About this episode

The episode audits the first half of 2026 in ecommerce, discussing strategies, wins, and mistakes.

“Whoever can spend the most money is going to win.” Sean Frank (CEO, Ridge), Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi), Jason Panzer (President, HexClad), and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) audit the first half of 2026. The focus is a sound ecommerce growth strategy for Q3 and Q4. No guests, no fluff. Just what worked, what blew up, and where they’re placing their bets. Amazon leads the conversation, with Sean up over 100% year over year on full assortment parity and Mike beating Liquid IV on a $4 blended CAC. Wholesale gets a harder look, with Sean holding a big-three PO and an 18-month runway to shelf. The group then pulls apart margin profile as a competitive weapon, why most consumable brands are quietly heading toward a reckoning, and what it takes to set a spending floor competitors cannot match. Powered By Fulfil https://9ops.co/fulfil Aftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5 Richpanel https://9ops.co/richpanel Northbeam https://www.northbeam.io/ Saras Analytics https://bit.ly/4a3gzVv Postscript https://9ops.co/postscript Operators Newsletter https://9operators.com/

Topics covered

• ecommerce
• growth strategy
• business audit
• marketing
• competitive analysis

Keywords

• ecommerce
• growth strategy
• Amazon
• CAC
• margin profile

Sponsors

Fulfil, Aftersell, Richpanel, Northbeam, Saras Analytics, Postscript

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ridge, Pela Case, Lomi, HexClad, Simple Modern, Amazon, Liquid IV, Operators Newsletter

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