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Thank you for your (and my) definition of a sell-out. I could not agree more. And it is not even remotely relatable to what we have and will continue to do. And for the record, Olimar messaged me personally to let me know his (and my) definition of a sell-out. So he is being addressed personally on here....
We have ALWAYS made the clothing we want to wear. In 2006 we made what we personally wear and in 2013 we make what we personally wear. Brands evolve, as do people. It is a part of life. And thankfully there are some intelligent and rational people on this forum who understand that.
You don't think we could have cashed in and sold the company to any of the conglomerates who have approached us looking to slut-out our brand to every rental shop on the planet? You don't think we could have made 10x the money we have made by selling our clothing every retailer who has approached us over the past 7 years? You don't think we could have made hundreds of colorful, bold, oversized sweatshirts annually and dumped them to the market? You'd be a fool the think otherwise. That is the definition of a sell-out.
We have always undersupplied demand and that was intentional. If you can show me a company that has done more to avoid making money than us, I want to hear who. People we know are dumbfounded by our willingness to avoid cashing in on what is readily available to us. Most of our friends think we are idiots for not backing up the brinks truck and loading it up. We deny 95% of the retail requests we get. We get hit up daily by stores looking to stock the brand and we continue to say "no". We could re-produce products that sell-out quickly and make hundreds of thousands of dollars on revenue on those pieces each season. That is not be bragging, those are just facts. If we wanted to make money we would have gotten into an entirely different industry. You think that the people who started with $400 in clothing (12 t-shirts and 12 sweatshirts) and who grew that to 3 flagship boutiques and 110 retail partners in 16 countries (the majority of which are in Europe and Asia) might know something about growing a business? There is a reason we have the attention of so many larger brands in our space.
Every year we have gotten criticized by customers saying that we have gotten away from where we started. This goes back to 06/07 so it is nothing new to us. You are not the first nor will you be the last who says that forgot where we came from? What is skiing clothing? You tell me since you seem to know what that is. Is it some oversized hoodie with bold graphics and bright colors? Do you think skiing owns the rights to tall clothing or bold graphics? Do your research. Galaxy started that trend in the late 80's. Kids in Newark bought their maternity wear and turned it into airbrushed oversized t-shirts. Every rapper and hip-hop artist of the era wore them and a few years later so did skaters and then skiers and snowboarders after that. But the ebbs and flows of fashion happened and people started to wear clothing that was more fitted. It was a phase and that phase passed. We make the clothing we like and it just so happens that our friends like and wear that clothing too. That is because they too have evolved. We still sponsor a team of athletes who are our homies, we still support them as we have from the beginning, and they wear our clothing too. They wear it because they like it. Even guys like Wally have grown. It is just the way life works.
I will sit back and let people rip us all over the place. It typically doesn't bother me because we have gotten used to it. People try to bring you down when they are unhappy with their own lives. Those of you who are starting your own brands remember that the most vocal people are usually the ones who have the least to offer. They are the ones who feel especially tough sitting back and criticizing the moves of those who step out and take a chance.
Maybe I should be above this and maybe my time is better spent ignoring comments like yours. But when someone gets on their computer (not in person mind you) and spits off some kind of bullshit about us being sell-outs I won't sit back and let them get away with it. You, Olimar, member on this site for less than 2 years who has not link to his real identity on NS, have no idea what you are talking about. You are going to directly call me out, then you will be directly called out. If you have any further questions or would like further clarity on anything I have written, you can call me on my cell. Message me and I will give it to you. I am back in the US on Friday afternoon briefly and I leave again for Europe on Saturday morning for a week.
Thx to the rest of you who understand that we are continuing to evolve and will never abandon the roots of the brand. We will continue to grow as a brand and our offering will continue to evolve as well. So so so much in the works right now.
Thx
-Pete
