VANCOUVER, Canada: RYU Apparel Inc., creator of award-winning urban athletic apparel, is pleased to announce significant progress on its new three-pronged wholesale strategy targeting Off Price, National Chains and Specialty Retailers. The March hirings of DJM Sales Consulting (to lead global sales) and Caraway & Company (to act as RYU's exclusive U.S. wholesale representative), have contributed substantially to this effort, leading to the company's first strategic partnership with Indigo.
Indigo (TSX: IDG) is Canada's leading book and lifestyle retailer, offering a curated assortment of products to simplify their customers' journeys and live with intention. They were seeking a premium activewear partner to add to their collection, so RYU was a perfect fit. Their focus on respect, teamwork, passion and customer engagement also aligns with RYU's core values, a key factor in choosing strategic partners. Indigo will fall under the "Drop ship" channel.
RYU is building three main wholesale channels to scale their business through premium brand partners and volume retail partnerships. Each is designed to fill a particular need:
- Traditional: Stockholding retailers (both brick + mortar and ecommerce) at standard keystone margins, focused on current season products.
- Clearance: Premium clearance partners to clear out old inventory.
- Drop ship: Digital partners who will sell RYU products on their ecommerce storefronts through EDI (electronic data interchange) drop shipping.
"DJM and Caraway & Company have helped move the needle on our new wholesale business in a remarkably short period of time," says Rob Blair, COO. "In conjunction with our in-house sales team, they have identified potential wholesale partners, met with those partners, and have even progressed to the ordering stage with a numerous national retailers . We are thrilled with the progress so far, and look forward to what we're able to accomplish over the coming months."
Wholesale is a key component of RYU's four-pillar growth strategy focused on brand, product, digital and retail. By expanding beyond their existing digital and retail channels to include wholesale partners, RYU will strengthen its brand presence and reach a whole new audience.
This new strategy is launching during a booming time for the company. So far in 2022, RYU's ecommerce revenue, transaction rate and average order value is on track to double, or even triple, last year's numbers. Adding wholesale to the mix will build off this momentum to catapult the company toward even more expansive growth.
About RYU Apparel: RYU Apparel (TSXV: RYU, OTCQB: RYPPF), or Respect Your Universe, is an award winning urban athletic apparel and accessories brand engineered for active lifestyles. Designed without compromise for fit, comfort, and durability, RYU exists to facilitate optimal human performance.
