Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters loves it. Outdoorsman staple Dick’s Sporting Goods loves it. Your local
No, I’m not talking about athleisure wear, although the love in that space continues to grow and thrive.
This time, I’m talking about college and sports team-branded apparel. Nothing is more recognizable or gives a better nod to two of America’s favorite pastimes (sports and college) quite like a logo tee, hat or hoodie. And thanks to its forward-thinking innovators, the market is poised to present something for everybody.
I first took note of the craze in early November, after American Eagle announced that it had acquired Tailgate Clothing Company. Tailgate is a small company that produces among other things, goods that American Eagle describes as: “a vintage, sports-inspired apparel brand with a college town store concept.” Tailgate traces its roots back to 1997 when it was founded by industry veteran Todd Snyder, who has held positions at
With a $3.04 billion market cap, American Eagle reportedly shelling out $11 million in cash and stock for Tailgate might seem like a drop in the bucket, but it still sends a very clear message to me: They believe there’s room to grow Tailgate's nostalgia appeal and overall concept.
But it turns out that college-inspired apparel is no small potato in the retail space.
For context, the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), which among its other entities, currently represents about 200 colleges, universities, bowl games, and the NCAA, estimates that the retail market for collegiate licensed merchandise is a whopping $4.6 billion. Retailers a la
But, it's companies like Tailgate that are disrupting the standard offerings by presenting merchandise that harkens back to bygone eras.
Also, since we're here, let's not forget the upstarts.
Consider one such company, Hillflint, which is a whopping three years old and run by two 25 year olds. Hillflint aims to corner the market on luxury college apparel, making that hoodie seem "old hat," to say in the least.
Co-founder John Shi says that a failed hunt for the perfect college memento while he was a senior at Dartmouth got him thinking. Shi wanted to buy a product, "that was worthy of my college years, and in 2012, everything felt uninspired,” he says, in an interview with Forbes.
So, since he couldn't find what he wanted, in order to satisfy his quest, Shi went to work and made it happen. He reached out to his fellow classmates and used a crowdfunding campaign to solicit interest and funds for what became his first batch of premium soft-knit college sweaters.
After the sweater did well among his classmates, Shi says he realized that he had a winner on his hands: a niche product with little-to-no competition. He contacted Woody Hines (now a co-founder), who was attending college at Princeton. The two had met through an internship program, and Hines, who ran a style blog at school, introduced the sweater concept to his classmates, where it also saw success.
The duo eventually quit their jobs and went into business on their own full time. Today, Hillflint is available at over 80 schools across the country. In addition to its website, Hillflint merchandise is sold through e-commerce channels and in traditional bricks-and-mortar shops.
Shi and Hines continue to grow their business thoughtfully, and happily report that one of their top intern teams sold 450 sweaters in a season. Better still, in anticipation of the recent Harvard-Yale game, the duo says Hillflint sold over 800 sweaters this past season.
While not all companies are destined to become the next Tailgate or Hillflint, it looks like a collective love for our colleges (and their sports teams) is one trend that will benefit retailers season after season. And, as a fan of college tees myself, it's one I'll be happily watching like a hawk.
