Stephanie Pugliese, President and CEO, Duluth Trading – Back to Basics: How a storied workwear brand is righting the ship with a focus on customer needs

Episode 190 of the Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders podcast, hosted by ICR, titled "Stephanie Pugliese, President and CEO, Duluth Trading – Back to Basics: How a storied workwear brand is righting the ship with a focus on customer needs" was published on August 6, 2025 and runs 31 minutes.

August 6, 2025 ·31m · Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders

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Summary

As a workwear and outdoor apparel company, it's imperative that you stay attentive to the needs of your customer, and remain nimble enough to adapt to the demands of an ever-shifting retail landscape. Well, the folks at Duluth Trading are doing exactly that.Today we're sitting down with Stephanie Pugliese, the CEO of Duluth Trading, which trades under the symbol DLTH. She first joined Duluth trading in November of 2008, and In 2015, she became President and CEO until 2019 when she left to become president of the Americas for Under Armour.Now, Stephanie is back as president and CEO of Duluth. She joins us to discuss the innovation, customer experience, and brand awareness that's made them a force in the American retail sector for more than 3 decades, and how she plans to double down on those things to keep Duluth profitable in the decades to come.Highlights:The Duluth Story (2:13)Stephanie's return to Duluth (5:05)Urgency vs. Thoughtfulness (6:40)Brand Engagement (7:50)Brand Awareness (9:15)Solutions Based Products (10:44)Duluth Portfolio of Products (12:36)Approach to Innovation (13:56)Direct to Factory Sourcing (15:31)Opening new stores (17:00)Finding Savings (19:19)Optimizing Inventory Levels (21:10)Promotions (22:46)Tariffs (24:20)Expanding beyond workwear (26:27)Outlook for the future (28:11) Links:Stephanie's LinkedInDuluth LinkedInDuluth WebsiteICR LinkedInICR TwitterICR WebsiteFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].

Episode Description

As a workwear and outdoor apparel company, it's imperative that you stay attentive to the needs of your customer, and remain nimble enough to adapt to the demands of an ever-shifting retail landscape. Well, the folks at Duluth Trading are doing exactly that.

Today we're sitting down with Stephanie Pugliese, the CEO of Duluth Trading, which trades under the symbol DLTH. She first joined Duluth trading in November of 2008, and In 2015, she became President and CEO until 2019 when she left to become president of the Americas for Under Armour.

Now, Stephanie is back as president and CEO of Duluth. She joins us to discuss the innovation, customer experience, and brand awareness that's made them a force in the American retail sector for more than 3 decades, and how she plans to double down on those things to keep Duluth profitable in the decades to come.

Highlights:

The Duluth Story (2:13)
Stephanie's return to Duluth (5:05)
Urgency vs. Thoughtfulness (6:40)
Brand Engagement (7:50)
Brand Awareness (9:15)
Solutions Based Products (10:44)
Duluth Portfolio of Products (12:36)
Approach to Innovation (13:56)
Direct to Factory Sourcing (15:31)
Opening new stores (17:00)
Finding Savings (19:19)
Optimizing Inventory Levels (21:10)
Promotions (22:46)
Tariffs (24:20)
Expanding beyond workwear (26:27)
Outlook for the future (28:11)

Links:

Stephanie's LinkedIn

Duluth LinkedIn

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].

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