Landing a Dillard's Wholesale Deal: Vici Collection's Aimee Dudum

<p>Aimee Dudum Colorado is the Co-Founder and Chief Merchandising &amp; Marketing Officer of VICI, a women's apparel brand based in California. VICI's mission is to be the go-to destination for accessible, on-trend fashion—helping customers explore their personal style for every day and every occasion.</p><p>Founded in 2012, VICI has grown into one of the leading DTC brands to emerge from the Bay Area, with a retail presence in Nashville.</p><p>Aimee has been deeply hands-on since day one and remains both product and customer obsessed. She stays closely connected to the VICI community—regularly engaging on social and responding directly to customer feedback.</p><p>She leads fashion buying and brand direction with a strong point of view on emerging trends, grounded in a deep understanding of the customer. Passionate about styling and outfitting, Aimee is focused on inspiring confidence and helping women feel their best for every moment.</p><p>Aimee lives in Alamo, California with her husband and four sons.</p><b><strong>In This Conversation We Discuss:</strong></b><ul><li>[00:00] Intro</li><li>[01:02] Head-to-toe outfitting under $150</li><li>[02:10] Founding VICI with her stepmom</li><li>[03:45] Building a digital and social-first brand</li><li>[04:48] When organic social started driving sales</li><li>[05:11] Moving from phone orders to Shopify</li><li>[05:58] Klaviyo</li><li>[08:11] Why in-person shopping matters again</li><li>[08:58] What separates growing brands from the rest</li><li>[09:47] Leaving room in your playbook for moonshots</li><li>[10:45] How high brand standards stalled TikTok</li><li>[11:39] Flowium</li><li>[12:25] You're not Coca-Cola, so make some noise</li><li>[13:04] Launching in 60 Dillard's stores</li><li>[14:13] How the Dillard's partnership came about</li><li>[15:16] Choosing like-minded retail partners</li><li>[15:53] Intelligems</li><li>[17:32] The future of fashion ecommerce</li><li>[18:23] AI-generated looks and shoppable bundles</li><li>[18:59] Why VICI is selective about new AI tools</li><li>[19:41] AR and the at-home dressing room</li><li>[20:41] Balancing data with founder gut</li><li>[21:25] Why leaders should read every review</li><li>[22:30] Customer language is a free ad campaign</li><li>[23:39] Keeping customer care in-house</li><li>[24:29] Bring customer service into strategy talks</li><li>[25:21] Influencer-driven product development</li><li>[26:23] Where to find VICI</li><li>[27:04] Final thoughts</li></ul><b><stron