Blac Label Premium Making A Splash in Urban Fashion

Bright colors, bold patterns and larger sizing defined the line’s signature from the start. “I was aware of Juicy Couture Men’s and other couture brands and I saw how they were using different elements and techniques,” he said. “I know that my Total Sports customers had never seen that and some may have laughed at Juicy Couture Men’s, but there was some cool stuff happening there besides the pastel colors.”

He included elements like reverse seams and utilized a cut and sew process to define the tees which were also sized larger than average to accommodate the 285-300 lb pound man. “They missed a host of other trends,” he said of the big and tall male consumers who were being under-served when it came to designer apparel. “They couldn’t buy clothes and jackets and whatever have you with licensed goods.”

The price for the inaugural batch of men’s shirts was about $25, which was critical to the brand’s short and long-term success according to Black. The formula proved effective as the brand has gone from $6 million annually in sales to over $50 million just in menswear. They expanded in 2007 to include women’s wear, footwear, kids apparel and accessories.

A part of its solid trajectory can be attributed to the line’s direct distribution channel Up Against The Wall. Headgear Inc. acquired the retail chain ,which has 23 locations across the country, in 2008.  “Up Against the Wall is going to be critical to trying to increase our sales,” said Black. “We make more than margin with Up Against the Wall than with any of our other customers.”

As for keeping the momentum going, Black says that strategy aligns with market demands. “For Blac Label as a brand, there has been a lot of retooling with the change and the change in trends,” he said. “We’re just going to continue trying to give  customer’s elements that they haven’t seen from other urban lines, and try to be  first when it comes to picking up on trends.”