“We were close to closing the company two or three times. Every winter was like, okay, that’s it. Goodbye company.”

Chris Erthel built Meller sunglasses from a Spanish side project into a brand that sells a pair every 28 seconds. Along the way, he helped scale HelloBody from €30M to €107M as fractional CMO before its €330M exit to Henkel. We talked about why US brands fail in Europe, the cultural quirks that kill conversions in Germany, and why Italy requires cash on delivery or you’re dead on arrival. He’s run 3,500+ A/B tests and shares counterintuitive findings that challenge everything you think you know about landing pages and ad creative.

SPONSORS

Swym – Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more
getswym.com/kurt

Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
cleverific.com

Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
zipify.com/KURT

LINKS

• Meller Brand: https://mellerbrand.com/
• Weavy AI: https://www.weavy.ai/
• Rory Flynn (AI Content): https://www.instagram.com/_roryflynn_/
• Chris Erthel LinkedIn: https://es.linkedin.com/in/chriserthel
• Discount Code: CHRISERTHEL (highest discount ever at Meller)

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The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who’ve built thriving ecommerce businesses.