All companies face the constant tug-of-war between vision, growth and fiscal responsibility. But sustainable footwear and accessories company Rothy’s has a unique perspective on this, as one executive oversees these seemingly opposing sides of the business.
In a fireside chat for WWD x FN x SJ business hub Retail Rx, Nikara Johns, senior editor at WWD sister publication Footwear News sat down with Dayna Quanbeck — who has the multiple titles of chief operating and chief finance officer and president at growing footwear and accessories company Rothy’s. Quanbeck admitted it can be quite a juggling act, but even while focusing on efficiency, organization and fiscal responsibility (while wearing her CFO hat), she never wants to “kill the dream.”
“What I love is to let my team go big, and I know that we will always come back to a discipline and rigor that is rooted in everything we do, and that’s part of having a sustainable business. But I know that if I don’t support the big ideation, we can’t get the financials either,” she said.
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Initially started as a digitally native footwear brand, Rothy’s has been growing at a rapid clip, adding stores, wholesale, a shop-in-shop in London, bags, as well as men’s and children’s products. All this works different parts of Quanbeck’s brain.
“I have an ability, like most CFOs, to look around corners and seek correlation, cause and effect, data patterns, data recognition. [But] it’s not just the numbers…sometimes it’s technical, sometimes it’s creative. That comes with the team dreaming, and then we can get to tactics, then refinement.”
To learn more about Rothy’s and watch the full fireside chat, click here.
