Apparel/Accessories :: Page 7 :: millennialentrepreneurs.com

Archive for Apparel/Accessories – Page 7

Stitch Fix

Posted by Rachel Goetz

· Monday, November 23rd, 2020

· 6 Comments

Stitch Fix is an online styling service for women who are busy or need a change in their wardrobe. Each customer takes a style quiz and is assigned a personal stylist. The stylist picks out five personalize items that the customer would want to wear and sends them to the customer. There Is a $20 styling fee with every box to cover the stylists’ expertise and time. After trying on every product, the customer can return them for free or use the $20 dollars towards the clothes they want to purchase.

Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 by Katrina Lake. She started the company after her sister was her personal stylist and knew there was a market for women who needed or wanted fashion advice. She was attending Harvard when she shipped the first Stitch Fix box. When she first founded the company, they were only helping women but realized there was also a market for men. In 2016, they launched personalized boxes for men and offered plus sizes in 2017. As of 2020, they style men, women and children.

Stitch Fix’s mission as a company is to “change the way people find clothes they love by combining technology with the personal touch of seasoned style experts”. They take pride in knowing that each box is personalized for each client and that the personalized items can help them build their style. Lake’s goal when founding Stitch Fix was to help women discover their style and feel confident in what they wear.

Since Stitch Fix started, their sales have only gone up, making the company well-known and successful. They have over 2 million customers in the United States alone. Their sales and number of customers have gone up since the beginning of the pandemic. Their sales went from $370.3 million, a year ago, to $451.8 million in the second fiscal 2020, ending February 1^st. Many people have been turning to stitch fix for fashion styles and clothing pieces during the pandemic, instead of going to stores.

6 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Business, Clothing, Convenience, Fashion, Women Entrepreneurs

Uptown Cheapskate – A New Approach to Clothing Resale

Posted by bidelspachcr20

· Friday, November 20th, 2020

· 3 Comments

Scott and Chelsea Sloan, son and daughter of Brent and Shauna Sloan (founders of Kid to Kid), grew up watching their parents’ children’s clothing resale enterprise grow and become successful. As young adults, they began to see the need for a similar enterprise for their own generation. This lead to the development of their own company – Uptown Cheapskate. Uptown Cheapskate represents a new approach to teen and young adult clothing resale. They wanted to provide a more cost effective clothing option while still appealing to current styles and a positive shopping experience. They did this by designing upscale, modern stores and creating a better system for buying used items for resale. When you walk into an Uptown Cheapskate, it doesn’t feel like you’re walking into a thrift store. It feels as though you’re walking into a mall, but without retail prices! Their buying process ensures that sellers receive fair payments for their gently used clothing while Uptown Cheapskate keeps their racks stocked with high value, in-style items at low prices. In addition to creating a better customer experience within the resale industry, Uptown Cheapskate also encourages support for the environment and sustainable fashion. They understand that the increased consumption of new clothing items creates large amounts of waste, and that most used clothing ends up in landfills. Selling used clothing to Uptown Cheapskates allows your clothes to have a new life instead of adding to pollution. In the same way, buying used clothing instead of new is a much more sustainable way to shop!

3 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Clothing, Environment, Fashion, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Reselling, Sustainable

Under Armour: from a Basement to Stadiums

Posted by densmorear17

· Monday, November 16th, 2020

· 2 Comments

Clothing companies are a dime a dozen these days. It’s hard to scroll social media for more than 5 minutes without seeing another clothing company offering what they swear is a great deal on clothing you can’t differentiate from the last 12 advertisements you saw. Starting a clothing brand is a common outlet for entrepreneurs who don’t have any better ideas, but often if fails for lack of true innovation. Not Under Armour, though.

Kevin Plank, a former football team captain at University of Maryland, wanted clothing that would withstand sweat and rigorous physical activity. In 1996, he developed his first real prototype: The Shorty. The idea was that it was tight, light, moisture wicking, and dry. For the next couple of years, he developed heatgear and coldgear, and sold clothing from his grandmothers basement in Washington DC. After moving into a warehouse in Baltimore, it wasn’t until 1999 when Plank signed on to supply product for a football movie Any Given Sunday starring Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx that UA started gaining traction. Under Armour's history, from beginning to success and uncertainty - Business Insider

Wanting to make the most of the brand following the movie deal, the UA team decided to forego their paychecks and use them to purchase an ad in the ESPN magazine. This generated more than $750,000 of new sales and even more new brand awareness. By 2001, they were the official supplier for NHL, and had licensing deals with MLB and USA Baseball.

