The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 19 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 1 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
The pre-2009 bag market was a race to the bottom
“There wasn't a bag company that had a heartbeat. It was more of a race to the bottom than a race to a story”
Cormack: Brands should act as co-stars to their customers
“We've always wanted to be sort of a co-star in the movie. We didn't want to be the star of the movie, and we wanted the individual to be the star”
Multi-brand retailers validate new brands to consumers
“Their job as retailers and as merchants is to curate offerings. So if you're sitting next to other awesome brands, they're telling the end consumer that this brand is cool too.”
Backpacks accrue higher sentimental value than footwear or apparel
“The value at point of purchase is so much less
Then the sentimental value they have once they own it.
And it's different than so many other industries that I've looked at more than footwear or denim or, you know, any other purchase.
Once they own a backpack, b…”
Pre-Herschel bags were too busy and lacked a generational brand
“So, for us, when we looked at bags in general, I think it was the one category that probably our generation didn't have. One that we could call our own. It seemed like there was the right denim, the right footwear, the right eyewear, the right watches. Bags ju…”
Trade shows were Herschel's entire initial retail launch strategy
“Our whole strategy was definitely going to trade shows. And it's where people congregate. It's where people after the trade shows have drinks at the bar if they drink or dinners. There's conferences around there. There's thought leaders in the space that usual…”
Herschel was featured on the cover of the GQ gift guide
“GQ the next day requested one of our bags to be shot in their studio, and we ended up on their, the front cover of the GQ gift guide for that year”
Herschel took risk ordering 7,000 units against just 4,000 wholesale orders
“I mean, we had collected orders of about 4000 pieces, and I think the minimum order after talking to our facility in Asia was 7000 is what they wanted us to order to be able to produce every single SKU, and those are some big conversations for us.”
Herschel's founders launched the brand with no manufacturing knowledge
“The biggest weakness here, guys, is that we didn't know how to manufacture. We could see it. We could see it on the wall. We could see the lookbooks. We could see how we wanted to story. We could see and feel and hear what this brand even, like, we knew exactl…”
Herschel Supply Co. has been consistently profitable since 2011
“Year one didn't turn a profit, albeit it was a very small year, but since 2011 and on, we, we've always been profitable.”
Herschel expanded to five countries globally by its second year
“Year two and three, we were in five countries around the globe, not just in North America.”
Herschel operated like a sneaker brand rather than a bag company
“In the early days, we act like, more like a sneaker company than we did a bag company, because that's more what we were into. And we weren't into how bag companies, especially in our price category, were acting. And I think that was an important distinction.”
Hybrid work environments directly benefit Herschel's bag business
“The hybrid work environment now that most people are in, it's pretty good for Herschel too, because you're taking your laptop with you from your work to your home, from your home back to work, so you need a bag or something to carry your stuff.”
Herschel pivoted to 95 percent sustainable materials during the COVID pandemic
“We switched over a 95% of our fabrics and materials to be from a sustainable fabric. That's a big, big decision as a brand that is selling millions and millions of pieces a year to go and do that, and to have the team that has to touch every single department …”
COVID-19 lockdowns severely harmed Herschel's commute-dependent business
“COVID was not good for Herschel at all. The majority of the products we make are people going to school, people going to work, people going to the gym, people going to festivals, people going on trips and, you know, it really set us back. To be honest, it was …”
Vans sales contacts became Herschel's initial retail accounts
“Conveniently enough especially with how a brand like Vans bridged itself from action sports to fashion, we were already going to places and selling to stores that would ultimately end up being some of our first accounts.”
Herschel sold 7,000 to 8,000 bags in its first year
“It was between the seven and 8000 units that we sold”
Founders cold-emailed hundreds of bag factories found via Google
“We literally turned to Google and started to Google things like how to make backpacks, how to start a backpack factory, where to make backpacks, and we took our little PDF on the same email, and we sent it to, like, hundreds of email addresses we found in comp…”
Initial factory samples had quality stitching but failed the aesthetic vision
“Shapes were off guy, measurements were wrong, details weren't there. The bags were stitched properly, the quality was there, but the shape, the feeling, the drape, the total aesthetic we were going for wasn't even close so.”