SBP 202: Retail Isn't Dying. The Operating Model Is. With David Lui

The Bay closed. Frank and Oak shuttered. Insolvencies have been climbing for years and the narrative everyone's repeating is that retail is in trouble. David Lui has a different read. Retail isn't dying. The operating model is. And the brands going under aren't the ones customers stopped loving, they're the ones whose people, product, and place stopped working.

As CEO of Kit & Ace and co-founder of Unity Brands, David is doing almost the exact opposite of what you'd expect. He's buying beloved Canadian brands that almost didn't make it, and he's opening stores.

In this episode, Marc and V sit down with David, a former colleague from their Canadian Tire days, to unpack what changes when a marketer crosses over to the P&L seat. We get into why every store opening is a bigger marketing spend than any ad campaign, the P's most marketers consistently underrate, what David learned scaling Korite into China through live-streaming when North America wasn't ready for it, why he calls his stores billboards, and the metric he ignored as a CMO that he refuses to take his eyes off as a CEO.

If you've ever defended a budget, sat through a quarterly review, or wondered why a brand you loved quietly disappeared, this one's for you.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold open and intro: the Canadian retail paradox

03:34 David's origin: Hong Kong factories and a counselor who got it wrong

10:25 Canadian Tire days and the move to Mark's

15:11 Selling Korite in China: live-streaming before North America was ready

19:51 Kit & Ace's origin story and the DNA Unity Brands kept

22:32 Building the Unity Brands portfolio: Tilley, Mastermind, and operational synergy

28:02 From marketer to operator: the P&L reframe

30:23 Why every store opening is the single largest marketing spend

33:08 The P's marketers underrate: people and place

35:06 The metric David ignored as a CMO and refuses to lose as a CEO

40:34 Premium positioning and why fast fashion is fading

43:36 What the next Canadian challenger brand has to get right

46:24 Where Canadian retail is headed

About David

• David Lui, CEO, Kit & Ace; Co-founder, Unity Brands
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidymlui/
• Kit & Ace: kitandace.com
• Tilley: tilley.com
• Mastermind Toys: mastermindtoys.com