San Clemente-based apparel company Seager aims to be the meeting space between the Old West and Southern California surf culture.
Mattson Smith, Elliott Shaw and Case Anderson, Seager’s owners, launched the business in 2015 with only a few hundred dollars and an online store. After a few years of processing orders out of their living room, the trio then moved operations into a Costa Mesa warehouse before landing in San Clemente.
“We’re always creating new products that we can use in the outdoors and on our trips,” Anderson told the Business Journal, when describing the creation of the company’s product lineup.
The firm’s assortment has jumped to nearly 300 items this year and ranges from cowboy hats, camping tents, and fleece hoodies to wetsuits, sunglasses and board shorts.
Its upcoming outerwear collection for this fall will be the largest to date.
Seager products are also currently carried in over 100 core retailers with six located in Orange County, including at Hobie Surf Shops. There are 14 partners in Japan as well.
After several years of growing its wholesale network, Seager will open its first namesake store in San Juan Capistrano at the forthcoming 60,000-square-foot River Street Marketplace this November.
“The location really speaks to the soul of the brand,” Anderson said.
“San Juan Capistrano being a large equestrian community and only a mile and a half from the beach makes it an ideal spot for us personally and for the brand.”
Multi-World
Seager’s choice in brand collaborations also speaks to its foothold in both western wear, beach culture and outdoor gear.
Notable companies the local retailer has partnered with include Stetson and Coors Banquet. Seager also released hat collections with country singers Waylon Jennings and Zach Bryan in 2022.
Seager’s first partners were Stetson in 2018 and Costa Mesa’s Almond Surfboards the year after. Since then, the retailer has worked with 13 “hand-selected” companies to create a series of exclusive snapback hats, T-shirts and other brand-related items.
Last September, Seager and a fly-fishing media firm Flylords released a line of outdoor apparel inspired by a four-day trip down the Gunnison River in Colorado the teams took together. Unique gear includes a hunting knife set designed by Civilware, founded by professional skateboarder Geoff Rowley, in 2020.
This year, Seager added a collaboration with San Diego-based Matuse Wetsuits in May and released its second collection with Newport Beach-born Birdwell Beach Britches last June.
Maui Snapback
Seager was among several local companies with ties in Hawaii that raised funds to send to the Maui community affected by the wildfires in Lahaina (see the Aug. 21 print edition for more). Two of its core retailers are in Honolulu.
The retailer partnered with San Diego-based beverage company JuneShine to sell a Maui-inspired snapback hat online with 100% of the proceeds earmarked for the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund.
Over 600 hats, going for $35 each, were sold by Aug. 15 with proceeds donated the week after selling out.
