CAMP HERO RELAUNCHES BUSINESS WITH NEW WEBSITE, HIRES MICHAEL MACKO AS PARTNER
Camp Hero, the accessory brand that specializes in unisex hand-beaded items including belts, bracelets, cuffs and hat bands as well as other items has announced a re-launch of its business with a new website design and the addition of menswear industry veteran Michael Macko as a partner.
The brands founding business partners and childhood friends Allie Carroll and Dan Schneier began the company in 2014 based upon their mutual love of nostalgic 70’s and 80’s fashion, especially the whip-stitched beaded souvenir belts they wore as kids. The self-financed start-up enjoyed an impressive debut with retail partners such as Orvis, J. Crew, and STAG Provisions as well as creating exclusive partnered product for Snowbird Resort, Murray’s Toggery, Garden & Gun Magazine and Nordstrom’s Pop-In Shops as well as others.
After four years of promising growth driven by over 100 wholesale accounts the partners decided to reformulated the business strategy to focus on e-commerce. “As we enter 2019 there will be a real emphasis on e-commerce and developing new business verticals,” explained Carroll. This new strategy will be supported in part by the brand’s new partner, Michael Macko. “We are thrilled to have Michael join Allie and me,” added Schneier, “It was Michael who first discovered us and brought us to MRket Show in 2014. He’s been a mentor from day one, and his incredible creative perspective and business acumen will help bring Camp Hero to the next level.”
For his first big Camp Hero initiative, Macko helped spearhead a website redesign and re-focus of the brand’s ethos. “E-commerce and social media trends have radically changed how people shop and discover, so we wanted to make sure that our website not only did that but engaged the customer,” said Macko. “We also wanted to make sure that we still captured the playful nostalgia that inspires our products. We went through several re-branding exercises and kept on honing the essence of the brand until we came up with ‘Future Vintage’ as what the Camp Hero brand represents, we wanted every aspect of the web experience to reflect that.”
To that end, customers will find a website which utilizes still life and photo manipulation to help more accurately show the irreverent side of the brand. Product is merchandised into lifestyle categories that comes accompanied with classic movie quotes and Easter eggs hidden throughout the site.
The brand is also ramping up its assortment of product and frequency of product drops, including limited-edition items like the “Dia de los Muertos” belt that they re-launched with, as well as new product drops being put up every six to eight weeks, including adding in a “Festival” collection, which resonates with the Camp Hero customer and how they shop.
Along with these changes Camp Hero is also speaking with different sources of investment to finance additional hires and back of house support. “We have been self-financed up until now and that has worked out well, but to grow to the next level we need some capitol to help take us there, we are speaking to many different people, the interesting thing I as the market changes so do potential financial partners, it can now be a retailer, website or other brand, not just your traditional investors” said Carroll.
But, even with all of these changes underway at the brand, the Camp Hero team still finds wholesale a focus, and is not giving up on it – it is simply only adding new ways of finding success in growing the brand.
