For more than a decade, digitally-native, vertically integrated brands (Warby Parker, Allbirds, et al)--as well as other innovative direct-to-consumer (companies (from Wayfair to Rent-the-Runway to Poshmark)--have sucked up a lot of attention in the industry and attracted many billions of venture capital. Yet as more face the harsh light of the public markets we're learning that some are rather small businesses and most are losing quite a lot of money.Does the recent meltdown of Casper suggest that the sky high valuations of DTC brands are about to crash back to earth, or should we be more sanguine about the "growth over profit" strategy that most are pursuing. In particular, we discuss why the idea that significant direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies could be built without physical stores was a flawed investment premise and why it's turned out to be so difficult to profitably scale many of these brands. We also remind listeners that vertically integrated DTC retail is far from new, and wonder why legacy brands (Duluth Trading, Lands' End) carry anemic valuations relative to the insurgent brands that are far smaller and continue to hemorrhage cash. But first we open up with the Top 3 retail stories that caught our attention this week, including continued strength in US retail sales despite waning consumer confidence, what to take away for the most recent batch of retailer earnings reports and unpack just what the heck happened at Casper.Photo by Jp Valery on UnsplashSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here.Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada’s top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!