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Wipeout Survivors: The SurfStitch Story | #060

Season 1, Ep. 60

In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Justin Hillberg, Managing Director of SurfStitch. From being the innovative leaders and market darlings of the ASX, to going through voluntary administration and now back to profitability, Justin has led his team at SurfStitch through it all. In this chat he shares his views on everything from how discounting is not ideal but there are ways to do it effectively to how they are helping other retailers get off the ground with their own marketplace and why they are moving into homewares and beauty under the SurfStitch umbrella. Finally, Justin gives us insight into what it looks like when a business goes through the wild ride of administration and how he kept the team together throughout it all. 


Links from the episode:

SurfStitch

Accent Group

True Alliance

Universal

Depactus

Volcom

Rusty

Marketplacer

Signet (sponsored)

Shopify & Tamberlaine Wine (sponsored)


Questions answered:

  • How did you navigate through the uncertainty of voluntary administration and come out the other side?
  • What is an email address worth to you in dollar value?
  • How do you manage the presence of your own brands alongside other brands that you sell?


This episode was brought to you by…  


Signet

Shopify Plus


About your co-host: Justin Hillberg from SurfStitch


Starting his career on the retail shop floor has paved the foundation for Justin’s customer centric approach to strategy development and leadership. He is passionate about delivering influential leadership and driving positive cultural change through collaborative strategy development. Over the past seven years, Justin has been leading the fast paced, high energy online business that is SurfStitch and has achieved a number of milestones resulting in a significant turnaround to profitability under challenging conditions including navigation of VA and the sale of the business in 2018.


You can contact Justin at LinkedIn

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