Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail

Episode: Retail Partnership Playbook: How to Choose and Build Powerful Collaborations with Mack Weldon
Date: August 20, 2025
Host: Marcus, EMARKETER
Guests: Suzy David Canyon (VP of Content, EMARKETER), Brian Berger (Founder & CEO, Mack Weldon)

Overview

This episode delves into the strategic world of retail partnerships, exploring how and why brands collaborate, how to select the right partners, and what makes a partnership genuinely successful. Drawing from recent news (the Warby Parker and Target partnership), real-life examples from Mack Weldon, and notable cross-industry collaborations, the discussion offers a detailed guide ("partnership playbook") to building impactful and enduring retail relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes a Successful Retail Partnership?

• Mutual Benefit as Core Principle:
  • Both partners must bring value; ideally, "one plus one makes three."
  • Brian Berger: "It's always a one plus one makes three is the ideal situation where both parties bring something to the table that the customer values..." [01:41]
• Case Study – Warby Parker + Target:
  • Warby Parker expands customer reach and physical presence via Target, while Target gains cachet from an innovative, "cool" brand.
  • The partnership is mutually beneficial but hinges on aligned brand values and consumer missions.
  • Suzie David Canyon: "It's a big, big win for Target to lean on the cool factor from Warby Parker... aligning consumers, your mission statements..." [02:53]

2. Types & "Flavors" of Partnerships

• Define Clear Objectives:
  • Partnerships can aim for higher sales, customer acquisition, brand awareness, or entry into new categories.
  • Suzy: "Once you know what you're trying to achieve... maybe new customer acquisition, maybe you just need to do brand awareness..." [04:05]
• Beyond Store-in-Store:
  • Collaborations range from influencer tie-ins, capsule collections, to product co-creations.

3. Selecting the Right Partner

• Alignment Over Audience Size:
  • The audience's composition is more critical than sheer size.
  • Suzy: "The size of the audience of the partner doesn't necessarily matter as much if you have the right alignment..." [06:28]
• Building Experience and Credibility:
  • Start small and let successful projects build momentum and credibility with even larger partners.
  • Brian: "...The more you can show up to a prospective larger Partner with, 'hey, we did these three or four things'... it's more likely you'll get attention..." [07:07]

4. Real-World Partnership Examples

Mack Weldon Collaborations

• Mile High Run Club:
  • Leveraged authentic influencer endorsements for a new performance underwear launch.
  • [05:00]
• Bather (Swim Brand):
  • Joint summer capsule, combining each brand's strengths and category credibility.
  • [06:00]
• Equinox Fitness (Early Partnership):
  • Provided in-gym product exposure; pivotal for establishing brand credibility and direct customer acquisition.
  • Brian: "Equinox gave us the ability to really check a bunch of boxes... A great customer acquisition channel..." [08:21]

Other Notable Collaborations

• Dunkin’ Donut x Kahlua:
  • Cleverly matched markets and flavor profiles; focused on buzz, not volume.
  • Suzy: "While there was a lot of hype around the Dunkin Donut Kahlua tie up, I kind of think it was extremely cleverly done..." [10:02]
• Corona x Swimwear Brand:
  • Short-lived, “surprise and delight” collaboration for Corona’s anniversary.
  • [10:45]
• To Kovas x Chili’s:
  • Unexpected but “buzzworthy” co-branded cowboy boots; brand cred trumps scaling.
  • Brian: "They did a collaboration with Chili's Restaurant...brand cred alone of like seeing that show up..." [11:43]

5. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Collaborations

• Long-Term = Deep Integration:
  • Suited when fundamentals are mutually valuable and need less constant maintenance.
  • Brian: "A key part of it is that there's an aspect...fundamental to the business or mutually fundamental." [13:40]
• Short-Term = Event or Buzz-Focused:
  • One-off collaborations often drive surprise, press, and creative storytelling but are not meant to be foundational.

6. Measuring Success & Lessons Learned

• Define Specific Metrics (Not Always ROI):
  • Clarity on objectives enables productivity and prevents wasted effort.
  • Brian: "You're really clear on how you're going to measure success...does not mean that the partnership needs to deliver revenue..." [17:01]
• Qualitative and Quantitative Goals:
  • Can include sales, social engagement, campaign reach, or specific creative deliverables.
  • Brian: "Just as specific as you can be about what those are, the better off you'll be..." [17:59]
• Authentic Fit is Key:
  • Forced partnerships seldom work.
  • Suzy: "You don't like round hole, square peg. Not every brands that are amazing should be working together..." [18:56]

Memorable Quotes

• Brian Berger:

  • "It's always a one plus one makes three is the ideal situation..." [01:41]
  • "You could spend your entire life chasing the big, you know, holy grail of a partner... the key is to... get experience..." [07:07]
  • "Equinox gave us the ability to really check a bunch of boxes... A great customer acquisition channel..." [08:21]
  • "You're really clear on how you're going to measure success... The more clear and specific you are about that up front, the more successful the partnership will be." [17:01; 17:59]

• Suzy David Canyon:

  • "The size of the audience... doesn't necessarily matter as much if you have the right alignment..." [06:28]
  • "If you try and wedge a partnership together, whether it's long term or short term, and there is no reason for being... it's going to be a miss." [18:56]

Important Timestamps

• [01:41] – What makes a store-in-store or shop-in-shop partnership work
• [02:30] – Warby Parker + Target analysis
• [04:05] – Types of retail partnerships and how brands define objectives
• [05:00-06:00] – Mack Weldon partnership case studies (performance underwear w/ Mile High Run Club; summer capsule with Bather)
• [08:21] – Equinox Fitness and the power of mutually fundamental partnerships
• [10:02] – Suzy on market-fit and creative collaborations (Dunkin’ and Kahlua, Corona and swimwear)
• [13:40] – Long-term vs. short-term partnership strategies
• [17:01] – Lessons learned: how to define and measure success in partnerships
• [18:56] – Best practices recap: authentic fit and shared brand purpose

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid and practical, blending direct personal experience (from Brian at Mack Weldon), insightful theory (from Suzy), and industry analysis (from moderator Marcus). There’s a recurring emphasis on authenticity, clear strategy, and honest reflection—delivered in a conversational, accessible style.

Summary Takeaways

• Successful partnerships require genuine mutual benefit, strategic alignment, and clear objectives.
• Audience alignment outweighs audience size; authentic fit trumps trying to force a collaboration.
• Experience and credibility build over time from successful, even small, partnerships.
• Measure success with specific, upfront metrics—don’t default to revenue for everything.
• Long-term partnerships should be grounded in ongoing mutual value, not active, continuous maintenance.

If you want to establish or enhance partnership strategies for your brand, this episode provides practical frameworks, real-world cautionary tales, and a variety of inventive partnership models to consider.