Cover Story
South Bay Is Helping Retailers Adapt For The Future
By Gretchen Kast
At a time when many retailers are looking for ways to adapt to new and immediate challenges, South Bay International has emerged as a vital partner. With more than a decade of experience in the ecommerce segment, the company has the insights and expertise to help retailers develop specialized online programs—and the operational structure to efficiently address any logistical need. South Bay works closely with all of its retail partners to create exclusive private label programs that will resonate with their specific customer base. From the big picture to the small but ever-important details, the company understands how all of the different pieces—product development, marketing, fulfillment and customer service—must work together in the ecommerce space. Simply put, South Bay delivers the strategy and support that today’s retailers need to really succeed online.
W
hile no one could have predicted the scope and scale of the pan- demic’s impact, South Bay was, in some ways, uniquely prepared to weath- er the storm. Not only did it already have a well-established ecommerce strategy in place (in fact, approximately 95 percent of its business is in ecommerce), it has long been a company both willing and able to adapt to new circumstances. When we spoke with South Bay’s COO, Dani Serven back in May for an episode of the Sleep Retailer Podcast, she reflected on this as an aspect of her leadership style: “I am someone who always plans for the worst case scenario: good, bad or indifferent. The big joke around here was that I have been preparing my entire adult life for this (the pandemic). I am one of these people who always has contingency plans.”
Because of its manufacturing ties in both China and Europe, South Bay was aware of the looming COVID-19 crisis early on— which meant it was ready to adjust its op- erations to protect the health and safety of its employees even before any stay-at-home orders went into effect. Not only did this en- sure that its team was safe and supported, it helped the company keep moving forward without missing a beat. This mentality has been a defining trait of
the South Bay brand since Serven took over as COO in 2014. Savvy, detail-oriented and prepared for anything, she has transformed the company into the agile, forward-thinking business it is today—and propelled it to re- cord-setting sales numbers this year. Originally founded as an equipment manu- facturer back in 1993, South Bay has evolved significantly since then. In 2008, the compa-
ny began to expand its offerings to include more private label options, and soon recog- nized the potential of the ecommerce space. Under Serven’s thoughtful leadership, South Bay has honed and adapted its approach to ecommerce as consumer confidence in buy- ing online continues to grow.
Of course, that steady upward trajectory suddenly skyrocketed this year when shut- down orders left a lot of people sitting at home, bored and paying closer attention to their surroundings at home. With things like vacations and restaurants and concerts on hold, many of these consumers took to up- grading their homes. And suddenly those last remaining barriers to buying a new bed online toppled—catapulting companies like South Bay towards record-setting sales numbers. And while company COO Daniella Serven predicts that there will likely be some degree
sleepretailer.com 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
