A youth-specific action sports brand appears to be gaining traction in the market.
Led by Mike Madlener, a long time Dakine vet, Grom has landed in key accounts and is growing fast.
We asked Mike some questions to find out more about the brand.
Why did you start Grom?
Mike Madlener: Although I am an owner and the CEO, I didn’t actually start GROM. My friend Ricky Schaffer came up with it originally.
Ricky was already selling GROM shirts and headwear when I got involved. During my years of working at Dakine and paying close attention to our sports and our industry, I began to notice a dramatic shift downward in the age of the action sports participant.
It seemed to me that the entry age had dropped about 10 years and what was ripping five years ago at age 19 was now ripping at age 9! I also noticed that within that young age group, the breadth and diversity of the sport categories was growing and there was a new movement igniting, one where kids did more than one sport.
For me, this was eye-opening. I thought this was a wake-up call about the future of our industry in an otherwise crowded and arguably flat men’s retail environment. I believed our industry, our retailers, and especially our kids, needed and deserved something special, something meaningful and high performance that was made just for them.
We needed to leave all the adult themes out of it and focus on sports, families, fun, health, and safety.
My good friend Ricky had already been working on a similar vision called GROM and we had talked about it on and off for years.
Finally, one morning I was sitting in my parked car before work and I suddenly knew the time was right. I called my wife from the car and told her what I was thinking and that we were not going to have money for awhile, and she was down with it.
That evening, after a full day of meetings, I resigned from Dakine after 16 years. I called Ricky and was like, “OK man, it’s on for real!”
What is the target age group?
Mike Madlener: Currently our smallest size starts at about four years old. We run our sizes all the way up to a men’s 32” waist.
Although the majority of our sales fall in sizes youth small, medium, and large, we are an inclusive brand and we know that not every kid is skinny and there are some bigger kids out there.
Inclusiveness is one of our core values at GROM.
But because we make the bigger sizes, we get men with beards and tattoos wearing GROM, too, and they are totally stoked. I guess you never outgrow that feeling!
How is the brand financed?
Mike Madlener: Currently we are self-financed. That’s rad and hard at the same time. Rad, because we are one of a very few truly independent companies in action sports and can create and keep our core values and brand culture completely intact with no compromise.
It’s hard because we are competing with some of the largest apparel brands on the planet, and we are growing quickly and that takes money. Lately I have been thinking the self-finance thing may have to change soon. But for now, we are paying attention to every penny and so far, so good.
Who are the key members of the Grom team working on the brand?
Mike Madlener: Patrick Reeves, who I have worked with for many years, is head of design and creative. He comes from Fossil, Abercrombie & Fitch, and more recently, Dakine.
Sandy Whann is running a world class customer service department. She known by many from her days at Pyzel and years in the surf industry.
A Grom window
Tatyana Zavatsky, from St. Johns Knits, Perry Ellis, and more recently Dakine, runs our development and production.
Siri Cota is building our sales west of the Rockies. We have a terrific team running our social media, and of course Ricky and I.
We will be adding more people next year as everyone is currently wearing a lot of hats.
What categories is Grom in?
Mike Madlener: GROM builds pretty much everything in street/skate/surf apparel and accessories. The only things we don’t do are shoes, neoprene, heavy jackets, or snow-specific stuff – at least for now. GROM’s focus is on quality, performance, comfort and style, all at a good value.
We are known for our boy’s boardshorts and wet/dry shorts. We pad the front rise, stitch everything properly, and use only four-way stretch fabrics. We use soft, high quality T-shirt blanks and are also having a ton of success with our soft knit program. The kids’ knit business is amazing.
What stores are carrying Grom?
Mike Madlener: Currently we are selling into core and high-end retailers and retail chains.
Some of our core accounts include Surfside Sports, Jack’s, South Coast, Hansen’s, Spyder, ET Surf, Val Surf, Beach House, Rincon Design, Proof Lab, Pac Wave, Mavericks, Hi-Tech, HIC, Millers, Sunrise, Blue Zone, Third Coast, and many others.
As far as larger chains, we have really great relationships with Tilly’s, Nordstrom, Active Ride, and online with Swim Outlet. We have strategically decided to keep ourselves off of Amazon.
How are you marketing the brand?
Mike Madlener: We market via social media and by supporting the community. Our kids live on their phones and have a phone in hand almost all the time.
We don’t just shove marketing at our kids though. We do everything we can to showcase their talent, provide them with good content, and introduce them to other young rippers around the world.
We run a lot of contests online, and interact with kids to build a positive and meaningful youth community online and out in the real world. We call them our GROM ARMY.
We are also huge fans of participating in the community and supporting community based outreach. We run our own free GROM PRIX surf and skate events that always get everyone stoked. We also work with surf and skate shop events, Keiki contests in Hawaii, and support rad programs like the San Clemente Skate Coalition, and also coaching and youth programs.
We like supporting programs that introduce kids to action sports in a positive way.
What is next for Grom?
Mike Madlener: The goal for this coming year will be to focus on our existing account base and continue to grow and improve where we already have placement.
We will still be open to some new accounts but we will need to be selective. I want to continue to hire within the company to allow people to focus their efforts instead of wearing so many hats.
Finally, I want to find ways to incorporate eco-friendly products and processes into GROM.
