to know how happy people are.

22:51I want to know how filled they feel. So I would say employee retention. If I can hold you for a long time, pour into you and see you promoted, move laterally, stay with the organization, I feel like that's a good, healthy indicator of where the brand is at, as well as our guests. I'm looking for Google reviews, referrals. The more there are, the better I feel like we're doing. To me, the most powerful form of marketing is if you leave the store or you leave an online experience, you're sitting down for lunch with your friend and you tell her, I had the best time. That to me is the most powerful form of marketing there is.

23:33Word of mouth. Yeah. Still nothing that replaces it. Still nothing replaces that. That's a hard thing to measure though, because it exists outside of the world of metrics. So how are you getting a sense of, you know, the conversations that are happening about Blue Boho? You know, an easy way is through brides. If you buy an engagement ring from us and you have an extraordinary experience and you tell your friend, usually brides are in groups. You know, it's usually that stage of life. You're getting married and typically your friends are getting married or everybody starts getting pregnant around the same time.

24:06At least it was for me. You know, I could see, okay, I'm mid thirties. I'm the last of my friends getting married. But, you know, you're usually like in that same age group and people are sort of following a life path. So typically with brides, if we sell an engagement ring and you bring two or three friends into the brand because you've had such a wonderful experience and you're so happy with your ring, that's a great healthy indicator on how we're doing. What are you proudest of in your tenure at Blue Boho? Oh, that's a nice question. The relationships I've built. I really truly mean I'm accessible to everybody.

24:45Part-time connectors that work in the store have my number and text me questions. Will you meet me for 15 minutes for a coffee? Absolutely. I think that's what I'm most proud of is that I'm accessible, I'm relatable, and people are honest with me. They trust me enough to really tell me how things are and what their experience is like. That to me is by far and away the best healthy indicator of how am I doing as a leader here? Do you feel connected to me? And do you trust me ultimately? That's really beautiful. And it also makes me think on the flip side, if you have an open door policy, you have an open door policy.

25:26Anybody can knock on it at any time. It's not office hours, which means that it can also breed overextension because invariably you have a bunch of other things on your plate. So how do you approach time management? Yeah, that's really real. And I spend a lot of time with store managers, empowering them to make decisions. You know, to me, that's our baseline. Like that's the first place where people experience us typically is either in-store or online. So our managers that run both of those channels, they need to feel empowered to be entrepreneurs themselves. And they need to know, I trust you to make a decision.

26:07I trust you to make the best decision for each guest. So really, I spend most of my time there making sure they feel empowered. They can be creative. They have a sandbox to play within. And outside of that, I trust you to make decisions. You joined Blue Boho not at its inception. Yeah. Maggie, the founder, was what, about a decade in to the company? 15 years, yeah. 15 years in. Okay. So what was it that she was bringing you in to do in that moment? Lead her company. She spent 15 years growing that organization. I met her at Lululemon. There's actually two founders of Blue Boho, Maggie and Cheryl.