James Markunas

Launching Mrs. Meyer's First DTC Channel From Scratch

Mrs. Meyer's had strong retail recognition but no owned customer relationship, no first-party data, and no proof that DTC could add revenue without cannibalizing the Target and Walmart shelf space that built the brand. I led SC Johnson's first direct commerce launch from scratch, designing the integration pattern, navigating the enterprise politics, and building a stack that became the reusable model for Caldrea and Method.

$15%
Revenue Uplift
10%
Brand GMV Target
10+
Systems in Stack
Mrs. Meyer's direct-to-consumer commerce launch hero image
At-a-Glance

SC Johnson's First DTC Bet

Mrs. Meyer's was SC Johnson's first move into direct commerce, and BigCommerce's largest merchant at the time. I owned the cross-functional machine that connected a retail-era enterprise stack to a consumer-grade storefront, kept the politics from derailing the launch, and structured the architecture so it didn't die with one brand.

Role
Senior Program Manager
Client
SC Johnson
Industry
CPG • Home Care • eCommerce
Timeline
Feb 2019 - Jul 2019
Team / Stakeholders
25
Budget / Scale
$3M
Systems / Technology
BigCommerce
BigCommerce
SAP
SAP
Salsify
Salsify
Avalara
Avalara
Problem

SC Johnson wanted to prove DTC could work for Mrs. Meyer's without damaging their key retail relationships. The company had no DTC, no owned customer relationship, and no modern path from storefront to fulfillment. The systems underneath were built for pallets and retail distribution, not parcel shipping, tax, payments, and subscriptions.

Mandate

Own the cross-functional machine, architecture decisions, vendor coordination, launch planning, and executive communication on both the SC Johnson and BigCommerce sides, and get SC Johnson's first direct commerce channel live.

What I Changed

Defined the SAP and BigCommerce integration pattern that became the foundation for every SC Johnson brand that followed. Structured the stack to be a reusable model, not a dead-end build. Kept stakeholder alignment intact through constant translation across SC Johnson, BigCommerce, and agency teams.

Outcome

15% revenue uplift. A direct path to 10% of brand GMV through owned DTC. Retail relationships intact at launch and after. Caldrea and Method followed on the same architecture. SC Johnson proved the model worked.

Problem Statement

A Retail Giant With No Direct Channel

Mrs. Meyer's had real brand equity, a loyal customer base, and shelf space in every major retailer in the country. What it didn't have was any way to sell directly to the people buying it. SC Johnson had never run a direct commerce channel. The systems underneath were built for pallet shipments to retail distribution centers, not individual orders, parcel fulfillment, tax calculation, subscription billing, or a storefront a consumer would actually want to use.

The stakes were higher than one brand launch. Mrs. Meyer's was BigCommerce's largest merchant at the time, and a successful rollout was the proof of concept that could bring every SC Johnson home-care brand onto the platform. A failed launch wouldn't just hurt Mrs. Meyer's, it would have ended the SC Johnson relationship entirely.

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The retail-vs-DTC gap SC Johnson needed to close without burning the shelf relationships that built Mrs. Meyer's.

“
“This was the first time BC partnered with a globally recognized retail brand to go from zero to one, and Jim was the perfect PM for the job.”
Rachel Gavinski
Rachel Gavinski
Key Account Director, BigCommerce
What I Owned

I Made Enterprise Plumbing Behave Like DTC

I owned the cross-functional machine: architecture decisions, vendor coordination, launch planning, and executive communication on both sides. The role was part program leadership, part solution design, and part political stabilization for a launch that had no margin for failure.

  1. 1

    DTC operating model

    Defined how BigCommerce, SAP, Salsify, Avalara, payments, fulfillment, and reporting had to connect for SC Johnson's first direct commerce motion, with no existing internal playbook to pull from.

  2. 2

    Integration pattern

    Established the SAP and BigCommerce integration logic that became the foundation for every SC Johnson home-care brand that followed. The decisions made here were reused for Caldrea and Method without rebuilding.

  3. 3

    Launch safeguards

    Pushed for Rewind backups and tighter launch discipline when the risk profile was too loose. SC Johnson's first DTC impression on BigCommerce's largest merchant account.

  4. 4

    Vendor and stakeholder coordination

    Kept SC Johnson, BigCommerce, agencies, and downstream system owners aligned across a 25-person, five-month program.

  5. 5

    Reusable stack architecture

    Structured the Mrs. Meyer's build as the first entry in a repeatable SC Johnson DTC pattern.

Solution

A Reusable DTC Stack Built on Retail Rails

The solution was building the launch model in a way SC Johnson could reuse. Storefront, product data, tax, payments, fulfillment, support, and marketing connected into one consumer flow, structured so the next brand could follow the same path without starting over.

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We built an ecosystem that merged SaaS with hosted, integrated the entire enterprise, and added value to the business in lieu of manual processes. This was a great digital transformation for SC Johnson and Son.

Impact

A New Revenue Channel That Proved the Model

SC Johnson entered direct commerce and proved it could scale without burning the retail relationships that built Mrs. Meyer's.

$15%
Revenue Uplift 
10%
Brand GMV Target 
2+
Follow-on Brands 
0-1
DTC Channel 
Problem

No direct-to-consumer storefront for Mrs. Meyer's and no owned first-party relationship with shoppers.

01
Decision

Defined how BigCommerce, SAP, product data, tax, payments, fulfillment, and reporting had to connect for SC Johnson's first-ever DTC motion, establishing the integration pattern from scratch.

Outcome

Mrs. Meyer's launched a working end-to-end DTC stack with 15% revenue uplift and a direct path to 10% of brand GMV.

Problem

Enterprise systems were built for wholesale and retail distribution, not parcel shipping, subscriptions, or consumer-grade commerce.

02
Decision

Connected BigCommerce, SAP, Salsify, Avalara, fulfillment, and Klaviyo into one consumer flow, replacing retail-era workflows with a parcel-ready DTC operation on a five-month timeline.

Outcome

SC Johnson's enterprise stack operated like a direct commerce business for the first time, with retail relationships intact at launch and after.

Problem

Every new SC Johnson brand launch risked becoming a separate, costly technology project.

03
Decision

Structured the Mrs. Meyer's build as a reusable pattern, making deliberate architecture decisions that Caldrea and Method could follow without rebuilding.

Outcome

The architecture and delivery model were reused for Caldrea and Method, turning one launch into a repeatable SC Johnson home-care DTC platform.

“
“Working with Jim was a life-changing experience.”
Jon Michael
Jon Michael
Stakeholder, SCJ Program Team
Recognition

Press & Accolades

The strongest proof here was: the launch worked, BigCommerce leadership recognized it internally, and the pattern became the foundation for more SCJ home-care brands to follow. Plus Jon Michael is super quotable.

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