Rebel Athletic is fighting a spangled, appliqued fashion-forward guerrilla war against an industry giant.
THE AUDIENCE at Cheerleading Worlds 2013 expected pyrotechnics from the Cheer Athletics Panthers. Lithe and powerful as their mascot, the team of 36 teenage girls took the stage at Walt Disney World Resort and proceeded to show gravity who was boss. As gasp-inducing as their handsprings and back tucks were their uniforms: micro-crystal-drenched mesh with a muscular feline appliqué draped chest to hip. The effect was radical, as though Bob Mackie had been appointed wardrobe master at your local high school.
Karen Noseff Aldridge, founder of uniform company Rebel Athletic, had risked her startup’s entire $10,000 marketing budget to establish her brand at the event, the cheerleading calendar’s big kahuna. “Overnight, everybody knew who we were,” says Noseff Aldridge. “Following the reveal of that uniform at Worlds, we took in over $600,000 in 72 hours.”
The roughly $300 million market for cheerleader apparel is dominated by traditional sideline squads that rally crowds at high school and college games. A smaller but bigger-spending segment is All-Star—teams, like the Panthers, that live to compete. All-Star cheerleaders buy their uniforms from the specialized gyms where they train. Gym owners buy uniforms from manufacturers and sometimes act as their sales reps. As in Olympic figure skating, aesthetics matter in All-Star, where uniforms are sexier and flashier than their school counterparts.
Denne historien er fra March 2016-utgaven av Inc..
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Denne historien er fra March 2016-utgaven av Inc..
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Truff's Founders Want to Be the Ciroq of Hot Sauce. Daniel Lubetzky Advises:- The founder of the multibillion-dollar snack company Kind is helping Truff co-founder Nick Ajluni turn his condiment brand into a market leader.
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"WE HAD 10 EMPLOYEES, AND 25 LAWSUITS"
Hoan Ton-That, the controversial co-founder and CEO of Clearview Al, is confident that past scrutiny won't stop his company from netting $2 billion a year in revenue.
Marketers Hope the Odds Are Ever in Their Favor
Against industry headwinds, the country's fastest-growing advertising and marketing companies are nimble, specific, and good at what they do.
How I Used AI to Solve a Pharmaceutical Puzzle
Yoona Kim, 44, wanted to help people access health care.
