Despite economic uncertainty, Melbourne’s pop culture T shirt phenomena, Threadheads, has bucked the trend by setting equity crowdfunding records – with the highest EOIs in Australian history. After only 3 years in business, Ace Reunis and Marcus Siegel clocked up $13.2m in annual sales with Dan Andrew’s infamous ‘Get On The Beers’ being one of their biggest.
A decent effort considering the best mates started their business with no funding in 2018, and their first premises was a former massage parlour in Moorabbin train station! Fast forward to 2022 and the pop culture clothing brand has got over 240,000 clients in 40 countries and their original in-house designs have attracted lucrative licensing deals with entertainment heavyweights like Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Unliever, Activision and SEGA.
What are the expansion plans lined-up at Threadheads?
They are only just beginning, too – the pair have lofty expansion plans in the making that will help them capitalise on the $89 billion global t-shirt market. “Wow – just wow! We cannot believe the amount of support we have received despite stock markets tanking, out of control inflation, and crypto crashing,” said Marcus Siegel, Co-founder at Threadheads.
“Achieving the highest EOIs for equity crowdfunding in Australia has given us the proof that our company is bringing a much-needed smile to people’s faces. And to think we are in the same leagues as such a worthy company like Zero Co (6.3k EOIs), which went on to become the biggest raise in Aussie history when it notched up $5m in just over 6 hours.”
“When you consider we are only raising $2.5m, and the average EOI is $1.2k – the share offer won’t last long when our campaign goes live. This offering will only be for people who have registered an EOI, so if you want to invest – you have until Monday night to register.”
What is the obsession with Threadheads?
Co-Founder Ace Reunis explained why he thinks there has been so much interest in the raise. “You have probably heard of the lipstick effect – where people splurge on little luxuries to lift their spirits during economic hard times; I think Threadheads has been riding the same wave.
“People love wearing a graphic t-shirt that puts a smile on their face or reminds them of a nostalgic 80s or 90s moment when their life was a whole lot simpler. It resonates with both clients and investors, and it’s the reason why our brand has grown so rapidly since launch.”
Threadheads boasts one of the biggest growths on the Birchal platform – $13.2m in sales in 2021 after only three years in business. Its website traffic currently sees 30,000 unique visitors every day and the brand has clients in over 40 countries, with UK being their second-biggest market. The Aussie-born brand has also collaborated with world’s biggest brands like Rick and Morty, Harry Potter, Sonic the Hedgehog, Ghostbusters, and heaps more.
Why is Threadheads a unique industry player?
Threadheads is unique in the industry because it prints all its garments to order as they come in, using the latest digital printing equipment in Melbourne and from its European arm in Prague. With ‘on-demand’ printing, there‘s no massive investment in inventory, so Threadheads can offer a huge range of designs on heaps of different colours and products.
Plus, it eliminates any waste caused by overproduction, making it super sustainable. Money from the Birchal raise will be used to expand to the USA with the company’s third production centre. Threadheads will continue to build its world class licensing program and move into Anime, Gaming, Sports, and Music. It’s also exploring new sales channels and has already initiated discussions to have Threadheads stocked in retailers domestically and internationally.
Anyone who loves pop culture, t-shirts and amazing art, is also invited to come on board and write the next chapter in the company’s fantastic story, together with Marcus and Ace.
