The office, in lower Manhattan, has all the markings of a tech startup. There are high ceilings and a cool warehouse vibe, craft beer is on tap in the kitchen, and the place is buzzing with twentysomethings.
But they aren't trying to make the next hit mobile app. The big idea here is to disrupt another ubiquitous product.
"There were so many evolutions in technology, but underwear was stuck in, like, the early 1900s,’’ said Tom Patterson, founder of Tommy John, which makes premium undies. “It was a very sleepy category."
Tommy John is part of a growing drive by fledgling brands to get men to rethink underwear and pay more for it. It isn’t easy. The $8 billion category—the subject of the latest Material World podcast— has long been an afterthought. Many guys restocked only after ridicule from a significant other, or when disintegration could no longer be denied. Thanks to fellow upstarts such as Mack Weldon, guys are giving this everyday item more consideration.
Skivvies ranging from $25 to $70 a pair now come with a list of features as long as those that once came with lawnmowers and television sets. They are “game-changing products,” with moisture control, cool zones, and stealth waistbands. They can be Swiss-made, breathable, anti-microbial, and anti-odor. Tommy John even reconfigured the front flap and developed a “Quick Draw” fly for easier access.
All this has boosted spending. In the past three years, the average price for a pair of underwear in the U.S. has risen by a third, while prices for men’s apparel overall have declined by about the same amount, according to research by Fung Global & Retail Technology and First Insight. Global sales are expected to increase from $8.4 billion in 2015 to $11 billion by 2020, according to Persistence Market Research.
The disruption is a testament to the power of “premiumization,” a strategy that over the past decade has swept through many once-mundane categories.
While many take it for granted, there was a time when grocery stores didn’t have a dozen kinds of coffee. When the only consideration for buying ground beef was price, not what the cows ate. When a workout shirt was a cheap basic, far from the innovation story shoppers pay more for today. People never used to talk about how much they loved such things as water bottles and blenders.
Now men’s underwear, of all things, is being transformed.
Premiumization is all about resetting expectations with additional choices and benefits. Under Armour Inc. revolutionized workout gear with polyester shirts that made sweat evaporate better than cotton did. Starbucks Corp. became a behemoth by introducing a slew of new tastes and styles to America’s coffee drinkers, whose choices had stopped at sugar, milk, or cream.