The main lessons to take away from this are differentiation and perception.

UA had to differentiate itself right off the bat in order to gain any traction. Thankfully, this was easier to do in 1996 than it would be today. In fact, it would be pretty difficult to differentiate UA from other clothing brands because there are so many that make similar items. But, it doesn’t matter because of the second lesson: perception. Because they were early to the clothing industry, they established their presence and dominance. While many Instagram-ad clothing brands are very comparable to UA items, UA has a distinct advantage: countless deals with NFL, NHL, NBA, or other teams, universities, movies, tv shows, or celebrities. They were able to differentiate themselves long enough to gain a brand loyalty and a favorable perception, and once they gained that favorable perception they no longer had to differentiate.

2 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Clothing, Sports

Travis Scott

Posted by HangliterTA19

· Friday, November 13th, 2020

· 4 Comments

Travis Scott is a secular rapper who grew up in Houston, Texas. Scott comes from a family of musicians and started playing the drums at three years old and continued to learn more and more about music as he grew up. Scott attended the University off Texas in San Antonio until he dropped out to focus and pursue his dream career. Travis Scott’s music started getting a lot of intention and suddenly, he was one of the most popular rappers. Scott’s story however, doesn’t end there and it hasn’t been a simple world of success with music. He showed an entrepreneurial spirit and mind with how he branded himself.

Travis Scott is very famous for his music, but he has used that popularity to expand into other areas of earning revenue and popularity. Scott has done several collaborations with Nike, designing shoes and clothes that have become sought after and very expensive on the resell market. His shoe designs have been super unique, even for Nike. Scott took a classic Jordan Retro 1 high and made the swoosh bigger, but then flipped it backwards and people fell in love with it.

Fortnite took the gaming world by storm and Travis Scott realized this so he seized an opportunity and performed a virtual concert in the game for more than 12 million viewers. This concert in the game was completely free, but Scott made a fortune off of his merchandise line where he collaborated with Fortnite.

Finally Scott also did a collaboration with McDonald’s and created a $6 meal. Scott was able to reach a much younger market with this meal and attract new listeners to his music. McDonald’s chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley said, “His ability to kind of see where culture is going and have a hand in where culture is going is really unique.” Travis Scott has time and again showed an entrepreneurial trait of always being able to adapt and find new ways to make money and attract new consumers to his brand.

4 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Male Entrepreneurs, Music, Sneakers, Social Impact

Mo’s Bows

Posted by osmonder19

· Friday, November 6th, 2020

· 4 Comments

At just 9 years old, Moziah Bridges became a ‘Kid-preneur’ and CEO of Mo’s Bows. He appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank at 11 years old and furthered his journey with investor Daymond John. Since then, Moziah has greatly expanded his company.

Moziah fueled his passion for this company based on a need – he couldn’t find any bow ties that fit his style or personality.

Mo’s Bows are unique, hand-made bow ties that “make you look and feel your best while catering to the sometimes conservative, fun-loving lady or gentleman.” Mo's Bows and Daymond John - Business Insider

Moziah stated that he wanted to expand his brand to eventually create a clothing line that has blazers and neckties. Currently, his company sells bow ties, of course, neckties, and now face masks. Graduating this past school year in 2020, Moziah dreams of being a fashion mogul and growing Mo’s Bows into a well known public brand.

When going onto Shark Tank, Moziah had sold over 200,000 bow ties. Currently, his company’s net worth is estimated at $2 million.

Moziah says that one of his favorite things about Mo’s Bows is being his own boss and making decisions at every step of the way. His mom is also very active in helping and supporting Mo’s Bows.

Bow tie baller: Memphis teen who started Mo's Bows partners with NBA | WREG.com Many people can recognize that Moziah is an inspiring entrepreneur because of his young, passionate success. However, they may not know that Moziah also has a redemptive entrepreneurship aspect of his company. His favorite bow tie is the Go Mo Bow because 100% of the proceeds are donated to help kids afford summer camp. Moziah recognized that the summer time is when child hunger is at it’s highest, and he believes in the importance of kids going to summer camp and having a fun time.

There’s a lot to be learned from someone like Moziah. From a young age, he took a passion and turned into a successful business all while having fun.

