Stance (brand)

Stance is an American sock, underwear and T-Shirt brand founded in December 2009. Stance is headquartered in San Clemente, California. As of March 2015, the company had sold over 36 million pairs of socks and raised over $115 million from investors.[2][3]

Stance
TypeDelaware C Corporation
IndustryClothing
Founded2009
HeadquartersSan Clemente, California
Key people
Jeff Kearl
(Chairman & CEO)
John Wilson
(President)
ProductsSocks, underwear, T-Shirts
Revenueest. $180 million (2015)[1]
WebsiteStance.com

In early January 2015, Stance began raising $50 million to fund their expansion into the underwear market.[4] In April 2016, Stance raised an additional $30 million in a funding round that valued Stance at $400 million and was led by Mercato Partners and included August Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Menlo Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Sherpa Capital as returning investors.[5][6]

Stance was named the official sock of the NBA and MLB in April 2015 and May 2016, respectively.[7][8]

The company has 18 US retail stores in Irvine, Las Vegas, Cabazon, Livermore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Clemente, San Diego, Tulalip, New Jersey, Chicago, and Minnesota. In October 2018, Stance opened their first International store in Covent Garden, London, England.

History

Stance was founded in 2009 by Jeff Kearl, John Wilson, Aaron Hennings, Ryan Kingman and Taylor Shupe. The original founders saw an opportunity to address a category of fashion they felt had been overlooked by many brands and the majority of the industry.[9]

The company first began shipping product in August 2010, and now ships over 15 million pairs of socks each year. Stance has raised a significant amount of venture capital and is sold in over 40 countries worldwide.[10][11]

In March 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported the company had raised $50 million from Silicon Valley venture capital firms and that the brand would be expanding into men’s underwear. In April 2015, the NBA announced that Stance had been named the official on-court sock of the NBA starting in the 2015-2016 season. As part of the deal, Stance would be allowed to display its logo on all socks worn on-court by players, a first in NBA history for apparel companies.[12] Stance opened its first store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City in November 2015.[5]

In 2015, Stance posted a 356% employee increase from the previous year, reaching 114 employees, at its San Clemente headquarters. Stance was listed No. 24 on the Orange County Business Journal’s list of the 51 Biggest Based in Orange County Apparel Businesses.

Between 2017 and 2020, the company has undergone several rounds of layoffs.[13]

The brand won Best Socks of the Year in 2017 with their tribute to rapper, Gucci Mane.[14]

Sponsorship

Stance’s brand ambassadors are called "Punks and Poets". They include musicians, athletes, designers, artists, stylists, writers and photographers.[15]

Athletes
Musicians/Bands
Models
Designers and Stylists
  • Imogene Barron
  • Ronnie Fieg
  • Alexandra Spencer/4th & Bleeker
Artists/Illustrators/Photographers
  • Brooke Reidt
  • Josie Ramondetta
  • Langley Fox Hemmingway
  • Mark Oblow
  • Russ Pope
  • Kid Creature
  • Todd Francis
  • Bijou Karman [17]

See also

References
  2. "How Stance Socks' Innovative Approach Led to its NBA Deal". sneakershouts.com. 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  3. "Crunchbase: Stance". Crunchbase.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  4. "Luxury-Socks Startup Stance Raises $50M to Expand Into Underwear". Wall Street Journal. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  5. DiMartino, Mediha (2016-05-02). "Sock Maker Raises $30M". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  6. "Stance valued at $400M with $30M Series D". Pitchbook. 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  7. "NBA Agrees Licensing Deal with Stance Socks As League Official Sock". ESPN. 2015-04-27.
  8. "Stance signs deal with MLB to be official sock provider". ESPN. 2016-05-24.
  9. http://www.sanclementetimes.com/business-beat-stance-locks-original-contract-with-nba/
  10. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/03/05/luxury-socks-startup-stance-raises-50m-to-expand-into-underwear/
  11. https://www.stance.com/about
  12. http://www.mensjournal.com/style/collection/stance-socks-adds-its-logo-to-the-nba-uniform-20150427
  13. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Stance-Reviews-E1100877.htm
  14. "BEST SOCKS OF 2017: STANCE". Sneakscore. Sneakscore. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  15. https://www.stance.com/punks-and-poets
  16. "Rihanna Teams Up With Stance For Sock Collection". BallerStatus.com. July 15, 2015.
  17. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/11/rihanna-stance-bijou-karman-artist
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