Away responds after becoming the latest "it" brand to come under fire

Away is one of those seemingly all-too-perfect “millennial brand’” success stories. The DTC luggage upstart that entered a tired, old category, flipped it upside down and became a model for so many others. The innovative “start-up” is now valued at over $1.5B. Its co-founders, Jen Rubio and Steph Korey? Marketing rockstars. Sought-after speakers. Fixtures on every whatever-under-whatever, most innovative and other entrepreneurial-worshipping lists.

As the saying goes, though, into each life some rain must fall.

Right now, the monsoon is pounding on Steph Korey’s head after a blistering expose-style article ran last Thursday on The Verve. If you have some time, it’s an intriguing read that makes you think an extra second about what goes on behind-the-scenes at these hot “Internet brands;” larger issues and philosophies about work-life balance; management style and motivation; and what makes a great workplace culture. The key takeaway for most, from the long and rather detailed article, is that AWAY is not a particularly pleasant place to work. And the story’s chief antagonist is clearly co-founder Stephanie Korey.

Now, I have to admit that my relative tolerance for certain so-called “atrocities” of the modern workplace tends to be be significantly higher than others (insert ‘OK, Boomer” comment here…I’m not, but fine). I do believe that skin is a little too thin these days, and views on expectations a touch too light. That said, calling your team “millennial tw*ts” and consistently taking to Slack to undress employees in front of their peers in the wee morning hours are probably not on any management “best practices” list.

But while the article and all the Twitter piling on was fascinating to read, I found myself immediately more intrigued by the notion of what would happen next. Right on the heels of the Peloton pounding (for, one could argue, far less “serious” reasons), how would this impact the brand? And how would they respond? Specifically, after being the bullseye of thousands of Internet daggers, would Stephanie Korey comment?

Well, we got the answer late Friday afternoon (interesting timing, no?) from Korey’s Twitter account. The full content of that statement is posted below. The text that accompanied these screen grabs? “Making things right at Away”:

Alriiighty, then. I’m not a “crisis comms” guy, so I wouldn’t claim to be an expert specialist. I have tons of respect for some of the masters out there, who deal with crisis and issues for brands day in and day out. It’s a special talent. However, in my 20 years of PR, I have certainly been a part of more than a few crises and the corresponding war rooms, debates and tense discussions. Here’s my take on this particular response. It missed.

Now, I’ve never met Steph Korey, but it’s clear she’s incredibly smart and driven. It’s part of what has helped the company she co-founded become so successful. It’s also clear from the commentary and quotes outlined in last week’s article that she has failed to master some of the nuances of great leadership. There is always a balance in these types of public statements. How to speak in a real world, authentic voice, while also getting across key facts or company “messages.”

Here, though, whomever was advising Steph and Away may have benefited from helping her find an alternate voice. This statement is too authentic, judging by what many readers “learned” and likely deduced about Korey from the few thousands words published Thursday. This statement comes off in all the wrong ways. Light on remorse. Heavy on defensiveness. Long-winded. Self-centered. If I’m supposed to believe that this was a humbling and enlightening experience for Korey, I didn’t walk away with that perception.

From the first line, it seems to be a statement fighting itself.

I’ll take some culpability, but we were trying to run a business on fire and it’s hard.

“At times” “those moments” “how I said it.”

And then barrage of stats on “page 2” espousing much they’ve changed and how generous and progressive their policies really are.

I don’t know, maybe it’s me. Perhaps others took it differently. I’d want a much clearer, more concise paragraph. I f-d up. It’s unacceptable and embarrassing. I want to apologize to my employees and the company. Our people and our customers deserve better. Here’s how we’re fixing it. Let me earn back your trust.

Sure, there is the employee story and fall out. But just how many customers will go away during this critical holiday stretch? Will be interesting to watch…