There’s that dreaded time in every man’s life when he realizes the time has come to replace his old socks and underwear with fresh ones. Often a hassle to find luxury essentials for men, Basic Outfitter sends you a “drawer” packed with the essentials of choice, including socks, underwear, tees, and more. With a wide range of styles and brands, Basic Outfitters delivers your custom drawer for only $60 (a $120 value). Featured on SharkTank, the company is looking to change the way men buy their basics, all through their new ‘Create a Drawer’ model.
AlleyWatch speaks with cofounders Laura and Michael Dweck about how the company began and when they needed Basic Outfitters themselves.
Tell us about the product or service.
Basic Outfitters’ Create-a-Drawer is a $120 value offered for only at $60 and includes high quality socks, underwear, tees and jogger sweatpants. We also offer individual packs of socks, underwear tees and joggers ranging in price from $20-$30.
How is it different?
Basic Outfitters’ Create-a-Drawer lets YOU design your own custom drawer with choices of 10 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 3 tees and one pair of jogger sweatpants all for the unprecedented value of only $60. The service allows men to refresh their entire basics drawer in under 2 minutes.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
We’re operating in the men’s casual fashion market. It’s a massive marketplace, but we are able to push through the clutter because we’re changing the way men shop for their basics and offering an unprecedented value proposition. While many brands are popping up with a subscription only angle, we offer convenience without the commitment. Our prices are competitive, our product is of the highest quality, and our process for customer purchase is fast and easy.
What is the business model?
We give customers the freedom to refresh their wardrobe of basics with up to 17 pieces of high quality basics quickly and easily for half the cost – $60 for a drawer of socks, underwear, tees and joggers, a $120 value. It’s fast, customizable, high quality and affordable. Customers can also purchase high quality individual pieces starting at $20.
What inspired the business?
In 2014, we got married and moved into a cozy apartment in NYC. It was quickly obvious whose clothing collection would take precedence in their precious and limited closet space. Michael’s eclectic and long-time accumulated sock and underwear assortment would have to go and be replaced by a fresh, new and curated collection of basics. When it came time to refill his drawers, Michael was faced with the choice of expensive designer products or cheap, generic and poorly made basics, both of which would entail a stressful shopping experience. We recognized the overwhelming need for superior and affordable men’s essentials offered to customers in a convenient, easy-to-use way. And thus, Basic Outfitters was born.
How has your experience on Shark Tank impacted your business?
Since the show aired, we’ve seen a skyrocket in both sales and awareness. We were selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 the week before our episode aired and have received amazing customer feedback and buzz around the company and our Create-a-Drawer.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We just launched a new line of “No Show Socks”, and plan to add more new basics seasonally including jersey Henley’s and hoodies.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
We never realized that grit would be the key ingredient to growing a company from the ground up.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Would love to meet with Adam Neumann, cofounder of WeWork. He has built in empire in such a short amount of time and it would be amazing to pick his brain.
Why did you launch in New York?
We are both from the area – Laura born and raised in Brooklyn, and Michael a native of New Jersey. Everything is rooted here because Basic Outfitters launched out of the closet of our first New York apartment as a married couple. The energy, the network, the grind cannot be matched anywhere else.
Where is your favorite bar in the city for an after work drink?
The Back Room.
