We Are the Superlative Conspiracy (WeSC) decided to bring back its license deal, a 10-year arrangement with Oved Apparel, which also has license deals with brands such as PRPS and Modern Culture, in-house in the U.S. to try and get the brand back in line with the American marketplace.
According to an interview in WWD with the newly appointed CEO of WeSC America, Jospeh Janus, “There’s a big disconnect with this brand. We have men’s and women’s apparel, footwear, and headphones.
“There are a lot of moving parts and it’s hard for any master licensee to have expertise with everything. What the board realized is that you can’t run a business in the U.S. from Sweden and we needed strong management in the U.S. Oved was great at men’s but not women’s, shoes, or headphones. So the decision was made to bring the license in-house and incorporate out of the U.S.”
WeSC is well-known in the streetwear industry for being leaders in design, especially men’s denim and headphones. They plan to release new collections under new men’s designer, Mattias Sahlin, and women’s designers Natalia Altewai and Randa Saome, at Agenda, Long Beach, CA in January, 2014.
Currently, WeSC is a $10 million business in the U.S., but the majority of sales come from men’s apparel. According to Janus, they hope to expand the women’s business, to make the business more 50-50.
As we’ve noted in previous stories on streetwear, one of the main areas of potential growth is with women’s streetwear brands. The industry is currently heavy with men’s brands, but the expansion into women’s is increasing, especially with concentrated efforts by trade shows such as Agenda Women’s.
WeSC also plans to expand with more stores, especially in NYC, and eventually make the United States, it’s strongest marketplace.
