Happy Monday! This is our second FREE GAME newsletter! In today’s edition, you will find highlights such as Mike Amiri’s journey, how Mark Ecko almost lost his brand name, and our 5 favorite blank brands at the moment.

Manifesting Your Dreams: How Amiri Became a $300M Empire 

In 2014, Mike started Amiri from a basement on Sunset Boulevard. He wrote this contract to himself on New Year’s Day as a promise that he wouldn’t break, no matter what it took to achieve his dreams. 

Before this, he followed his parents’ dream by going to college at UCLA then Loyola Law School, but knew deep down that his heart wasn’t in it. 10 years later, Mike Amiri has transformed a 30k investment he put on Amiri to a $300 million a year fashion brand. Here’s how:

1. Quality Products: Amiri has built a reputation around quality and attention to detail. 

   • To maintain quality, he controlled expansion and kept production in LA to oversee the design process. 

   • For attention to detail, he used a lot of innovative techniques to set him apart from competitors like distressing clothes with a shotgun, stitching, and unique finishes. 

2. Intentional Brand Building: Mike was very intentional about all of the strategic partnerships he made for Amiri. 

   • For Amiri’s first launch, he partnered with Maxfield, a prestigious boutique in LA, which positioned the brand to appeal to a luxury, high-profile audience. 

   • For influencer marketing, having celebrities like Usher wear Amiri was a huge boost for visibility and credibility initially. 

   • When it came to the youth and streetwear world, having rappers like Pop Smoke talking about Amiri in songs built up a lot of hype for the brand.

Gotta Give ‘Em that Hawk Tuah: Monetizing Going Viral

What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?

“You gotta give ’em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang,” Hailey Welch (aka Hawk Tuah girl) exclaimed. Let’s run the video:

After being featured in a man-on-the-street interview from creators Tim & Dee TV, Welch saw the video going viral at around 2 a.m. while getting ready for work and said she “shit a brick”. 

Last time we saw a situation like this was the “catch me outside, how about dahh” girl Danielle Bregoli (aka Bhad Bhabie)” who reportedly made over $50 million on the subscription site OnlyFans. An adult film representative informed TMZ that their website expected to see 4.7 million searches for the term "hawk tuah" by Tuesday.

Having this much motion 🤯 could lead to life changing money if she plays her cards right and she’s already making moves…. She just signed with a management firm called The Penthouse and filed Trademarks for Apparel and Comedy. 

Her merch site called 16minutes.life (a joke on the phrase "15 minutes of fame”) has sold more than 2,000 hats already and must have brought in at least $65,000 on hats alone as of July 3rd. 

“Two weeks ago, it was just my granny and me in itty-bitty Belfast, Tennessee. Then I say something silly and now my life has changed. Isn’t God great?! Can’t wait for what’s ahead,” Welch said.  

4x NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal (aka DJ Diesel) gave Welch same free game on fame: 

“Keep a "smart team" around you to combat those trying to take advantage of your sudden rise to fame and ignore the hateful comments “

How Ecko Got a Cease & Desist Over Their Name

Ecko Unlimited (Ltd.), founded by Marc Ecko, dominated the streetwear game between the 90’s - 2000’s and became a $500 Million Dollar empire. They were recognized by their signature Rhino logo and were seen on everyone from hoopers to skaters to graffiti artists. 

But there was one thing that Marc f*cked up on that led to the one of the largest legal hiccups for the brand : the trademark of “Echo”.

Echo Design, a company that sold home furnishing, served Marc Ecko with a cease and desist over the name “Echo” claiming that it was too similar to their trademark. This trademark dispute put Echo Ltd. into a serious pickle. They had spent years building up the “Echo” brand, however the trademark was taken. They decided to pivot to the name “Ecko” and change Marc’s legal name to “Mark Ecko” to bolster the new trademark they filed.

FREE GAME:

At the end of the day a clothing brand is a business, here at Superline we want to highlight the good and the bad for all the brand owners out there. 

Small brand owners, BE CAREFUL with using other brands as inspiration and make sure your brand is distinctly different from other brands’ names, logos, and designs or you can get into some serious sh*t. 

If you’re looking to stay in the game for long, get a trademark ASAP. Watch this video to learn how. 

Luxury Retail is Dead: Saks Fifth Buys Neiman Marcus for $2.65 Billion

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, is buying Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion and calling it Saks Global. 

So why are they doing this? Luxury retail is facing two large threats:

1. Rising Competition from fast fashion (everybody and their moms has a brand)

2. High Inflation (prices $ going up)

This acquisition will give them more power and less costs. 

More Power: This merger gives Saks Global more bargaining power which means that they can fight for better prices and terms when buying inventory from luxury suppliers like LVMH (owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy).

Less Costs: Remove any duplicated costs that both businesses may be paying for

Department stores like these struggling to find ways to remain profitable and appeal to the next generation of younger customers. 

So what does this mean for you? 

The politic’ing of navigating luxury retailers relationships that brands like Rhude and Fear of God had to do to “make it” are no longer part of the playbook for your clothing brand. Getting into luxury retail is still a big plus, however one could argue that it’s not as important with the internet.

It’s a level playing field to break into fashion. Great ideas, designs, and stories is what REALLY matters. 

Some of our favorite Blank Brands

Here are the 5 Best Blanks Brands for Your Clothing Brand in no particular order:

LA Apparel: Standard fits, wide selection

MADE Blanks: Unique garments, 3 week custom wash-and-dye program

Superline Wholesale: Best value, streetwear garments, wide selection

ShakaWear: Standard everyday tees and fits

Blanks by Thirteen: Most known for cozy heavyweight hoodies

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