Montana Knife Company pulled in $1.7 million over Black Friday weekend without discounting a single knife. Co-founder Brandon Horoho explains how: five targeted product drops, one for each customer persona. An email cadence so aggressive he was watching unsubscribe rates like a hawk. And a VIP program where the reward shows up unannounced in your mailbox. It's a story about knowing exactly who your customer is and giving them what they want before they ask. Also: why Brandon actually high-fives when his repeat customer rate goes down.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Five years of Black Fridays, zero discounts on knives
- Five product drops targeting four buyer personas (hunt, culinary, EDC, tactical)
- 104% revenue increase year-over-year ($1.7M in 4 days)
- 58% returning customer rate driven by VIP tier program
- Email strategy: 3 emails + 2 texts per drop day, almost every day of BFCM week
- Paid ads ramp August-October to fill the funnel, then email/SMS takes over
- 21% AOV increase from cross-sells (hats, shirts, cutting boards, seasoning)
GUEST LINKS
Montana Knife Company: montanaknifecompany.com
MKC on Instagram: instagram.com/montanaknifecompany
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The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.
