I learned to read structure from inside a brand, not from a framework.

Came up through the product side. Learned the structure underneath it.

R. Michaels & Co is led by me, Ryan Houghton. I came into this from the product side. I studied fashion design before taking an operations role at Porter James Sports, a New Zealand DTC apparel brand, through a phase of rapid domestic and international growth.

How I work

I read a brand as a connected system, where pricing, delivery, customer experience, and operations either hold together or quietly work against each other. Coming from the product side, I understand why founders protect the brand first. My work is to make the structure underneath hold up to it.

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Diagnose

Design

Build

Embed

Hands-on across

Storefront and merchandisingBuild
Pricing and marginMargin
Delivery and returnsConversion
Customer experience and taxAlignment
Operational structureClarity
International, seven marketsScale

Background

Close to two years inside Porter James Sports through its scale phase: warehouse, dispatch, Shopify operations, international fulfilment, returns, and pricing alongside the founder.

Since then, structuring pricing and delivery for founder-led brands across the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South East Asia.

In their words

"Ryan worked with Porter James for around 18 months, a period where the business experienced exponential growth. Ryan helped implement systems, guided by operational partners, to create efficiencies as we scaled. His role spanned warehouse, dispatch, eCommerce and technology, and his adaptability was truly appreciated."

— Josh, Porter James Sports