Tag Archives: fashion

by | Tuesday, April 23, 2024 · 7:42 am

Tiger Woods Launches a New Brand – Sun Day Red

Even if you know very little about golf, you can probably recognize professional golfer Tiger Woods wearing his signature red Nike swoosh shirt …. Oops… I forgot, no more Nike shirts for Tiger, he ended that relationship a few months ago after 27 years of sponsorship.

Now, Woods is launching his new brand with TaylorMade Golf. But he still favors the red polo shirt for Sunday rounds. He’s even named his new brand “Sun Day Red” albeit with a tiger embroidered on the shirt instead of a swoosh. The tiger logo is composed of 15 stripes which is the number of championships won by Tiger Woods.

Sun Day Red will be marketed as a premium lifestyle brand for athletes, fans, and non-athletes alike, including apparel, hoodies, shoes, and cashmere sweaters. In essence, the company will be combining golf with fashion and leisure for lifestyle wear. Woods isn’t the only athlete to launch such a lifestyle brand; Roger Federer, Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, and Venus and Serena Williams have also entered the marketplace with their own lifestyle/sports brands.

Products will be available online beginning in May, to be followed by international expansion. While pricey, the items are not extreme – polo shirts from $114 – $175, and cashmere sweaters $250 – $350. While TaylorMade does not yet have golf footwear, it’s reportedly under development.

Shall we get a tee time next Sunday?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss how professional athletes have started their own brands.
  2. Show website: https://www.sundayred.com/
  3. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  4. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a professional athlete who also has a brand associated with them. (Include Tiger Woods as one of the athletic brands.)
  5. For each athlete, including Tiger Woods, direct the team to build a SWOT analysis grid.
    1. Strengths: what is the brand good at?
    1. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    1. Opportunities: what is going on in the marketplace?
    1. Threats: what should the brand be wary of?
  6. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur for each brand?
  7. Debrief by building SWOT analysis grid on the white board.

Source: Ferguson, D. (13 February 2024). Tiger Woods unveils Sun Day Red, a new apparel brand with TaylorMade. Associated Press; Hirsch, L. & Friedman, V. (12 February 2024). Tiger Woods introduces his new brand: Sun Day Red. New York Times.

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by | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 · 7:46 pm

Did you get socks for Christmas?

Time for true confessions: Who got (or gave) socks for Christmas? And who was happy about it? Don’t be shy – raise your hand with pride.

Of course, when we think back to when we were small children, one of the most dreaded gift was SOCKS! No kid wants socks – they want TOYS! But is that still true as an adult? Are we more willing to accept socks as a gift of love?

Well, even if it’s not the most-wished-for gift for Christmas, socks are nonetheless a top gift at the holidays, accounting for nearly a third of all apparel items purchased in the fourth quarter. Market research firm Circana expected socks to outperform other clothing purchases. For example, Smartwool sells 2 ½ times more socks in November and December than the other months of the year; last year three-quarters of all socks sold during the year were purchases in the same months.

Winter is (no surprise) a top season for sock purchases. Not only do our feet need warmth, sock sizing is pretty easy to guess, as well as being an affordable purchase. Socks can be (ahem) stocking stuffers, a part of a gift basket, or an impulse buy. Even the traditional advent calendars can come stuffed with 24 days of socks.

According to Statista.com, the market for socks is expected to be more than $14 billion worldwide in 2024, with annual growth of 2.7%. That’s a pretty flat rate, but it is very consistent year-to-year, and socks are one item that routinely wear out and needs replacement.

While the traditional white-only-athletic socks are still popular gifts, now consumers can buy funny socks with foods, hobbies, pets, bright colors, unique patterns, and more.

Are your feet warm enough?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students about Christmas gifts that they gave and received.
  2. Who got socks? Who gave socks? What was the response?
  3. Show video: https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/12/29/exp-happy-socks-ceo-live-12293pseg2-cnni-business.cnn
  4. Show various sock websites such as Happy Socks: https://www.happysocks.com/us
  5. Bombas socks: https://shop.bombas.com/
  6. Socksmith socks: https://www.socksmith.com/
  7. Amazon socks: https://www.amazon.com/novelty-socks/s?k=novelty+socks
  8. Have students research the sock market. An example is Statista: https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/apparel/men-s-apparel/socks/worldwide#price
  9. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a theme for socks and develop a unique sock, along with a marketing plan, paying particular attention into the timing of sales and distribution opportunities.

Source: Fung, E. (24 December 2023). The item that’s on Christmas lists every year – and some don’t like it. Wall Street Journal; Meyer, A. (26 December 2023). Socks for Christmas? Happy Socks’ CEO explains why it’s such a common holiday gift. CNN (Video).

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by | Thursday, December 7, 2023 · 7:00 am

Skim’s Now Sells Shapewear for Men

If there was any doubt that shapewear for men was becoming a growing, and competitive category, then Kim Kardashian’s Skim brand has put the issue to rest. Skims has just added men’s boxers, briefs, t-shirts, tanks, and more to its product offering.

But what is shapewear? Briefly (no pun intended), shapewear is tight-fitting underwear that controls and shapes a figure. This is a significant industry segment that is estimated by market research firm Circana to reach nearly $6 billion in the last 12 months.

The latest trend in the industry today? The hottest trend in the shapewear industry are garments designed specifically for men. Just as for women, the men’s shapewear is intended to help men look their best under clothes.

The upmarket Skims brand is seizing an opportunity to bring higher-end products to men’s wear, long comminated by mass brands selling multi-packs and discount-priced items. Skims, along with several other higher-end brands, is taking a different approach, showing men there is a different level of comfort and performance for their under garments.

Skims is using star athletes to promote the brand, including soccer stars, NBA players, and NFL players in its ads. Sports is a good place to reach men who are looking for performance wear.

Skims launched in 2019 with women’s shapewear and lingerie and is expected to have revenues of $750 million this year. Skims also stated that it started its menswear line at the request of its female shoppers.

What will you buy?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has bought higher-end shapewear for themselves or others? Why?
  2. Discuss the stages in the product life cycle. What are the marketing objectives in each stage?
  3. Where is women’s shapewear on the PLC? Where is men’s shapewear?
  4. Show websites for men’s shapewear: Skims for Men: https://skims.com/pages/mens
  5. Spanx: https://spanx.com/collections/mens
  6. Core Wear: https://getcorewear.com/
  7. HisRoom: https://www.hisroom.com/
  8. Students may also look for additional manufacturers. What are the main marketing messages being used?
  9. Divide students into teams. Have each team draw a PLC and plot various clothing and accessories on the chart.
  10. What does it take to reposition a product on the PLC?

Source: Lieber, C. (23 October 2023). Kim Kardashian wants men to wear Skims, too. Wall Street Journal; Valinsky, J. (23 October 2023). Kim Kardashian is making Skims for men. CNN; other news sources.

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