The Debrief No. 406: Everlane lays off 222 folks (but there’s a bigger story at play here) — 'Stop with the empathy emails, just get on with it.’

Grab Bag: Why Houdini still fascinates.
Springtime for introverts. Ride a submarine to the deepest point on earth. A classic 1970s sofa makes a comeback. So too do victory gardens. ‘The Social Network’ is worth a rewatch. How do we find life beyond earth? Italian chefs react to US carbonara recipes. HQ Trivia returns just in time. Ranking the great bores of yore. Funny stories here. The latest media column from Ben Smith. Silence as a natural resource. Bucolic cottage, Welsh countryside. Emily Singer is right. Assessing Solskjaer’s first year. Invest in vino. Japanese jazz from the ‘70s. The latest at Rent the Runway. Why Houdini still fascinates us.

🔥"Stop with the empathy emails, just get on with it."
Given that every brand on the planet seems to be emailing us all about their COVID plan of action or whatever––as if we were asking––this is one sentiment is one we can actually get behind. Excellent writeup here, a rare one by the way, that criticizes the impulse to push out marketing communication rather just staying quiet, rolling up sleeves, and making a better product or solving an actual problem. The thesis: "What feels wrong about these tweaked logos and earnest acts of direct marketing is that they are focused around communications and by definition are superficial. . . . [Y]ou can make a very strong argument that the best Covid communications over the next five treacherous months is no Covid communications at all. Get on with the business, with the brand, and with making tangible and impactful changes to the rest of the business. You don’t have to feel the nation’s pain, you just need to ensure the wheels of business keep turning.” Preach.

Chinatown Market's new community approach is fire.
Except for a few exceptional brands doing truly great things, we're generally not too focused on the streetwear space, but we have to give Chinatown Market a big round of applause for how they’re approaching quarantine. A great example, as pointed out in the article above, of a brand just getting on with it and navigating the current waters with smart execution and panache. Fast Company has all the details on what they're doing, if you're interested. What's interesting here for us, though, is that, yet again, we're seeing more interesting strategy coming out of that sector, and it won’t be too long before other brands that speak to the HENRY set start embracing some of these behaviors. While some brands are laying off, and doing the same old stuff, now’s the time, more than ever, to experiment with new models that have the potential to come brand staples once we’re out of this frustrating holding pattern.

How do brands launch at a time like this?
A paywalled goodie, unfortunately, but one that's unquestionably poignant. Solid work by BoF's Chavie Lieber who offers a great case study on what many brands––whether at launch stage, or in the process of rolling out a new product––are experiencing currently. Key excerpt: “Tai Adaya, a Brooklyn-based marketing professional, had been planning the launch of Habit, her new sunscreen brand, for almost two years. The launch date was set to March 19, the first day of spring, and the debut strategy included tapping dozens of hand-picked influencers to post to social media feeds with glossy sunscreen content just as hordes of college students would be headed off to spring break. Then the coronavirus hit, and for many, spring break was cancelled. With consumers more focused on hunting down pasta and toilet paper than sunscreen, Adaya decided to delay Habit’s launch. 'It just would not be a great customer experience right now,' she said. 'It doesn’t make sense to pretend like everything is the same because that’s not what people need.'" Certainly hits home.

👋Paul Munford, CEO / Editor
mpm@leanluxe.com
@leanluxe

Monday's Big Briefing:

🚨🚨 Everlane laid off 222 employees on Friday. That's bad, but it overshadows a bigger story. How will preachy brands like Everlane behave going forward now that the going's gotten tough?

Clearbanc: We’ve invested nearly $1B into 2,000+ online businesses.