Ecommerce Operating Partner for Consumer Brands

We don't advise.
We operate.

Carolina Coast Collective embeds with your team to build, run, and scale modern commerce: Amazon and marketplaces, DTC, in-store retail including Walmart, and international. For brands from under $1M to over $1B.

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0+Years of Experience
$0M+Revenue Influenced
0+Brands Scaled
<$1M–$1B+Brand Sizes Served
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Operating across every channel that matters
AmazonWalmartTargetChewyThe Home DepotShopify & DTCTikTok ShopMetaRetail MediaInternational Marketplaces
The Challenge

Why brands bring us in

Modern commerce punishes brands that run on autopilot. These are the four walls we get called to break through.

01

Growth has stalled or gotten expensive

Marketplace and DTC growth is harder than it was five years ago. Rising retail media costs and channel conflict punish brands that run on autopilot.

02

The talent gap is real

Senior ecommerce operators are scarce and costly to hire full time. Agencies execute tactics but rarely own strategy, and consultants hand you a deck and leave.

03

Channels are managed in silos

DTC, Amazon, brick-and-mortar, and international decisions get made separately, so pricing, assortment, and inventory work against each other.

04

AI is changing the playbook

Brands know AI should be improving their marketing, analytics, and operations, but few have operators who can put it to work inside existing teams.

Capabilities

The full commerce stack

Nine capability areas, one team, one view of your business. Strategy and execution are never separated.

Marketplace Growth & Retail Media

Full-funnel growth on Amazon and other marketplaces, with profitability at the center.

  • Amazon channel strategy & P&L ownership
  • Sponsored ads & DSP management
  • Listing content & marketplace SEO
  • Promotion architecture & profitability

DTC & Ecommerce Acceleration

Growth across your direct-to-consumer funnel, from first click to repeat purchase.

  • Customer acquisition & paid media
  • Conversion rate optimization
  • Retention, email & subscription
  • Analytics & demand forecasting

Product Launch & Go-to-Market

Launch strategy and execution for new products, channels, and markets.

  • Positioning & pricing strategy
  • Channel sequencing & launch plans
  • Marketplace & DTC infrastructure
  • Post-launch testing rhythms

Pricing, Assortment & Retail Partnerships

Channel-aware economics and preparation for the negotiations that move your P&L.

  • Channel-aware pricing architecture
  • Assortment & pack strategy
  • Retailer negotiation preparation
  • Joint business planning support

Retail & In-Store Services

Getting on the shelf at Walmart and other retailers, then executing once you're there. A buyer's yes is where the real work begins.

  • Retail go-to-market & buyer preparation
  • Walmart in-store launch & item setup
  • Supplier onboarding & retail operations
  • In-store merchandising, promotions & replenishment

International Expansion

Entering and scaling new geographies with the operating detail done right.

  • Market entry strategy & sequencing
  • Marketplace setup & localization
  • Cross-border logistics & compliance
  • International P&L management

Commerce Troubleshooting

Rapid diagnosis and repair when a channel, launch, or P&L is underperforming.

  • Rapid channel & account diagnostics
  • P&L and margin forensics
  • Listing & account health recovery
  • Turnaround operating plans

AI-Enabled Marketing & Operations

AI built into the work, not bolted on as an innovation project.

  • AI content & creative workflows
  • Analytics & reporting automation
  • SEO for AI search (GEO & AEO)
  • Team enablement & tooling

Organizational Design

Commerce teams, roles, and processes built so growth is durable after we hand over the keys.

  • Team structure & role design
  • Hiring support & scorecards
  • Operating cadences & rituals
  • Playbooks & handover plans
Where We Operate

From Charleston to everywhere your customers shop

We have operated brands across North American retail and marketplaces and into Europe and Asia-Pacific.

North America

  • Amazon US, Canada & Mexico
  • Walmart online & in-store
  • Target, Chewy & The Home Depot
  • Shopify & DTC, TikTok Shop, Meta

Europe

  • Amazon European marketplaces
  • Market entry strategy & localization
  • Cross-border logistics & compliance

Asia-Pacific

  • Marketplace expansion across the region
  • Channel & distributor strategy
  • International P&L management
Why C3

What makes us different

We built the playbooks inside the world's largest retailers and marketplaces. Now we run them for a deliberately small roster of brands.

Operators, not advisors

We do not hand you a strategy deck and disappear. We take ownership of channels and outcomes, embedded in your business.

