described 31-year-old Haney as "mercurial" and "difficult," clashing with fellow executives like then-chairman, Mickey Drexler, former creative director of J.Crew.
"We buckled down and made a theme for 2020 of foundation setting and we really focused on that," Merrill said. "That meant getting our fundamentals in gear. It wasn't about doing big, sexy marketing campaigns but instead saying, 'Hey, let's make this a business that has potential for longevity and that can really bring its mission to life.'" Outdoor Voices, 2.
"We were able to raise our e-commerce sales considerably and get to a place where even now that we've reopened brick-and-mortar retail, we're just running in a really healthy, efficient, collaborative way that we believe this brand always could do," she said. Though she declined to share a breakdown of sales, Merrill said a majority comes from e-commerce.
While Sullivan was quick to not place guilt on Drexler for the challenges that befell the company, he said the J.Crew alum's sensibilities didn't always seem to align with that of Outdoor Voices. For example, Sullivan said he noticed an uptick in marketing emails under Drexler that have since decreased significantly under Merrill's tutelage."Not that he was to blame for everything because I think there were some issues on both sides, but it was like the J.
Much like her contemporaries such as Glossier's Emily Weiss, Haney leaned into her role as a highly visible figurehead, a strategy that ultimately drove sales and lured new shoppers to Outdoor Voices. Her status as a female founder also proved helpful in bringing on investors, particularly as venture capitalists sought to ride on the coattails of the buzz surrounding the rise of woman-led retail startups suddenly proliferating across the industry.
Ashley Merill is amazing. I'll never forget when she immediately responded to a survey email asking for feedback and took the call personally. We need more CEOs like Ashley.