9 Men's Underwear Brand Success Stories
Underwear is an essential part of any person's wardrobe, and the men's underwear industry has grown to be quite large.
There are many companies that specialize in men's underwear, such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Hugo Boss. These companies have been able to keep up with the demand of this growing industry by offering quality products at reasonable prices.
The demand for men's underwear has risen because it offers an alternative to traditional cotton briefs. Men are increasingly realizing that they don't want the same old thing when it comes to their underwear; they want something that feels like luxury and provides them with comfort and support.
With so many opportunities available today, it's easy to see why more people are turning to this industry in order to start their own businesses.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a men's underwear brand:
1. Bunch of Animals ($60K/year)
Krystian Frencel (from Toronto, Ontario, Canada) started Bunch of Animals almost 4 years ago.
Hello, my name is Krystian Frencel, and I’m the founder of Bunch of Animals, a men’s luxury underwear brand, AKA, the Bentley of banana hammocks. I’m also the co-founder of a Toronto based design and development studio, 3magine. I don’t have previous e-commerce experience and have never been involved in creating a physical product. I have wanted to combine my experience in web design/development with creating a physical product and learning e-commerce for some time now.
2. SHEATH LLC ($3.6M/year)
Robert Patton (from Woodland Park, CO, USA) started SHEATH LLC over 8 years ago.
Hello, my name is Robert Patton and I am the CEO of SHEATH, a premium men's pouch underwear company that sells to active men in over 74 countries.
We sell mainly men's underwear, but recently introduced the women’s line and we are currently generating over $4K a day in sales with that projected to double by end of summer 2019.
3. Nooks ($9.6K/year)
Zaid Shahatit (from Toronto, Ontario, Canada) started Nooks over 2 years ago.
Hi, I’m Zaid - a 22-year-old from Toronto, Ontario Canada (eh). I started Nooks - a sustainably made, crazy comfy men’s underwear line for regular, everyday guys. Our first product is a classic boxer brief made from beech trees that’s more breathable, comfortable and softer than cotton. I started the brand with about $500 for manufacturing a few hundred hundred boxer briefs (2 colors, 3 sizes each) and some marketing dollars to build up an email list before launching.
Things started off slow, but a PornHub ad that went viral on Imgur really boosted our sales in the first month. Since then, we’ve been focusing mainly on Reddit, Imgur and SEO to try to build up brand awareness. We also have a small but very engaged community on Instagram that really connects with the brand. Over the course of the past month, we’ve sold about $700 of underwear and have already had a few returning customers. It’s not much, but we’re definitely growing and I’m having an awesome time running the company.
4. Stonemen ($960K/year)
Marc Debnam (from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia) started Stonemen over 14 years ago.
Hello fellow entrepreneurs, my name is Marc Debnam and I head the brand Stonemen.
We are based in the lovely beachside town of Byron Bay, where we have a great balance of work and lifestyle. Stonemen are sold globally through Stonemen.com and are stocked in over 100 stores.
5. TomboyX ($24M/year)
Fran Dunaway (from Seattle, Washington, USA) started TomboyX over 9 years ago.
My name is Fran Dunaway and I am CEO and Co-Founder of TomboyX. We make underwear, swim, and loungewear that isn’t for everybody but is for anybody.
That’s right, a gender-neutral company that is focused on fit and quality. We are all inclusive so offer every style in sizes XS to 4X. We’ve gone from zero employees 2 years ago to 15 today and have consistently increased our revenue over 100% each year.
6. Tommy John ($100M/year)
Tommy John launched in 2008, and the company has grown 2.5 times year over year since 2014 and is expected to exceed $100M in sales this year. Read this story on this disruptive brand to see what they did to make underwear so hypnotizing.
Tom Patterson and Erin Fujimoto (from New York, NY, USA) started Tommy John ago.
Tommy John launched in 2008 with the world’s first patented undershirt with a stay-tucked guarantee and has since expanded into underwear, socks, casual wear, and performance gear.
7. MeUndies ($75M/year)
Direct to consumer underwear start-up MeUndies is willing to take risks with provocative advertising that courts controversy to help it steal the spotlight in a busy market.
Jonathan Shokrian (from Los Angeles, CA, USA) started MeUndies ago.
Shokrian, 34, got the idea for his company while trying to buy enough underwear to get him through a two-week European trip with his friends nearly a decade ago.
8. CDLP ($2.7M/year)
Andreas Palm, co-founder of high-end men’s underwear brand CDLP, has spent the four years since the brand was founded building up a team that was mostly made up employees from the brand’s Stockholm headquarters. But now that his entire team has been working from home for a month and a half, Palm said he’s realized there’s no reason he can’t recruit talent from all over the world.
Christian Larson and Andreas Palm (from Stockholm, Sweden) started *CDLP * ago.
Andreas Palm, the co-founder of high-end men’s underwear brand CDLP, has spent the four years since the brand was founded building up a team that was mostly made up of employees from the brand’s Stockholm headquarters.
But now that his entire team has been working from home for a month and a half, Palm said he’s realized there’s no reason he can’t recruit talent from all over the world.
9. Under Armour ($5.3B/year)
A deep dive on what went wrong at Under Armour, how they plan to fix it, and the long-term outlook of their business.
Kevin Plank (from Baltimore, MD, USA) started Under Armour ago.
Here’s a mind-blowing stat — Between 2010 and 2016, Under Armour’s revenue grew from $1.1 billion to $4.8 billion, accelerating at a compounded annual growth rate of 28.7%.
The four years since?
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