My firstminute with Niraj Shah (Wayfair)
My firstminute is a series of informal talks with global leaders sharing stories about the earliest days of their career, how they overcame some of their toughest challenges, and how they now enjoy supporting the next generation. On Friday 26th June 2020, Clara Lindh Bergendorff hosted Niraj Shah, Co-founder, Co-Chairman & CEO of Wayfair. Wayfair has been one of the global success stories of 2020, with its share price rocketing from $27 to $211 since March, and a market cap now exceeding $20bn. Niraj co-founded the company with Steve Conine back in 2002 and the pair rapidly grew the business to become one of the largest online destinations for home furnishings, housewares, home improvement goods and more, generating $9.5 billion in net revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2020. During the session, Clara explored the many aspects of Niraj's journey as well as his outlook on the future of commerce, contrarian ideas, COVID tailwinds, how to make marketplace economics work while serving a less than affluent demographic, e-com defensibility and the role of private label brands, and finally, why a US company should or shouldn’t expand internationally.