Clothes inspired by tattoo and graffiti art aren’t fading for Huntington Beach-based Sullen Clothing Inc.
Sales are up 50% from a year earlier, according to Sullen partners Jeremy Hanna and Ryan Smith.
The company doesn’t disclose annual sales, which the Business Journal estimates at about $5 million a year.
Sullen is part of a group of clothing makers that go after 18- to 30-year-old guys who like an edgier, alternative look.
The company’s clothes are known for graphic designs featuring skulls, snakes, eagles and scantily clad women.
Sullen overlaps some with makers of clothes inspired by mixed martial arts, a sport that combines various types of fighting.
But Sullen’s focus is broader, drawing on urban street art and action sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding.
The clothes are sold in boutiques and big chains such as those run by Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., Irvine-based Tilly’s Inc. and Zumiez Inc. of the Seattle area.
Rivals include Irvine-based Billabong USA’s Rvca Clothing, Grand Terrace-based TapOut LLC and Irvine-based La Jolla Group’s Metal Mulisha, among others.
Sullen has weathered a dismal past couple of years for clothing makers.
“Sales have been good,” Smith said. “When the economy went south, we definitely became conservative and ran into issues like everyone else. We were able to adjust to those conditions quickly.”
Juniors Line
Now the nine-year-old company is looking to get into a highly fickle segment: juniors clothes.
A juniors line targeting women 18 to 30 years old is set to debut early next year.
The crowded market has been ruled by what’s known as fast fashion, or cheap, trendy clothes that are the hallmark of retailers such as Los Angeles-based Forever 21 Inc. and Europe’s H&M Hennes & Maurtiz AB.
“We’ve been hearing doom and gloom about the juniors market with fast fashion,” Smith said. “Our big retail accounts have been asking about putting our artwork on girls tees. It’s the artwork that will sell our product.”
The juniors line is set to include pants, shirts, jackets and other clothes in the edgy, rebellious style of Sullen’s other products, according to Smith.
The company brought on a lead creative director for the line who previously was lead creative director for Lake Forest-based Sole Technology Inc.’s etnies girls line.
“It’s a total gamble in the sense of time and energy,” Smith said.
The line’s debut is set to coincide with Sullen’s 10-year anniversary party. It also will be part of Sullen TV, a viral marketing push, and Sullen Angels, the company’s model search.
Tattoo Niche
Meanwhile, Sullen continues to mine its primary tattoo niche. It’s come out with a backpack designed for tattoo artists to carry their products in.
“It’s a really competitive way to get into tattoo accounts,” Smith said. “We sell this to them and it opens the door. Because they’ve taken the bag, they’re willing to take a risk with our clothing.”
The company’s tees sell for $22 to $25, at the lower end for designer branded T-shirts. They’re made domestically, with other products made in India, China and Taiwan.
“We try to keep everything as domestic as possible,” Hanna said. “The new software we’re using has really helped us figure out what we need to order so that we aren’t over ordering.”
The retail tailspin of 2009 “taught us to be responsible and watch every penny,” Smith said.
Smith, the artist behind the Sullen’s designs, has made a name for himself, working with band Cypress Hill and tattoo artist Jack Rudy, who runs Good Time Charlie’s Tattooland shop in Anaheim.
Sullen also has worked with Portland, Ore.-based Grenade LLC, which was started by snowboarder Danny Kass. That got Sullen into winter sports shops. A shirt Sullen did is Grenade’s top seller.
Other companies like Sullen’s artwork and attention to detail, said Smith, who has an art degree from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Sullen’s growth has coincided with tattoos hitting mainstream culture through shows such as The Learning Channel’s “LA Ink.”
“We’ve been on 16 episodes of ‘LA Ink’ and that really helped Sullen, especially overseas,” Hanna said.
The question for Sullen is whether the company is riding a fad. The experience of mixed-martial arts clothing makers could be telling. They’re starting to see a slowdown as the segment gets oversaturated.
Graffitti, tattoo and urban art styles are different, Smith contends.
“Pop culture is really into tattooing,” he said. “It’ll never be out of style. It’s a way to rebel, a way to express yourself.”
The key, Hanna and Smith said, is that Sullen isn’t tied to a specific style, action sport or group. The company has created a following with all kinds of people, they said: tattoo aficionados, motocross buffs, mixed martial arts fans and skateboarders, among others.
Expanded Sales
For growth, Sullen is looking to more sales on the East Coast and abroad.
“Tattooing is popular in a lot of cultures,” Smith said.
The company has sales in about 15 countries. Smith said he just got back from Switzerland, where Sullen is working on building the brand there and in Portugal.
“We have to get creative because we don’t have big marketing budgets,” Smith said.
Sullen counts about seven full-time workers and 10 outside sales representatives.
Gomez is a former Business Journal editor and freelance writer based in Long Beach.
