The Ugly Christmas Sweater Craze Drives One Retailer’s Business -12/16/19

From the Simplr studios in San Francisco, this is your daily briefing.  

Introduction

This is Today in Five, for today, Monday, December 16th, I'm Vincent Phamvan with today’s headlines in digital disruption.

The ugly Christmas sweater craze is more than a tradition for one retailer, it’s their entire business. Ugly Christmas Sweater.com has found success selling bizarre and fun holiday sweaters online.  

Hulu Launches Ad Experience Targeting Binge-Watchers

Hulu launched a new ad experience that allows brands to specifically target binge-watchers. The ads will utilize machine learning techniques to determine when someone has begun to binge-watch a show and will display contextually relevant ads acknowledging a binge is underway. Hulu says it made sense to target binge-watchers because it’s such a common way for people to watch their favorite shows. 75 percent of consumers in the U.S. say they binge-watch, and on Hulu specifically, nearly 50 percent of ad-supported viewing hours are spent during binge-watching sessions. Among the brands to use the new ad format are Kellogg’s, Maker’s Mark, and Georgia-Pacific.  

LuLulemon Says Cites Men as Promising Customers

Lululemon built its brand by driving the athleisure trend with women, but it’s now saying its most promising customers are men. Lululemon’s chief executive, Calvin McDonald, said total revenue for men’s apparel grew 38 percent in the third quarter, citing strong sales of outwear, pants, and underwear. Executives also told investors that 21 percent of Lululemon’s $3.8 million dollars in sales last year came from men’s products. McDonald said the company plans to double its men’s business by the end of 2023.

Walmart Loses a Top Digital Executive

One of Walmart’s top digital executives is stepping down. Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos and senior VP of digital consumer brands at Walmart, announced he was leaving the company in a LinkedIn post. Dunn joined Walmart in June of 2017 when the retail giant acquired Bonobos. Dunn didn’t give any indication about why he was leaving Walmart, but his departure comes at a time when Walmart is scaling back its efforts to acquire digitally native brands to focus on incubating more of its own brands.  

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Craze Drives One Retailer’s Business

It’s holiday party season and one company has built its entire business around the ugly Christmas sweater craze. At first, the company sold sweaters with just a retro reindeer or Santa, but now they feature Popeye’s chicken sandwiches and biscuits and lobsters from Red Lobster, and they’re going viral. The co-founder of Ugly Christmas Sweater.com has turned the business into one of the biggest sellers of ugly holiday sweaters, with the company’s latest Popeye’s chicken sandwich sweater becoming an instant success.  

In just a few years, ugly Christmas sweaters have evolved from a byproduct of hipster culture to an annual tradition embraced by entire families. According to the company’s co-founder, they first noticed the ugly holiday sweater trend in 2011, when people were having ugly sweater parties at home. After going on eBay and seeing some of the sweaters going for $100 to $300 dollars, he decided to get in on the action. He and his brother launched Ugly Christmas Sweater.com in 2012, funding it with $5,000 dollars of their own money.  

The first year, they made $40,000 dollars in sales, but the following year, revenue jumped 300 percent and it kept climbing. The co-founder said that competition has grown, with retailers like Costco, Walmart, Macy’s, and Nordstrom all selling ugly sweaters,  “so we’re always thinking about how we can stay ahead and stay competitive.”  The styles have evolved to contain more bizarre selections like 3D sweaters and even politically-themed designs. “But it’s all in the spirit of fun,” said the co-founder.  

Closing

Don’t forget, Simplr can help you scale up for the holidays with 24/7 customer service support. Learn more at simplr.ai. That’s S-I-M-P-L-R.ai.

Thanks for listening to this latest episode of Today In Five. I’m Vincent Phamvan, and we’ll see you tomorrow.