True Classic is continuing to expand its reach.
The Los Angeles-based men’s basics brand, which started out as strictly an online business in 2019, has been adding stores and expanding into wholesale over the past couple of years. True Classic currently operates nine stores around the U.S., and this month, will be launching in 460 Target stores. The line is also available in Kohl’s and Sam’s Club as well as on the Amazon marketplace.
The company, which was originally called True Classic Tees, was founded by Ryan Bartlett, Nick Ventura and Matt Winnick to offer an affordably priced alternative to the ill-fitting T-shirts they found in the market. Within two years, the business had grown to $100 million in sales and by 2022, the product was available in 192 countries. The brand has since expanded beyond T-shirts to polos, hoodies, activewear, bottoms, sweaters and outerwear. Sales today are about $500 million.
Bartlett, who had served as chief executive officer since the beginning, quietly turned over the reins of the business to Ben Yahalom, a former Facebook executive who joined the company as an adviser in the summer of 2020 and became president in 2022. He was elevated to CEO in June. Yahalom said Bartlett continues to be involved but that he is running the company on a day-to-day basis.
“From an overarching, strategic point of view, we just want to make amazing clothes that empower people to look and feel their best and be available wherever they may shop,” Yahalom said. “A lot of our customers love shopping for clothing offline and that’s in line with the majority in the industry where 70 percent of apparel is being purchased offline. But for us, until very recently, we were primarily only available online.”
Yahalom said True Classic will not be entirely abandoning its plan to add more retail stores, “but that’s a slower burn and there are just amazing opportunities for us to partner with the largest retailers to make True Classic available to people wherever they may be. Some people need their clothing faster if it’s a gifting moment or they are going for a vacation and we may not be able to deliver that quickly. And some people just enjoy the convenience of shopping in person and trying things on.”
Yahalom said direct-to-consumer still represents the bulk of True Classic’s business, but wholesale is gaining in importance, “and I would expect it to keep growing.” He declined to provide a percentage breakdown.
Jillian Sander, vice president of wholesale for True Classic, said the Target assortment is centered around T-shirts and includes a short-sleeve classic crew in five colors: black, white, navy, carbon and military green. Prices are $29.99 for one T, the same offered directly through True Classic and at other stores.
The assortment at Kohl’s is wider, she said, and in addition to a wide offering of classic Ts and polo, includes “a full wardrobing concept in select doors,” she said. That includes classic bomber jackets, select activewear styles, twill chinos and a French terry program consisting of a full zip, crew, sweatshirt and jogger.
Ts remain the core category for True Classic.
Courtesy of True Classic
Yahalom said True Classic has been investing in the infrastructure necessary to have a strong and viable wholesale business including working with its supply chain and logistics partners to ensure retailers get the product they need at the appropriate time.
“With Target, we just started conversations a few months ago and we’re already live in their stores,” he said. “That’s an unprecedented timeline from initial conversation a rollout. Everybody sees the potential and we’re just moving on this as fast as we possibly can. We’re also chasing the inventory to support a broader assortment. We think the opportunity is way greater than T-shirts but that’s just the one item we could support from an inventory standpoint for a December launch. But the future is definitely multicategory nationwide and the goal is to continue to add wholesalers.”
But opening retail stores is also in the cards, he said. “We have a few leases signed,” Yahalom said, including Las Vegas. Beyond that, he said True Classic will continue to be “very opportunistic. If a real estate opportunity comes about, we’ll execute the lease and move forward.” The goal is to add at least another 15 to 20 stores a year for the foreseeable future.
“We’re not setting hard-core numbers, so that might scale down or up depending upon the situation. It ultimately comes down to what are the expected operational expenses,” he said. “Can we be profitable in the four walls whenever we set up a new retail location? We pass on more opportunities than we sign but we pride ourselves on growing this brand profitably.”
