Three months’ rent in 24 hours: How Chiefs’ Super Bowl run already MADE one brand’s 2020
February 4, 2020 | Tommy Felts
Super Bowl Sunday was a holy time for members of the MADE MOBB, but it was hardly a day of rest for the team behind Kansas City’s most iconic streetwear brand.
Jonathan “JP” Platz, MADE MOBB
After prepping the custom T-shirt press in the back of MADE’s Crossroads storefront late Saturday — in hopes of a new, limited drop celebrating a Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory — co-founder Jonathan “JP” Platz posted an appeal to the gods of football on Facebook.
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to Chiefs. If I should die before I wake, I pray Lombardi’s what we take. If I should live for other days, I pray for Mahomes the rest of plays.”
The MADE team’s planning and prayers paid off, they said Monday.
“We were ready,” said Vu Radley, co-founder and creative director for MADE, describing a high-intensity weekend that saw the Kansas City Chiefs’ come-from-behind 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. “I was so amped. I couldn’t sleep.”
Moments after the Chiefs clinched their first championship win at the big game in 50 years, MADE released its celebratory “Champs” and “City of Champs” shirt designs — echoing their quick action in unveiling a “Revenge Tour” line of Chiefs-themed shirts commemorating the football team’s Jan. 19 AFC championship success.
Click here to shop MADE MOBB.
“Within 24 hours of dropping that one ‘Revenge Tour’ design after the win over Titans, we sold enough to pay our rent for three months — in 24 hours!” said Mark Launiu, co-founder of MADE MOBB. “As that week went on, sales picked up heavy from all over the country (even outside).”
By early Monday afternoon, post-Super Bowl sales were already outpacing the revenue from MADE’s “Revenge Tour” drop, with no sign of slowing down in sight, he said.
That success doesn’t come without pain points, Launiu said, as the MADE team works to balance an influx of new online orders with high-priority wholesale accounts that also want items from the limited-run celebratory drops.
“For retailers, coming off holiday season it’s usually the slowest time of the year — not this year!” he added. “Market your stuff. Invest money in some marketing. Run some ads. Do pop-ups. Capitalize on this win.”
Ori Goldwasser, Vu Radley, Jonathan “JP” Platz, and Mark Launiu, MADE MOBB
MADE’s store on Southwest Boulevard was nearly picked clean of classic red and gold apparel Monday, in the wake of shoppers who descended on the streetwear company in the days and weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
On Thursday, two grandmothers stood at the counter, purchasing a few of the remaining Chiefs-themed shirts for themselves and family members. Radley — who designed not only the Revenge Tour and championship lines, but also MADE’s iconic logo — processed their payments and casually chatted about the Chiefs.
He didn’t let on that the man behind the counter had crafted the shirt designs they were praising — instead slipping extra MADE stickers in their bags and asking them to tell their friends about the store.
Kansas City is unique in that a brand like MADE can toggle between edgy streetwear and mainstream success, admitted Launiu, citing shoppers’ hunger for buying local — whether in everyday settings or special situations like a Super Bowl.
“We have the best fans in sports and that’s the same energy given to small businesses here,” he said. “This week marks our seventh year of business, and we’re beyond grateful for the support Kansas City continues to pour into us and other small businesses. I know I speak for other creators when I say this is the best city to chase your dreams.”
Click here to read more about how apparel companies are finding their own wins in the Chiefs’ postseason success.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
She wanted to bring her favorite foodie magazine to KC; her mother’s sudden death put this publisher’s plans on the back burner
Lauren Cook’s passion for Edible Communities magazine drove her appetite to revive it in Kansas City, she shared, but an unexpected life change has her hoping to hand the publisher’s apron to someone else. Cook purchased the license to publish the city-specific food magazine — each independently run by publishers in metros across the country…
Digital Sandbox alum earns new round of funding — this time for sports tech; Meet the latest batch of just-funded startups
From making the college admissions process easier for students to summarizing books and podcasts using artificial intelligence, the latest startups to join Digital Sandbox KC are a great example of the creativity of this region’s entrepreneurs, said Jill Meyer. The four newly selected companies are expected to receive up to $20,000 in project funding and…
Her red sauce is dynamite but Ragazza’s owner gives the chef title to her Italian heritage
Family is baked into the core of Laura Norris’ restaurants, she shared, from the Italian recipes served at Ragazza in Westport to the brother-sister duo running the new Enzo Wine Bar and Bistro together in the River Market. She opened Ragazza, which now sits at the corner of 43rd and Main streets, in 2013 and…
How a ‘City Hall Swiftie committee’ is bringing joy (and business) to NKC as concert tour hits Arrowhead
The street lights are pointing in an arrowhead, leading Taylor Swift fans to North Kansas City where they can walk the iconic “Cornelia Street.” In June, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong announced that Swift Street in NKC was to be temporarily renamed Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of the artist coming July 7-8…