Martin Riley, Michelle Douglas, and Hugh Connelly didn’t depart Enormous to fill a market hole. They left to make nice work once more with individuals they trusted and revered.
“We favored making nice work,” Shophouse CEO Riley instructed ADWEEK. “We favored working with formidable purchasers. We favored working with proficient individuals who we like. And I believe that simply lets you form of level inventive functionality at various kinds of briefs.”
The trio started piloting Shophouse in late 2022, quietly constructing a globally distributed design home that blends strategic storytelling, digital expertise, and product innovation. They’re now formally launching the company, and Shophouse has already delivered main work for Procter & Gamble’s SK-II skincare unit and Tapestry manufacturers Kate Spade and Coach.
In addition to Riley serving as CEO, Douglas leads technique, and Connelly heads inventive. Additionally they have a rotating bench of senior freelance expertise world wide to assemble bespoke groups round shopper briefs.
The three founding companions had beforehand all labored collectively in senior roles at Enormous—Riley as world president, Douglas as group VP and shopper accomplice, and Connelly as government inventive director for Asia. Every left earlier than Enormous was acquired by personal fairness agency AEA Traders in December 2024.
Shophouse joins a rising wave of indie businesses launched by trade veterans disillusioned with the holding firm system. Within the final 18 months, a number of indie outlets like Studio.One, ImaginaryFriend, and Antidote have emerged with new fashions designed to be sooner, leaner, and extra adaptable.
For the Shophouse founders, the will to interrupt away was private.
“While you’re rising, it’s high quality,” mentioned Riley, recalling his time at Enormous. “While you’re shrinking, the one lever you’ll be able to pull is individuals prices. And it sucks. You simply kill your tradition.”
That dissatisfaction isn’t distinctive. A June ADWEEK survey discovered that simply 32% of staff at holding company-owned businesses described morale as constructive—in comparison with a transparent majority at indie outlets. Practically half of holdco staff mentioned they had been seeking to depart not simply their company, however the promoting trade altogether.
Connelly, agreed. “It acquired more durable and more durable to do the world’s greatest work,” he mentioned. “They have a tendency to shed senior expertise, as a result of senior expertise is the most costly. What you’re eliminating is individuals who have that kind of expertise and know methods to remedy large issues. You begin to attempt to remedy large, formidable issues with a junior crew—and when morale is low, that will get difficult.”
Whereas Shophouse operates like a inventive company in observe, its founders bristle on the time period “promoting company” and demand on being known as a “design home.”
“Design is strategic problem-solving,” mentioned Connelly.
They deliberately keep away from the bloated overhead of legacy companies—no workplace leases, large help constructions, or layers of center administration. “The concept is to not take funding,” mentioned Riley. “While you begin to take funding, you begin to compromise your rules. I’d reasonably earn little or no and preserve that independence.”
Proving the mannequin
Shophouse started informally when Riley approached P&G, his longtime shopper at Enormous, with a brand new manner of working. After securing approval from the model, the trio took on main SK-II assignments, together with model repositioning, content material libraries, and premium work throughout China.
“They threw every little thing at us,” Riley mentioned. “They knew what they needed us to do, they knew methods to use us, they favored the mannequin, and so they’ve stored working with us since then. We’ve by no means had a break day from SK-II.”
The company quickly added Coach and Kate Spade to its roster. “Coach repositioned for Gen Z,” Douglas mentioned, “and we had been actually in a position to take that repositioning and create new experiences for them.”
Shophouse additionally lately rebranded consulting agency Cprime as an “AI-native” model and is at present constructing its new digital expertise. Douglas mentioned that Shophouse is constructed to be versatile.
“As advertising and marketing modifications—channels, customers, expectations—we’re ready to flex and develop,” she mentioned. “This mannequin lets us try this.”
The three founders reside on three continents: Riley in Singapore, Connelly in Spain, and Douglas in New York. Their groups are unfold throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Their first credentials deck included a photograph of a desk clock set to a few time zones.
“We known as ourselves the world’s smallest world company,” mentioned Riley. “And we’ve grown with that angle.”
As for what’s subsequent, the crew is clear-eyed. “I might be completely satisfied if large manufacturers deliver us actual issues,” mentioned Riley. “And also you construct a repute of being the company individuals go to if one thing is large, if one thing’s going to be breakthrough—or if it’s damaged.”
