SHARK TANK’S BUTTERCLOTH MAKES WHOLESALE DEBUT

Industry veteran Vince Gonzales will introduce DTC apparel company Buttercloth—the patented, mint-infused, Icy Cotton shirt collection—to the wholesale market for the Spring/Summer 2025 season at New York’s Best Menswear Show at the Park Central Hotel on Sunday, July 14 to Tuesday, July 16. Buttercloth Chief Operating Officer Bob Stevens says the move comes after seven years as an exclusively direct-to-consumer brand.

“We’ve had explosive growth,” Stevens says. “While we love having a direct relationship with customers, we think it is time to broaden our footprint to allow the consumer to see, feel, and try on Buttercloth up close. It’s the one thing we can’t do online.”

Stevens also noted that the brand is in no rush to build a large wholesale footprint. “Our company culture is to do things slowly and strategically and to build a solid foundation. We have hundreds of thousands of loyal customers. Our plan is to start with a select group of better men’s stores and build that foundation. Vince is a seasoned pro in the better menswear space. He has an extensive network. He has an infectious enthusiasm for the brand. It makes him a perfect partner.”

Gonzales says, “Buttercloth is a world-class brand. This is an exciting time to work with it. The brand has developed new categories. For their next steps, they’re interested in having the right trading partners, the right distribution, and the right brand adjacencies.

The collection’s suggested retails are for wovens: $138.00 for short sleeves and $148.00 for long sleeves. T-shirts are $68.00, Henley, $78, and cotton/cashmere blend sweaters, from $138 to $178, all at 60% margins.

CEO Danh Tran spent 20 years with major brands before launching Buttercloth in 2017 and making a $250.000 deal with Robert Herjavec on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2018. The brand has expanded not only in size but also in products and fabrics. In 2020, Buttercloth launched the first-of-its-kind patented cooling technology, mint-infused Icy Cotton. In 2023, it introduced its first women’s collection.