Michiel Van Crombrugge

Michiel Van Crombrugge is Associate Professor of Market Insights and Innovation at the Erasmus School of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He earned a PhD in Business Economics from KU Leuven. His research lies at the intersection of marketing, innovation, and economics.

He focuses on strategic marketing issues surrounding new business models in multichannel retail and platform markets. His research has been published in leading business journal such as the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Harvard Business Review.

At the Erasmus School of Economics, Michiel teaches courses on empirical marketing and marketing analytics.

From Partners to Competitors: How Branded Direct Channels Challenge Unified Commerce

Following the digitalization of marketplaces and the subsequent dominance of powerful online platforms like Amazon or Google, many brand manufacturers nowadays sell directly to end consumers through their own branded direct channels. These channels offer brands greater control over the customer journey, richer data, and new opportunities to create value through customization, exclusivity, and consistent brand messaging. But this shift is not without consequence. By going direct, brands fundamentally alter their relationship with downstream retail partners that still drive much of their reach and revenue, becoming both partners and competitors. This keynote explores the strategic implications of branded direct channels through the lens of recent research and market insights. It highlights how direct channels challenge the omnichannel model, how and why retailer responses to these channels vary, and what makes some retail partnerships more resilient than others. By examining how brands can harness direct engagement without jeopardizing their ecosystem of retail partners, it will equip retail leaders with a forward-looking perspective on how to navigate a world where brands no longer just sell through retail, but alongside it.

HBR article: https://hbr.org/2025/03/research-how-retailers-respond-when-brands-start-selling-direct