Frank and Oak Accelerates Closure of US Operations

Retail
Written By Rick Watson

Frank and Oak is a Canadian online and physical retailer specializing in menswear, founded in 2012 in Montreal. It initially focused on an online-only business but later expanded into brick-and-mortar stores, eventually closing all 14 Canadian locations.

Frank and Oak, a Canadian apparel brand, closed their US operations at the end of April due to the customs and tariff changes. Interesting to note that in the last week of April, news broke in Canada that the company was closing all of its retail stores, selling its intellectual property, and filing for bankruptcy. April was uncertain, but Frank and Oak clearly had bigger issues than cross-border business challenges.

Retail Dive: Frank and Oak accelerates closure of US operations citing tariffs, customs uncertainty

Rick Watson

Rick Watson founded RMW Commerce Consulting after spending 20+ years as a technology entrepreneur and operator exclusively in the eCommerce industry with companies like ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, Merchantry, and Pitney Bowes.

Watson’s work today is centered on supporting investors and management teams incubating and growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Most recently, in partnership with WHP Global, Rick was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a new turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform that powers AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com.

Watson also hosts a weekly podcast, Watson Weekly, where he shares an unbiased, unfiltered expert take on the retail sector’s biggest players.

In the past year alone, Rick has spoken at many in-person and virtual events as well as podcasts on topics ranging from retail/ecom to supply chain/logistics and even digital grocery including CommerceNext IRL, ASCM Connect, and Retail Innovation Conference.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/
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