We know the other side of the table

Our team has led inside Amazon, Walmart, The Home Depot, and other major retailers. We know how buyers and marketplaces actually make decisions.

One view across every channel

DTC, marketplaces, retail, and international are planned as one commerce system, so pricing, assortment, and media reinforce each other.

A global expert network

We tap trusted experts around the world, so we learn fast, pressure-test our thinking, and solve problems quickly and at high quality.

Deliberately few clients

We limit the number of engagements we take on. We would rather deliver at a high bar for a few brands than dilute the work across many.

AI-native execution

We build AI into marketing, analytics, and operations as part of the work, not as a separate innovation project.

Our Work

Built for every size of brand

Our clients range from founder-led startups to category leaders and national enterprises. The playbooks scale because we built them at both ends.

From first million to billion-dollar brands

Under $1MStartups & launches
$10M–$100MScaling brands
Over $1BNational enterprises
CPGPetConsumer ElectronicsHealth & WellnessSports & OutdoorHome & SecuritySoftwarePrivate Equity Portfolios
ActiveLeading outdoor sports & games brand

Owning the direct-to-consumer channel end to end: strategy, growth, and performance.

ActiveHigh-growth health & wellness brand

Owning end-to-end strategy and operations across the commerce business.

ActiveGlobal consumer audio brand

Consulting on omnichannel strategy: profitability, retail media, and marketplace growth.

ActiveNational home security leader

Advising on a major mass-retail negotiation and commerce organizational design.

Past WorkConsumer electronics brand

Fractional executive leadership across marketplace growth, forecasting, and operations.

Past WorkPrivate equity

Ecommerce strategy and operating support for portfolio consumer brands, including diligence.

Client names withheld for confidentiality. References available in conversation.

Case Studies

Real engagements, real results

Every brand's challenges are different. These are examples of how we combine strategic leadership with hands-on execution.

01
Consumer electronics brand

Challenge

Strong products, but inconsistent growth on Amazon driven by poor forecasting and limited operational discipline.

What We Did

Redesigned promotional architecture, implemented demand forecasting models using historical sales and retail signals, and aligned supply chain, sales, and retail teams around a structured operating cadence.

+0%Forecast Accuracy
↑ MarginExpansion, fewer promos
02
Health supplement startup

Challenge

A high-quality, science-backed supplement with no clear go-to-market strategy for ecommerce launch and early traction.

What We Did

Developed and executed the go-to-market strategy across Amazon and DTC: positioning, pricing, channel sequencing, customer acquisition, marketplace infrastructure, and operating rhythms for testing and growth.

~0%D2C Conversion Lift
~0%Lower Blended CAC
03
Sports equipment brand

Challenge

Strong products and reviews, but limited discoverability across marketplaces and the D2C site. Listings lacked structured content, keyword depth, and clear differentiation.

What We Did

Rebuilt product listings with improved titles, feature hierarchy, and search-optimized content, and updated D2C pages for SEO and AI-driven search (GEO and AEO), with a framework for ongoing content testing.

~0%More Indexed Keywords
~0%Organic Traffic Growth
Ways to Work Together

Engagement models, built around you

Every engagement is custom. We shape the model together at the start and fully expect it to evolve as we learn alongside your team.

Channel Ownership

We take full ownership of a specific channel, such as DTC or Amazon.

  • Channel strategy and P&L accountability
  • Day-to-day execution and optimization
  • Reporting your leadership can act on
Most Comprehensive

Full-Stack Operating Partner

We run commerce strategy and operations end to end for your brand.

  • Strategy, channels, and operations under one team
  • Pricing, assortment, and inventory alignment
  • Team and systems built for the long term

Strategic Advisory

Focused consulting on a specific, high-stakes problem.

  • Marketplace and retail media strategy
  • Retailer negotiations and international expansion
  • Organizational design and AI enablement
Free · No Obligation

The C3 Commerce Assessment

A rapid, no-nonsense review of your channels, economics, and team. You get a findings call with prioritized recommendations you can act on, whether or not we work together.

Request Your Assessment
01
Channel & economics review

Where your growth is working, where it is leaking, and what it costs you across Amazon, DTC, and retail.

02
Team & operations read

Whether your structure, tools, and operating cadence can support the next stage of growth.

03
Prioritized findings call

A straight-talk walkthrough of what we found and what we would do first, in order of impact.

Our Approach

How an engagement works

Engagements are structured around ownership and outcomes, and scoped to your stage and goals.

