Aaron Luo launched the DTC bag brand Caraa in 2015 alongside CFDA Award-winning designer Carmen Chen Wu. Now, eight years into the brand’s life, Luo has another brand under his belt — Mercado — and a new perspective on how DTC brands can grow and be successful in the modern retail landscape. “Back in the day, there were these people who came from a business background and came into DTC thinking, ‘Hey, there’s a waste of space here. We think we can do things better and cheaper and acquire customers quickly,’” Luo said. “I don’t want to say they never paid attention to the product, because many did. But marketing was much more important to them.” But that era of DTC brands being able to grow by forcing customer acquisition and dumping money into Meta is over, he said.

Luxury resale company The RealReal, which went public in June 2019, is nearing profitability. “Next year, we will be profitable on a full-year basis,” Rati Sahi Levesque, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast.  And big changes were made to ensure the goal is met: “Last year was really a reset year. [After] looking at our product mix, our operating expenses and our real estate, we rejiggered the business in a lot of ways.” That included making some layoffs, closing some stores and restricting the sourcing of inventory to individual consignors — no more buying products from brands. The RealReal’s total revenue for 2022 landed at $603 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. Now, Sahi Levesque said the company is focused on “discipline and execution,” when it comes to its 2024 plans. She also discussed the company's strategy for winning sellers, its celeb-fueled launch 12 years ago and its plans to open up to 50 stores within the next 10 years.