Consumer & Retail
Consumer and retail businesses move fast and leave little margin for error. When the situation demands experienced leadership and decisive action, Areté is built for exactly that moment.
Fast Markets. Complex Problems. The Depth to Solve Them Fast.
Our consumer and retail leadership understands the complexity of every consumer channel, with hands-on experience across FDMC, e-commerce, and omni-channel. We’ve had an inside seat in front of every major retailer — we understand the dynamics at play and how those channels’ key customers make decisions.
- Consumer Product Brands
Branded and private-label products across beauty, food, household, and personal care categories. Working capital, trade spend discipline, and go-to-market resets that reshape the cost structure without breaking the brand.
- Specialty Retail & Multi-Unit
Brick-and-mortar specialty retailers and multi-unit operators with deep expertise across food, drug, mass, and club channels. Portfolio rationalization, four-wall profitability, and lease restructuring where footprint economics and labor discipline determine whether margin holds.
- E-Commerce & DTC
Digitally native and omnichannel brands selling through marketplaces like Amazon and Wayfair as well as direct-to-consumer channels. Unit economics, fulfillment cost structure, and scaling operations, where CAC, contribution margin, and cash conversion determine whether growth pays for itself.
- Restaurants
Multi-unit restaurant operators, franchise systems, and emerging concepts. Four-wall economics, labor and food cost discipline, and unit-level performance where same-store sales and throughput shape margin.
Consumer & Retail Backroom Report
AI in the Backroom — From Hype to Operations
89% of retail and CPG leaders say AI has helped increase revenue, and nine in ten retailers plan to increase AI budgets this year. The question has moved past whether to invest — it's where AI is actually moving margin, and where the returns justify the spend.
The Leader Behind the Work
Mike has spent 30+ years inside consumer and retail businesses — as interim CEO, CRO, and CTO across public, private, and PE-backed companies. He's led turnarounds for dozens of consumer brands and retailers, with a blue-chip CPG foundation built at P&G, Pepsi, and Frito-Lay, and senior roles at KPMG Deal Advisory and Conway MacKenzie/Riveron. He's regarded as a subject matter expert in blue-chip CPG, grocery, mass merch, and e-commerce.