TL;DR (Fast Facts)
- Guest: Dov Charney, OpenStore executive
- Portfolio: ~50 Shopify brands
- Acquisition sweet spot: $250K–$2M in profitable revenue
- Standout case study: Jack Archer (10X growth post-acquisition)
- Playbook: Experimentation, channel diversification, supply chain leverage
- North Star Metric: Gross profit per visitor
- Biggest founder advice: Be profitable on first order, focus on great product, know your goals when selling
What does it take to manage not just one successful e-commerce brand, but fifty at once? In a recent webinar hosted by Jesse Pujji, Dov Charney (OpenStore executive) shared the unique challenges and strategies behind running a multi-brand portfolio.
Dov contrasted the obsessive detail a founder brings to a single brand, every storefront decision, every unboxing, every customer touchpoint with the systems and scale required to manage dozens of brands under one umbrella. The conversation revealed what it takes to identify promising brands, acquire them efficiently, and scale them profitably without losing their original spark.
The Macro Environment: From COVID Boom to Reality Check
The last three years have reshaped e-commerce:
- COVID surge: A decade of growth condensed into a single year as consumers flocked to online shopping.
- Inflated expectations: Many founders assumed the growth trajectory would last forever.
- Post-COVID reality: Supply chain disruptions, rising ad costs, and intense competition made customer acquisition harder and margins thinner.
For OpenStore, this environment meant focusing not on distressed assets, but on healthy, profitable Shopify brands with product-market fit and helping those founders achieve a liquidity event while ensuring the brands thrive post-acquisition.
How OpenStore Finds and Acquires Brands
OpenStore’s acquisition process is designed to be simple and founder-friendly:
- Brand Discovery: Networking, events, and community engagement are the strongest channels. Founders are more likely to sell to buyers they trust.
- Diligence Process: Merchants connect Shopify and ad accounts, upload a P&L, and receive a non-binding offer within days.
- Speed and Simplicity: Unlike traditional M&A that can drag for 6–12 months, OpenStore aims to close quickly, with no broker fees or endless back-and-forth.
“Founders treat their brands like their babies. They want to know they’re selling to someone who will protect and grow it.” – Dov Charney
Case Study: Jack Archer – Scaling Beyond the Founder
One standout example is Jack Archer, a men’s apparel brand. Founder Miguel spotted a gap on Reddit, where men complained about fit and quality issues with existing pants. He launched Jack Archer in 2022, quickly finding product-market fit.
When OpenStore acquired Jack Archer, they scaled it more than 10X in two years by:
- Experimentation: Price testing, shipping threshold adjustments, CRO experiments. Raising prices — counterintuitively — increased profitability without harming conversion.
- Channel Expansion: The founder grew the brand primarily through Meta ads. OpenStore added Google Paid Search, now accounting for ~40% of sales.
- Operational Scale: Improved gross margins via supply chain efficiencies and standardized tech stack across brands.
This formula (experimentation, channel diversification, and operational leverage) represents OpenStore’s repeatable playbook for scaling brands.
Standardization at Scale: Running 50 Brands Efficiently
Operating 50 Shopify stores requires both discipline and flexibility.
- What’s Standardized: Shopify themes, tech stack (apps, integrations), analytics dashboards, fulfillment partnerships.
- What’s Brand-Specific: Design, customer experience, product storytelling, and pricing strategy.
Instead of pods per brand, OpenStore runs function-focused teams:
- Storefronts team
- Marketing team
- Supply chain team
- Customer experience team
This model allows learnings from one brand (e.g., a CRO win) to be quickly applied across the entire portfolio.
Top Lessons for Founders Considering an Exit
For founders thinking about selling, Dov shared three pieces of advice:
- Profitability on First Order
The days of burning cash on CAC with hopes of raising capital later are over. Brands need healthy unit economics from day one. - Build a Great Product
Sustainable growth comes from repeat purchases and word-of-mouth, not just ad spend. A product that customers rave about lowers dependence on paid channels. - Know What You Want
If selling, be clear whether your goal is cashing out fully, partial involvement post-exit, or moving on entirely. Transparency helps both sides succeed.
GrowthAssistant: Scaling Without Adding Headcount
A recurring theme in the webinar was how GrowthAssistant supports OpenStore’s scale. By embedding offshore marketing and operations talent, OpenStore can:
- Free in-house teams to focus on strategy.
- Onboard new brands faster.
- Handle storefront updates, creative production, and data management at scale.
From Shopify development to ad production, Growth Assistants have become “sidekicks” for OpenStore’s team, blending technical know-how with business curiosity.
Ready to See What Your Brand is Worth?
Building an e-commerce brand takes years of obsession, late nights, and customer dedication. When it’s time to take the next step, you deserve a partner who will protect your legacy and unlock your brand’s full potential.
Discover what your Shopify store could be worth today.
.svg)
