Brand merch deep dive
Let's put the kibosh on boring t-shirts and totes.
Good morning. Long letter today, beware.
Some quick news:
I’ve been wondering wondering when there would be a public markets pure play on GORPcore. VF Corp and Deckers (Hoka) were previously the closest, but imperfect and not pure GORP. On Thursday, Amer Sports (Arc’teryx and Salomon) revealed a 30% revenue surge for the first nine months of 2023 in its filing to go public in the US, joining other high-profile firms looking to take advantage of recovering investor appetite. US IPO’s are projected to rebound as the stock market hovers near record highs.
Tactile textiles have overtaken luxury branding as the ultimate style flex. Logo recognition is one thing, but being able to identify brands based on thread-count and weave is another level.
$7.4B software company Carta is being accused of trading customer shares without consent. The dispute has raised questions about how Carta is using private information gleaned from customers of its platform to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive secondary market for start-up stocks. On Saturday morning, Carta chief executive Henry Ward responded to Saarinen’s post to say he was “appalled that this happened” and that the company was investigating what it said appeared to be a rogue employee violating its policies.
Rihanna’s baby daddy A$AP Rocky is in a new Fenty campaign. Power couple, and an exciting revelation that Fenty is for the boys.
I’m digging the New York Times’ Connecticut coverage. Amelia Nierenberg became their Connecticut correspondent at the end of last year, and it’s been really fun to read. The latest from Nierenberg is a deep-dive into the world of New Haven pizza.
Blank Street says the chain’s new subscription program could eventually account for 30% to 40% of its customers. Hmmm, I’m going to talk to their team about this for you guys.
What do your post-college ex and Elon have in common this January? They both got really into microdosing shrooms.
RIP Bowery J. Crew Men’s store, 2022-2023. Well that’s a bummer, especially with the seemingly successful men’s rebrand. One person responded to the Tweet, “I walked in once to buy a bunch of tshirts - they were professional/cordial, but they had to tell me they didn’t have any and were not a regular J Crew store. It seemed like they were trying to do sort of a Noah retail experience but for J Crew, which is a little confusing.”
One of the perks of my job is I get sent a lot of stuff. Most of it is great, but a lot of it goes directly into the donation bin. I don’t want more t-shirts with a random CPG brand’s logo printed across them. I don’t want more totes that take up precious real estate in my small apartment. I really don’t want cheaply made hats. And the worst part is I don’t want to deal with breaking down all the cardboard that this shit comes in.
Here’s what I want: for brands to wait to make merch until they can do it well. If you don’t know what makes good promotional items for your brand, don’t make it, or hire someone who does know how. Have a sense of humor. Think higher of me, your customer. Here are some things I’ve received recently that I quite like:
An ashtray from modeling agency No Agency, a mug from production company Ways and Means, and this pouring spout from Ghia which is probably from Alibaba but I like it.
If you’re going to make t-shirts or sweats, make sure they’re good quality. If you can’t afford that, don’t make it! Easy. Matches, lighters, and magnets are always a great starting point for brand collateral, because they’re cheap and USEFUL. I have too many wedding invitations and not enough fridge magnets. When it comes to what your graphics, don’t just put your logo on a thing. Like… I wouldn’t wear a Graza shirt but I would wear a shirt that said “I survived the olive oil war of 2023.” You know? I wouldn’t wear a Fairlife shirt but I’d wear a bedazzled tanktop that says “MILK.” If you wouldn’t wear it or think it’s thought-provoking, don’t make it. Stop making junk.
Alright, now that that’s out of the way….