Hardware Podcasts

Crate & Barrel: Gordon Segal (2017)

How I Built This · 18 Nov 2019 · 30m

What this episode covers

Gordon Segal, co-founder of Crate & Barrel, explains how he and his wife Carol launched the housewares retailer in 1962 with $17,000 by sourcing Scandinavian and European goods directly from factories. He details the early struggles of mispricing inventory, the strategic decision to avoid outside investors until 1998 to maintain control, and the eventual partnership with the Otto Group to scale the business and enter e-commerce. The episode also features Ashlin Cook, who founded Winnie Lou, a healthy dog treat brand, starting with a food truck in Colorado before expanding to retail.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Winnie Lou, U.S. Bank, Otto Group, IKEA, Amazon, Wayfair
Products
NCR

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