4 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Fashion, Handmade, Male Entrepreneurs, Redemptive Entrepreneurship, Shark Tank, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Jewelry Is Cool

Posted by benedictsj19

· Sunday, October 11th, 2020

· 3 Comments

Bella Weems was like any other young teenage girl. All she wanted was a car for her “sweet sixteen”. Cars are cool, so every sixteen year old must have one. Her parents had no interest in spoiling their daughter. So they told her to work for it. Bella quickly brainstormed what she could do to make enough money to afford a car. She decided she was going to sell jewelry. Bella started Origami Owl, creating unique jewelry to empower, inspire, and motivate. The jewelry venture was incredibly successful, helping Bella achieve her goal of buying a car for her sixteenth birthday. Cars are cool. Jewelry helped get a car. So jewelry must also be cool. Her company has received praise from Terri Kimble, the CEO of Chandler Chamber of Commerce.

Bella on the left

It is inspiring to see someone so young achieve their goals. Bella had a goal in mind- getting a car. She never let this goal escape her and she was determined to reach it. She was driven for the car- haha pun. Bella has the entrepreneurial trait of solving problems. She had a problem, which was not having a car. She solved it by starting a business.

https://santansun.com/2019/07/18/mother-daughter-jewelry-company-sparkling/

3 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories

An Entrepreneurial Response to COVID Lockdown

Posted by benedictsj19

· Sunday, October 11th, 2020

· 1 Comment

Rebecca Cox, a fourteen-year-old from Nova Scotia, has always been an entrepreneur. Throughout her short life she has been finding new markets to target. One example being her rock selling venture in second grade. But she recently faced a large challenge to her entrepreneurial spirit-Coronavirus lockdowns. Like many other entrepreneurs, she knew she had to adapt. With only the supplies at her own home to start her next venture, Rebecca had to be ingenuitive. She quickly noticed an opportunity. The same material for making masks at home can be repurposed to make scrunchies. Rebecca immediately got to work and posted advertisements. She managed to sell 67 scrunchies, making a profit of $200.
In addition to selling scrunchies, Rebecca started another business in the midst of the pandemic- a small summer day camp. Though initially hesitant about the risks of Coronavirus, she noticed a market desire for a small summer day camp. Parents did not want to send children to large, conventional camps because of the virus. But the parents still had to work and were much more comfortable sending children to a smaller camp. Rebecca and her friend made $1000 in their summer camp service. It is worthy to note that the summer camp was no ordinary summer camp. Rebecca even structured the camp around entrepreneurial activities. She helped the small children in the camp make lemonade and cookies to sell at the curb, allowing them to split the profits.

Rebecca, pictured on the right

Throughout the summer, Rebecca also helped her mother make 800 masks to donate. Now that in person school has started, she has received many more orders for scrunchies.
Rebecca is driven to help others. She is an empathetic person that wanted to help parents, children, and medical workers. What is unique about this child is her work ethic. Most children her age would likely be at home playing games during the lockdown. But Rebecca got to work, managing two businesses and making masks for donation.
Rebecca has the important entrepreneurial trait of recognizing pain and finding opportunity. She recognized the pain of the parents when they needed a safe option for their children while they could work. Rebecca is also a great real-life example of innovation through lack of resources, noted by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Island, in which there was a lot of diversity despite lack of nutrients. Rebecca was limited by the pandemic and only had a few resources to work with. Her recognition of opportunity and ingenuity with simple materials is very impressive and inspiring.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/lifestyles/local-lifestyles/because2020-stuck-at-home-nova-scotia-teen-embraces-entrepreneurial-spirit-505756/

1 Comment

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Lemonade

Warby Parker: Good eyewear, good outcome

Posted by densmorear17

· Friday, October 9th, 2020

· 2 Comments

Eyeglasses are no new invention. People have been using corrective lenses in some form for centuries. Stylish frames are no new invention either. People have been wearing (what they thought were) stylish frames for almost as long. But making the “designer” frames affordable and worth the cost is new. The founders of Warby Parker saw a problem: eyeglasses are too expensive. This became apparent when the team that would go on to found Warby Parker was on a backpacking trip; one of the members snagged his glasses on his pack causing them to break, and because of the cost spent the first semester of grad-school without badly needed glasses. The others had had similar though less dramatic experiences, and decided to do something about it.

