How I Opened 70 Stores - Featuring Dani Axelrod

How did you build a career path in Stores?

People often describe retail as an “accidental career,” one you find yourself falling into. I started my career in Store Management at Intermix, working my way up to Manager of Store Operations over the course of 6 years with the company. I was fortunate to have incredible mentors at Intermix who taught me the basics of the business, of course, and also reminded me that my passion and drive were equally as important. Thanks to my time at Intermix, I was well-prepared to become the Director of Store Operations for Peek Kids, where I streamlined store operations with a focus on profitability before becoming Director of Retail Operations for Eloquii. During my four years with Eloquii, I was able to refine my retail operations skills, building their store channel from scratch. I started with Rowan as the Senior Director of Stores in 2020 when our Founder & CEO Louisa Schneider first set her sights on brick and mortar expansion. I’ve worked directly with her ever since to help build our brick and mortar portfolio, and I’ve loved every minute of it.

How have you taken Rowan from 0 Studios to 70 Studios in 3 years?

When I joined the team, Rowan had already proven the desire of “piercings by licensed nurses” with a successful at-home piercing business in the New York Metropolitan Area and partnership with Target. They were also testing a standalone studio on the Upper East Side. Louisa brought me onto the team when she decided she was ready to take the leap and invest in growing Rowan’s brick and mortar presence. We landed on initial locations that not only emulated the customer and service expectations that we saw on the UES, but also ensured we were diversified enough to glean insights into whether this concept was something we could ultimately grow into a larger fleet. With this in mind, the first three locations we opened together were Westport, CT, Denver, CO, and Atlanta, GA. Last year, we doubled our studio count nationwide. Now, we have 70 studios open and are looking to end the year with over 100 locations. With so many areas to focus on, it can become more challenging to determine exactly where our studios should be now that we have hit we have already opened in all the more ‘obvious’ places. As we’ve scaled, bringing on team members and partners with expertise in other business functions has been instrumental. We continue to leverage key learnings and customer data from our open studios to determine the best places for us to reach our target audience as we expand our portfolio.

What is the biggest challenge for stores in 2025?

Customers are actively seeking authentic, immersive in-store experiences – yet, these are becoming increasingly rare! As an ear-piercing brand, our business is centered on providing a one-of-a-kind, experiential service that naturally draws people in. Beyond that, we take pride in our commitment to safety and our celebratory, welcoming environment. We aim to make each customer feel valued and unique, ensuring their experience is exceptional. Highlighting your core strengths is key to creating a truly outstanding customer experience, and that’s exactly what we strive for every day.

What advice would you give to someone hoping to emulate your career path?

The relationships you build in your career are essential not only to your personal growth but also to the success of your company. Take every opportunity to expand your network and nurture relationships with people of all levels of their careers. You never know when or where you’ll find your next professional opportunity.

Come hear from brands sharing their own “How I Did This” stories at The Lead Summit 2025 (May 28-29 in NYC)! Register here.