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Company Overview - Smart Wool
Smart Wool was founded in 1994 by Peter and Patty Duke and was completely owned by RAF Industries in 2003. The company was acquired by Timberland in 2005. The current parent organization of the company is VF Corporation.
Company Origin
- Smart Wool started by making socks in 1994. It was founded by New England ski instructors Peter and Patty Duke in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
- The founders wanted to ski for a log time without getting cold toes and discovered Merino wool as the perfect solution for that.
How they grew
- In 1995, the founders approached RAF Industries for investment. RAF industry invested six figure sum in the company and acquired 30% of the Smart Wool company resulting in a revenue of approximately $300,000 in the same year.
- RAF industries further acquired another 29% of the Smart Wool Company since the founders needed to increase their capital.
- In 1996-1997, the company introduced new product lines such as running, biking and casual socks. The sales of the company reached $5,700,000 in 2007.
- LL Bean agreed to provide a product prominent placement in their catalog and its flagship store.
- In 1998-2000, Smart Wool struck a deal with wool growers association in New Zealand to get the best merino wool for their products. The company also started to expand beyond specialty ski and outdoor channels to distribute their products in selected big box retailers, upscale department stores and comfort shoe stores.
- In 2001-2003, the company's founders decided to sell all their company holdings to RAF and RAF became the sole owner of the company. Sales were increased with the pace of 20-30 percent annually.
- In 2005, the Smart Wool Company revenue was over $40,000,000 and the RAF management decided to extend the company as an apparel and international distributor co-branding it Timberland.
- In 2005, Timberland fully acquired Smart Wool company in a deal valued at $82 million.
- In 2011, VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, acquired Timberland making Smart Wool Company too fully owned by VF Corporation. The acquisition was expected to increase VF Corporation's revenue.
- In 2012, VF Corporation's revenue increased by 9% points due to Timberland Company which included Smart Wool company.
- In 2018, the global headquarters of the VF corporation were moved to the Metro Denver area to serve as home to Smart Wool Company.
- In 2019, outdoor Sports Marketing (OSM), a sales agency, was appointed by Smart Wool Company to market their products in new Southeast Territory (MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, TN, VA).
Locations
- There are about 5013 stores around the world.
Headquarters
- From 1994 to 2017 — Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
- From 2018 onward — Metro Denver area.
Products
- Their product line constitute socks, shirts and sweaters, bottoms, base layers, jackets, underwear and accessories for men, women and kids.
- Other products includes dresses and skirts for women.
Current Agency of Record
- Smart Wool named JAM Collective Company as their PR agency of record to take care of both traditional and emerging public relations outreach.
Competitors
- Some Smart Wool's competitors include Icebreaker and North Face in which, Icebreaker and North Face are under VF Corporation.
- Other competitors are sierra, patagonia, and marmot.
Revenue and other financials
- The annual revenue of the company is estimated to be $26.3 Million.
- The revenue for the VF Corporation's outdoor segment in 2019 is approximately $4,649 million and this includes brands like The North Face, Timberland (excluding Timberland PRO), Icebreaker, Smart Wool and Altra.
Research Strategy
We started by analyzing the Smart Wool's official website in the quest to find information regarding products, headquarters, locations, number of stores, and company origins. In order to find information on how they grew, competitors, and currency agency of record we combed trusted business newspapers, the company's annual reports, databases like crunchbase. For the current agency of record had analyzed the business newspapers and have found it in bicycle retailer website and have updated it accordingly. From these resources, it was found that Smart Wool was founded in 1994 and had its headquarters in Steamboat Springs, Colorado between 1994 and 2017 before shifting to Metro Denver area.