What they realized is that the eyeglasses market occupied almost entirely by one company. Because this company had a virtual monopoly, they could charge sometimes outrageous and almost always inflated prices. Warby Parker was conceived to offer consumers an alternative. Warby Parker designs in-house, interacts directly with customers, and avoids traditional channels. This allows them to create better eyeglasses (since they interface with customers directly and have a finger on the pulse of the market) for cheaper (because they have more control over their costs and savings).

Their belief is that everyone has the right to see. While there are about a billion people globally without access to glasses, 15% of the world cannot effectively work or learn due simply to bad eyesight. Warby Parker wants to change that, and they’re moving towards this goal by ensuring that for every pair of Warby Parker glasses purchased, another pair is given to someone who would not otherwise have access.

What’s interesting about this brand is the sort of social-enterprise-commercial-enterprise-hybrid that it takes on. Warby Parker is not a non-profit, but they’re not a “for-profit” either; they seem to tread the line between the two in the sense that they take profit, but they don’t exist for the purpose of it and they’re not particularly motivated by it. Instead, they’re “for-good”, with profits simply happening on the side.

You can learn more about Warby Parker (or shop their products) at their website.

2 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Fashion

Habits365

Posted by flennikenjj18

· Wednesday, October 7th, 2020

· No Comments

Most high-school seniors tend to worry more about their college decision and finishing out their high school career strong. However, if your name is Eli Zied you are more worried about managing life as a high schooler on top of running your constantly growing apparel business. At the age of 17 Eli started Habits365 which is a lifestyle apparel company built on the principle of encouraging good habits. His entrepreneurial and business genes stretch much further back. At the age of 12 he started reselling expensive sneakers to make some extra money and he quickly fell in love with fashion and apparel. As he fell in love with shoes he got into fashion and began to closely follow all the biggest fashion brands. Following these brands closely gave him an eye for style and what people were looking for. Eli surrounded himself with entrepreneurial minds and learned the ins and outs of the industry. Five years later he started his own brand and was able to apply all the knowledge he gained selling shoes to Habits365.

While reading about Eli I noticed a few traits that are common among entrepreneurs and some that were unique to him as an individual. The common traits he possesses are innovation, desire, ability to identify problems, and willingness to take risks. Starting an apparel brand in a saturated apparel market is extremely difficult but Eli possessed the necessary traits to not accept failure. Eli also has a few traits that make him unique. He possesses a deep desire to help other people and promote living a positive lifestyle. He did not start Habits365 because he wanted to make money and be rich. He started it to provide cool apparel that promotes people being the best version of themselves. He wants to help other people succeed by making clothing that gives them confidence. Eli started a commercial enterprise with clear social value.

No Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Clothing, College, Fashion, Healthy Lifestyle, Male Entrepreneurs

Gymshark- Ben Francis

Posted by Rachel Goetz

· Friday, October 2nd, 2020

· 5 Comments

Gymshark is a fitness and sports apparel brand founded in 2012. Ben Francis, the founder of the company, created this company with some of his high-school friends. He was only 19 years old when starting the company. He was a full-time college student and worked night shifts at a pizza shop. The money he earned helped him to start his company. Francis couldn’t find athletic apparel that he wouldn’t want to wear. He started making his own clothes after learning how to sew from his grandmother. He would work out of his parents’ garage and create around 10 clothing items a day. He created clothing pieces while earning a degree and working.

After two long years of hard work, he made over $320,000. He realized this company had potential and dropped out of college. After focusing on Gymshark full-time for eight years, he is about to make over $130 million in sales. Francis said the secret to his company’s success was “using social media influencers with large followings to wear the brand and spread the word online.”

Francis sold the company to Steve Hewitt, sportswear expert and Gymshark’s new CEO. Hewitt had experience in business and has helped the business grow, as well as their sales. Francis is still a major stakeholder in the company.

The three main values of Gymshark are family, progression, and vision. The family of Gymshark are athletes, artists, and visionaries. They are all around the world and all bring the visions of the company to life. Progression is making the products with a mindset of the future. Vision is bringing the ideas to life. All ideas are accepted.

I think it’s inspiring that Francis created the company at 19 years old. He found a way to balance college, work, and building a company. Francis shows us that we can achieve anything though hard work and determination.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6227737/Gymshark-owner-entrepreneur-Ben-Francis-26-Birmingham-tells-story.html

https://www.gymshark.com/pages/about-us

5 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Athletics, Business, Fashion, Fitness, Uncategorized