How Swap Retail’s Melodie van der Baan Sells with Soul and Turned a Manual Process Into a Inventory Swapping Startup for Fashion Retailers
This podcast originally appeared on Spirit of 608 on February 24, 2021.
I love startup stories that involve taking a manual, real-life process and creating a tech solution that mimics it and stories from founders who, in the quest to solve their own problems, end up bringing needed new ways of doing things into areas begging for innovation. This week’s guest is doing BOTH.
During her years as a fashion brand rep, Melodie found herself going the extra mile to serve the stores she visited. In fact, she was quite literally going the extra mile by driving her retail clients’ excess inventory to other stores, swapping out merch even though it sometimes meant driving across state lines — all in the name of helping the brands she worked with maintain value (vs. ending up on the sale rack) and the store owners sell through their merchandise. After discovering that one retailer in her network might be able to easily sell what wasn’t moving n another store, she founded Swap Retail to help brands and retailers buy, sell and swap their excess inventory. Now a retailer herself and co-founder of this Florida-based fashion tech startup platform, Melodie is working to move inventory more seamlessly so there’s less discounting, less waste and more profitability for both retailers and brands alike.
What you’ll also notice about Melodie is her upbeat, positive attitude and how she uses mindset to fuel her passion for connecting with others and selling Swap Retail. If you struggle with selling, you’ll definitely want to hear how Melodie thinks about conversations she has with prospective brand and retail partners in a way that sets her up not only to get the sale, but to create lasting human connection as well.