1

Assess

A rapid, no-nonsense review of your channels, economics, and team to find what is working and what is leaking.

2

Align

A shared plan with your leadership: scope, ownership, priorities, and how we will measure results.

3

Operate

We embed and execute. Channels get run, negotiations get prepared, systems and AI workflows get built.

4

Scale & Transfer

We grow what works and build your team's ability to run it, so results outlast the engagement.

The Team

Senior leadership, backed by a global bench

Your engagement is led directly by operators who ran multibillion-dollar businesses inside the world's largest retailers.

Chuck Powell, Co-Founder of Carolina Coast Collective

Chuck Powell

Founder, Managing Partner
  • 20+ years at Amazon, Chewy, and The Home Depot
  • Led retail and product organizations across consumer electronics, media, and marketplace businesses
  • Managed multibillion-dollar P&Ls and launched programs serving millions of customers
  • Negotiated strategic partnerships with global brands
Caitlin Markham, Co-Founder of Carolina Coast Collective

Caitlin Markham

Partner
  • 18+ years at Amazon and Kraft Foods
  • Led product, advertising, and vendor strategy across grocery, electronics, apparel, and consumables
  • Managed $700M+ P&Ls and enterprise vendor partnerships
  • Built experimentation frameworks that increased testing velocity 4x

Not just us: a network of specialists on call

Leadership stays senior and hands-on, and we bring in trusted experts from a global network when your engagement calls for deeper specialization.

Retail & MerchandisingBuyers, category managers, and in-store execution
Advertising & Retail MediaSearch, DSP, social, and media planning specialists
International & LocalizationMarket entry, translation, and regional operators
Creative & DesignBrand, packaging, listing content, and ad creative
Engineering & DataIntegrations, analytics pipelines, and AI tooling
Supply Chain & LogisticsForecasting, fulfillment, and cross-border operations
FAQ

Questions brands ask us

What does an operating partner do for a brand?
An operating partner embeds with your team and takes ownership of channels and outcomes. It combines the strategic thinking of a consultant with the hands-on execution of senior in-house operators. Unlike an agency that executes tactics, or a consultant that delivers a plan and leaves, an operating partner runs the business alongside you and is accountable for results.
How is C3 different from a traditional agency?
Agencies typically execute tactics within one channel. We can take ownership of outcomes across every channel at once, so pricing, assortment, inventory, and media decisions reinforce each other instead of conflicting. Our team also ran multibillion-dollar businesses inside Amazon, Chewy, The Home Depot, and Kraft Foods, so we know how the other side of the table makes decisions.
What size brands do you work with?
Our clients range from startups under $1M in revenue to enterprises over $1B, across CPG, pet, consumer electronics, health and wellness, sports and outdoor, and more. The engagement model flexes to the stage: launch support for early brands, channel ownership for scaling brands, and negotiation or organizational work for enterprises.
Which channels and marketplaces do you operate on?
Amazon in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, plus Walmart online and in-store, Target, Chewy, TikTok Shop, Shopify and DTC, brick-and-mortar retail, and marketplace expansion across Asia-Pacific.
Do you help brands launch in mass stores?
Yes. We help brands get started in-store with retailers including Walmart, The Home Depot, Target and more. From retail go-to-market strategy and buyer preparation through item setup and supplier onboarding. Then we operate the business on shelf: in-store merchandising, promotions, and replenishment. A buyer's yes is where the real work begins, and execution on shelf is what decides whether the placement lasts.
What is included in the free C3 Commerce Assessment?
A rapid review of your channels, unit economics, and team, followed by a findings call with prioritized recommendations. There is no cost and no obligation; the findings are yours to act on either way.
Do you work with private equity firms?
Yes. We support PE firms with ecommerce diligence on consumer brand targets, and with post-close value creation: operating support, channel strategy, and commerce organizational design for portfolio companies.
How do engagements start and how are they structured?
Every engagement starts with the Assess phase and a shared plan with your leadership. From there we operate in one of three models: Channel Ownership, Full-Stack Operating Partner, or Strategic Advisory. Engagements are custom-scoped and evolve as we learn alongside your team.
Where are you located?
We are headquartered in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in the Charleston area, and work with brands across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Carolina Coast Collective

Let's build what's next.

If you are ready for an operating partner who takes ownership of outcomes, start with a free assessment or just reach out.

Get Your Free Assessment chuck@carolinacoastcollective.com 804.986.5927