How Brands Look at Digital: Innovators Spotlight John Varvatos — VP of Digital & E-commerce with Scott Lux
When you walk down Times Square you’re not only fighting against the wave of bodies pushing through you, but you can’t help but notice the larger than life images that loom above: an ozone layer of powerhouses in the form of marketing and ads.
We’re kicking off a series of Innovators interviews with true thought leaders who are responsible for pushing the evolution and shaping the strong, outspoken brand identities of the every day powerhouses that reside in our homes, workspaces and bodies.
One of our first Innovators is Scott Lux, Vice President of Digital and Ecommerce atJohn Varvatos. His experience and background is impressive, hailing from amazing companies like L’Oreal, former VP of Ecommerce and Omni Channel at Diesel, a mentor and advisor at XRC labs, Scott plays a critical role in the digital transformation of John Varvatos.
Here’s what we talked about:
MuseFind: Whats your role at John Varvatos? And what inspired you to be here?
Scott: John Varvatos has always been a brand that I have followed and worn. It started well over 10 years ago when I purchased my first pair of Converse by John Varvatos. since then I have added several pieces to my wardrobe. What I love about the brand and the opportunity is the ability to move us in a new direction with our creative expression through digital. I am currently leading our Digital and Ecommerce team.
MF: Given that there are so many menswear brands companies out there, how have you differentiated yourselves from all the noise?
Scott: We have been making a shift in our digital identity that is what I think a more authenticate representation for the brand. We have to have a distinct point of view and push towards building an emotional connection to the brand. For us that is leveraging music that has been such an important part of the brand to unlock the rebel spirit in each of us.
This is something thats been part of our history and is unique to us that allows us to stand out among other mens brands. In the digital space, we are making this transformation by moving towards a branded commerce and content experience. We launched with a new approach to our email program and completely revitalized our product photography for Fall 16 which just launched last week. This gives a sense of the direction we are heading in to provide our customers with that deeper connection to the brand while providing a clear point of distinction that they are able to relate to.
MF: How do you determine what kind of feedback from your customers is valuable and what is noise?
Scott: That’s a great question. Some of the best feedback is looking at customer behavior through our channels. This takes on many different forms ranging from core site behavior and user journeys to our level of engagement with our customers through social channels. Additionally, our customer service team is part of our digital team and sits on the same floor. We get great feedback from our customers there as well. One area for improvement is getting our team out to stores more frequently. This is a great way to experience the brand coming to life and a fantastic opportunity to see how customers are interacting with the product and our amazing store associate teams. From my perspective none of the feedback we get is noise — the bigger issue is filtering out the noise around digital capabilities and ensuring that we provide the right services to make our customers experience easier
MF: Ok let’s have some fun with the last question: What is one message that you’d want the world to know about John Varvatos and what is one misconception you’d want to address about the brand?
Scott: I think for me it goes back to that first question and my introduction to the brand. I would say that the one message is that there are some great pieces that are extremely wearable with amazing craftsmanship. The one misconception is that it is not all about music and rock and roll but the vibe and the spirit that unlocks in all of us.
If you know another Innovator, email us: Jennifer@MuseFind.com.
