SLICKHAIR is launching into Target Beauty Studios on September 10th, the brand's first major US retail partner. HITAI acquired sports movement AI company Quell. And SATISFY opened its first store in Paris, 11 years in.

Here's what brand leaders shared on LinkedIn this week.

Brand Voice tracks what 8 and 9 figure Shopify brand leaders are sharing on LinkedIn each week. We started this because our feed was full of SaaS and agencies. we wanted to see more from the brands themselves.

This week: 1,034 posts from 1,000 people across 53,700 profiles tracked.

Full data set linked at the bottom. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe at dtcmvp.beehiiv.com

Brand Voice is powered by dtcmvp.com, where established brand leaders are compensated to give product feedback to vetted Shopify tech startups. If you’re interested in applying to join as a brand or a partner, just reply to this email or apply here.

We also want to give a quick shoutout to our friends at the Hot Takes Big Stakes podcast, give it a watch!

M&A

HITAI acquired Quell, folding the camera less movement AI into HITAI's movement intelligence platform for sports. Co founder Lorenzo Spreafico shared the news. → post

Distribution

SLICKHAIR is launching into Target Beauty Studios on September 10th. Founder Mia Plecic called it the brand's first major US retail partner. → post

MaryRuth Organics' k2o line is officially nationwide at Target. Senior Director Catalina G shared the milestone. → post

Freebird boots are now available at Nordstrom. The Pro's Closet CEO Jonathan Czaja called it a return to wholesale after a 10 year hiatus. → post

Bold Bean Co is opening its first ever pop up in Soho September 15 to 17. Founder Amelia Christie-Miller said the brand has spent years building at arm's length from the people actually buying jars. → post

Ulla Johnson opened a new store at 150 Sloane Street in London. CEO Thibaut Perrin-Faivre called it a corner jewel box. → post

Strategic Moves

SATISFY opened its first store on rue de Saintonge in Paris after eleven years as an analog brand. Founder Brice Partouche framed it as the most complete physical expression of the world they've been building. → post

La Prairie launched Swiss Pristine, its newest collection focused on skin barrier health. Group CEO Estelle Letang shared the milestone. → post

La Bonne Brosse launched a Body Brush, the brand's first venture beyond hair after two years of development. → post

Three Nails finally landed one of its packages in the hands of a strategic partner after almost two years of work. Founder Derek Dahl shared the arc from townhome samples to now. → post

FRAHM Jacket founder Nick Hussey formally became CEO in the brand's 9th year, tied to becoming a USA focused business. → post

REDBACKBOOTS.COM was independently certified under the Australian Made, Australian Grown program. CEO Doug Swan noted the Cloros family began handcrafting boots from salvaged leather decades ago. → post

Revenue & Milestones

Paka got the keys to its first US home in Boulder, Colorado, ten years to the day after founder Kris Cody shipped the first packages from his UVA dorm room. → post

Brami Pasta marked one year at Costco Wholesale. CEO Aaron Gatti reflected on turning a shelf slot into meaningful pantry access. → post

KORRES promoted Kristopher Karter to Senior Ecommerce & Digital Marketing Manager on his two year anniversary. → post

Recognition

Revant Optics was named the 6th best workplace in the Northwest for medium size companies by the Portland Business Journal. Founder Jason Bolt tied the award back to a hard reset the team made during early Covid. → post

Eyemart Express CMO Katy Hanson won the inaugural DallasCMO ORBIE Award in the Large Corporate category. → post

Riley co founder Fiona Parfrey was featured in RTE's piece on the female founders behind Ireland's beauty boom. → post

People Moves

HORMBLES CHORMBLES hired Lucy King as CMO (from MUSH). → post

Nike EMEA brought on Laura Angelier as Account Marketing Manager, Sportswear Specialty & Energy (from SATISFY). → post

Flying Tiger Copenhagen promoted Nejra Celik to European Retail Director. → post

Rip Curl hired Matt Roystone as General Manager Retail (from Strandbags Australia). → post

Apple Pay hired Dan Dupont for Marketing Strategy and Planning (from Nixon). → post

EEZ Co. hired Madeleine Bresler as CMO (from Nara Organics). → post

ATHX GAMES brought on Matthew Hickman as Head of Brand (from Wave Spas UK). → post

Notable Exits

Clare founder Nicole Gibbons quietly exited the brand she founded, built, and led for nearly eight years, at the end of 2024. She's just now sharing the story. → post

Rip Curl Head of CX and Membership Sam Hopgood wrapped after ten years. Club Rip Curl grew to 900,000+ members generating $200M+ in sales during his run. → post

Full Glass Wine CMO Aaron Magness exited after multiple years building and refining. → post

Worth a click

Giftory added Timothy Chi to the Board. Tim co founded WeddingWire, scaled it into The Knot Worldwide, and led it as CEO for nearly two decades. → post