Fashion Business Development

Retail Expansion Consultancy
Top Shelf Brandz

Top Shelf Brandz addresses a transition point for direct-to-consumer brands that have achieved digital sales success but lack the industry relationships, retail operations knowledge, and time required to navigate wholesale partnerships with major retailers like Saks, REI, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Nordstrom. Founded by Wes Lindenmuth, who previously led growth marketing and retail expansion at Vincero Collective (transforming it into one of the fastest-growing accessory brands globally), the consultancy operates as an outsourced retail development department for DTC companies—handling everything from wholesale pricing strategy and retailer introductions to purchase order negotiation and niche market placement including golf courses, luxury resorts, and corporate gifting programs. The business model recognizes that most DTC founders excel at product development and digital marketing but have limited retail industry connections and insufficient bandwidth to develop wholesale channels while managing their core e-commerce operations.

Braunsberger Media developed a Squarespace website that positioned Top Shelf Brandz through credibility and process transparency—leading with recognizable client brands and major retailer partnerships, featuring detailed testimonials from heads of operations at established companies, and breaking down their methodology into clear phases (Planning, Foundation, Execution, Scale) with specific 3, 6, and 9-month milestone frameworks that demystified retail expansion for DTC entrepreneurs. The site structure emphasized Wes Lindenmuth's personal track record and industry expertise through an extended founder spotlight, while the service descriptions addressed specific pain points facing DTC brands: lack of retail contacts, uncertainty about wholesale pricing, complexity of international distribution, and missed opportunities in specialty channels like resort retail and corporate gifting. The result was a platform that communicated sophisticated retail industry knowledge while remaining accessible to digitally-native brand founders evaluating whether to pursue omnichannel expansion, positioning Top Shelf Brandz as the experienced guide who could compress years of learning and relationship-building into structured, goal-oriented engagements.