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How Mixology Builds Winning Retail Experiences | Rebecca Lendino
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Rebecca Lendino shares how a decade at Mixology, from part-time associate to VP of Brand & Retail Operations, shaped her philosophy on merchandising, customer loyalty, and the courage to embrace change.
About This Episode
Rebecca Lendino started at Mixology at 17 years old as a part-time sales associate while competing as a high-school baton twirling captain. A decade later, she oversees brand operations, retail store operations, and buying for one of fashion's most distinctive mid-market boutiques.
In this conversation, she unpacks the high-low merchandising philosophy, what it takes to build a culture of store managers who act like owners, and why AI adoption, not trend chasing, turned out to be her most important leadership transformation.
Topics Covered
- High-Low Merchandising
- Brand Loyalty
- Omnichannel Retail
- AI in Buying
- Store Operations
- Pricing Strategy
- TikTok Trend
- Leadership
- DTC to Retail
- Customer Journey
Key Moments
00:00 | From baton twirling captain to VP
How captaincy shaped Rebecca's leadership style, and her path from Macy's executive training program to Mixology VP.
02:49 | How post-COVID customer behavior shifted
E-commerce dominated in 2020. Today, customers are rushing back to brick-and-mortar for real human connection.
04:10 | The high-low merchandising model explained
Why Mixology owns the white space between a $38 top and a $5,000 handbag, and what Macy's training couldn't teach.
08:37 | Balancing store autonomy with brand cohesion
Managing strong personalities across locations by ensuring everyone rows in the same direction.
12:49 | AI's impact on the buying process
From seasonal spreadsheets to real-time Q&A, how AI freed up time for creative curation.
18:33 | The good-better-best pricing philosophy
How tiered price architecture brings customers in at $38 and converts them on $200 statement pieces.
24:01 | The Lazy Day Sweatpants story
A frontline insight became a powerhouse product, and a lesson in trusting store staff over gut instinct.
27:18 | App vs. web vs. in-store: who is each customer?
App shoppers are Mixology's most loyal and almost always also shop in-store.
34:08 | The most important leadership transformation
Overcoming fear of AI and technology, the mindset shift that unlocked everything else.
35:20 | Brand loyalty in a TikTok trend cycle
Why solving a real customer problem beats chasing virality every single time.
Standout Quotes
"You are at service of your customer, not the other way around. Once you learn who they are, you're able to better make a decision as to what you should stock for them."
"When you're ready to give up, you're one millimeter away from success. You're right there."
"I'm always at service of my frontline staff. They're face to face with the customer all day. We just have to execute on what they're asking for."
"Once you get over the fear of technology and AI, you're able to take on so much more than you ever imagined."
Brewed is Appbrew’s podcast featuring honest conversations with DTC founders and operators on scaling Shopify brands.
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