How did brothers Christian and Justin Arquilla grow to be “ex-financiers” in the sock industry?
Co-founders of the company Pac began their entrepreneurial journey in 2013 — faced with an all-too-common problem. “I walked around New York all day in loafers, like boat shoes or whatever,” Justin recalls, “and [my wife is] for example: “Your feet smell terrible, your shoes smell terrible, you need to start wearing these little invisible socks.”
Justin decided to purchase these invisible socks but was unimpressed with the options, most of which were either visible or slipped off. Why not create a higher product to fill this gap? Justin called Christian to pitch the idea of starting his own non-show sock company, and he got hooked. The duo took off Crazyinvisible sock knit with silver antibacterial yarn that slips into the shoe (as a substitute of onto the foot) in 2015
After several years and the growing demand for women’s products, Gekks expanded its offer by introducing women’s no-show socks for ballet flats. As Arquillas notes, the latest design was a huge hit: by 2019, 90% of Gekks’ revenue got here from women’s products, and 45% from flats alone.
Then March 2020 got here. With pandemic restrictions in full swing and fewer professionals coming into offices, there was less motivation to try Gekks. The brothers had to search out one other technique to generate income.
Fortunately, they have already began experimenting with one other promising sock: one manufactured from alpaca fiber.
Image credit: Courtesy of Pacas
“It’s super soft and I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
Several years earlier, Christian was visiting a hosiery factory in North Carolina for Gekks when he first encountered the fiber. “I went into the sales manager’s room,” Christian says, “and he had this cone of yarn on his desk, and I felt it, and I thought, ‘What is that?’ It’s super soft and I’ve never felt anything like it before. I liked it before. And he said, “Well, it’s an alpaca.”
The soft, warm alpaca reminded Christian of the time he visited his 9-year-old cousin in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and heard him talk about how cold and uncomfortable it was. “The light bulb went on,” Christian recalls. He decided to learn all he could about alpaca fiber to develop the perfect product for on a regular basis use that might also make kid’s stays in the hospital a little more comfortable.
Therefore, in 2017, Arquillas began the product development process. The brothers bought a sample of the yarn — most of which got here from the highlands of Peru, where alpaca coats had adapted to extreme every day temperature fluctuations — and tried out different sock designs: casual, mountain climbing and low-cut. The offer was much like that offered by many merino wool corporations at the time, but with advantages unique to alpaca, the brothers explain.
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Image credit: Courtesy of Pacas
“It’s like the Ferrari of fibers – the most amazing fiber ever.”
“Everyone talks about merino wool as this high-performance fiber, [and] that is the way it is,” says Justin. “On the other hand, we have cashmere, which is known for its softness and luxurious appearance. Alpaca is a fiber that literally has everything that merino wool and cashmere have in one. It’s like the Ferrari of fibers – the most amazing fiber ever.”
During the pandemic, the co-founders desired to get acquainted with the offer of young alpaca (which refers to the length of the hair, not the age of the animal), and investors were in favor of introducing trading. There are already proven examples of direct-to-consumer brands selling high-quality socks as a part of charitable initiatives – reminiscent of Bombas, Shark Tankthe most successful brand of all time. The brothers realized they may produce alpaca socks at a reasonable price and fill the “vast white space.” That’s why they launched the Pacas brand under the Gekks umbrella.
At $52 for a three-pack, Pacas are still luxury socks, but they are not as exorbitant as other products with that status, reminiscent of cashmere socks that sell for $30 a pair, Arquillas say.
Image credit: Courtesy of Pacas
The brothers’ motion paid off. Pacas officially launched in October 2020 and generated roughly $400,000 in revenue in its first month. Then the five-star reviews poured in, and many of the October buyers became repeat customers in November and December. The Arquillas and their investors knew it was time to separate the Pacas from the Gekkas.
Pacas raised its own seed round and in just three years achieved revenues of over $45 million. The brand has sold 3.2 million pairs of socks and has greater than 360,000 customers across the United States. In addition, the brand still tries to provide back: Pacas collaborates with around 20 local kid’s hospitals to offer children with alpaca socks during their stay.
Currently, Pacas is Arquillas’ important goal as they proceed to grow the company, but Gekks continues to generate annual revenues of $500,000 to $600,000 despite limited promoting efforts.
“As you scale up, the problems get bigger and more complex.”
The consumer space has modified dramatically over the last few a long time, and success now not depends on building relationships with department store shoppers, but on the work you set into social media, direct-to-consumer channels, and the like. Now anyone who is willing to make the effort can grow to be an entrepreneur, which increases the competitiveness of the space, say the co-founders.
Image credit: Courtesy of Pacas
The Arquilla brothers proceed to set themselves and Pacas apart by using smart turns and rising to satisfy difficult challenges – time and time again.
“There are no right answers,” Justin says, “and you actually have to search out the solution yourself. And then every little thing just becomes on a regular basis [full of] problem solving. You think it can get easier, but as you scale up, the problems grow to be greater and more complex. It never ends. You get up, solve today’s problems, then go to sleep and start all all over again.”