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There’s a lot of love behind Lulus. The beloved United States fashion retailer got its start as a clothing shop in California, a labor of love of mother-daughter business partners, Debra Cannon and Colleen Winter.
Today, Lulus is one of the most renowned online fashion labels and one that prides itself on finding leadership positions for women.
When ecommerce veteran Crystal Landsem, former Director of Finance for Alibaba, was approached by Lulus to work as a consultant, there was an instant connection.
“They invited me to act as a consultant to help them find a new CFO,” Landsem tells The CEO Magazine. “But said, ‘PS, if you want to stay, we’d love to have you.’ I fell in love with them, and they fell in love with me, so I stayed.”
Since 2016, Landsem has gone from being Lulus’ CFO to CEO, a pathway she says was made possible by the company’s supportive culture.
“We support women passionately,” she says. “Even the men who work here are so dedicated to supporting women.”
From left: Lulus CMO Laura Deady Holt, CEO Crystal Landsem and CFO Tiffany Smith
“We support women passionately. Even the men who work here are so dedicated to supporting women.”
Lulus is also big on developing its internal staff and providing opportunities wherever possible.
“Culturally, it was something I loved from the beginning about Lulus,” she says. “We don’t care if you have a college degree. If you’re smart and you want to figure it out, we will give you that opportunity. Our VP of HR started in the warehouse.
“Nearly half of our executive team has been here for almost a decade and several for a decade or more. The empathy is infectious and really resonates with my personality.”
Landsem arrived at Lulus with a strong sense of leadership cultivated throughout her career.
“I learned a lot about what I don’t want to be through some bosses I’d had in the past, but I also learned about who I want to be and, just as importantly, how I want to be,” she says.
“I’ve had feedback over my career that I’m too empathetic, and that can be taken advantage of. But retail is a harsh industry, and I think if you can lead with kindness, people return that with loyalty and hard work.”
It’s a strategy she says has paid off in support throughout her ascent.
“I’m not one of those women who had to fight their way to the top,” she says.
“I’ve had nothing but support. The men I’ve worked for have passionately invested in me and given me the opportunity to grow, while the women have been fiercely loyal and helped shape who I am. I feel an obligation to pay that forward, and that’s where my leadership style comes from.”
This feel-good approach to leadership has helped Landsem realize goals for Lulus.
“Our goal is to be the lead destination for dresses,” she says. “We want to be somewhat age-agnostic and empower women to look good and feel good in an attainable way.”
To achieve this, Landsem says it’s a matter of redefining how the business connects with customers in a time when retail fashion is in a state of flux.
“The world is changing around us,” she says.
“We need to reset and rethink how we connect. Department stores were the thing, then ecommerce was the thing, and now we have to ask, ‘How does she want to interact?’”
By offering products that make customers feel put together and confident with a price point to match, Landsem says Lulus has an edge in the marketplace.
“Our special sauce is operational efficiency,” she says.
Image by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Lulus
“We do things very fast, and we pass those savings on to our customers.”
“We do things very fast, and we pass those savings on to our customers. We also listen to customer data.”
Landsem admits she reads exit surveys from Lulus’ customers on a daily basis.
“If someone’s unhappy, I want to fix it,” she says. “Customer data drives everything we do, every decision we make. In an uncertain economy, our job is to manage the ups and downs of the business and keep paying attention to the customer.”
Lulus partners with a variety of vendors to achieve success and keep its finger on the fashion pulse. Through partners such as Los Angeles fashion importer Elvi Us Corp, the company can stay on the cutting edge.
“They’ll go out and tell us the trends, and we’ll react to that,” she says. “The vendors we built this business with are as key to our success as we are to theirs.”
Technology is another pillar of Lulus’ success and an area Landsem says the company is ahead of the curve.
“Our split ship rates are lower than anyone in the industry because we built our own technology, software and machine learning before AI was a buzzword,” she says.
“Our warehousing, our front end, our website – it’s all custom-built, and our very talented and very lean development team is constantly working to stay ahead of the trends.”
“You need to love your job even when it’s hard. You’ll be a happier person for it.”
That means whatever faces the customer is a constant focus for Lulus.
“If we can get her the product faster, if we can get it to her in more elevated and sustainable packaging, if we can make the website more user-friendly and personalized for her, that’s 110 percent of the road map to improve the experience,” Landsem notes.
“Not everybody likes to shop the same way, and in a world with shoppable Instagram and TikTok, we have to personalize the experience for our customers, however they like to shop.”
The love that brought Lulus into the world still exists today, deeply embedded in the company culture. Landsem says it’s there to inspire staff to do their best.
“My father instilled in me that you need to love your job even when it’s hard. You’ll be a happier person for it,” she says.
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