Industry Clothing Website Stance.com CEO Jeff Kearl (9 Dec 2009–) Type of business Delaware C Corporation | Products Socks, underwear Headquarters San Clemente Founded 2009 | |
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Key people Jeff Kearl
(Chairman & CEO)
John Wilson
(President) Revenue est. $180 million (2015) Founders Jeff Kearl, John Wilson, Ryan Kingman, Taylor Shupe, Aaron Hennings Profiles | ||
Stance is an American sock and underwear brand founded in 2009. Stance is headquartered in San Clemente, California. As of March 2015, the company had sold over 36 million pairs of socks and raised over $115 million from investors.
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In early January 2015, Stance began raising $50 million to fund their expansion into the underwear market. In April 2016, Stance raised an additional $30 million in a funding round that valued Stance at $400 million and was led by Mercato Partners and included August Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Menlo Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Sherpa Capital as returning investors.
Stance was named the official sock of the NBA and MLB in April 2015 and May 2016, respectively.
History
Stance was founded in 2009 by Jeff Kearl, John Wilson, Aaron Hennings, Ryan Kingman and Taylor Shupe. The original founders saw an opportunity to address a category of fashion they felt had been overlooked by many brands and the majority of the industry.
The company first began shipping product in 2010, and has since shipped over 15 mil. pairs of socks, has raised a significant amount of venture capital and is sold in over 40 countries worldwide.
In March 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported the company had raised $50 million from Silicon Valley venture capital firms and that the brand would be expanding into men’s underwear. In April 2015, the NBA announced that Stance had been named the official on-court sock of the NBA starting in the 2015-2016 season. As part of the deal, Stance would be allowed to display its logo on all socks worn on-court by players, a first in NBA history for apparel companies. Stance opened its first store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City in November 2015.
In 2015, Stance posted a 356% employee increase from the previous year, reaching 114 employees, at its San Clemente headquarters. Stance was listed No. 24 on the Orange County Business Journal’s list of the 51 Biggest Based in Orange County Apparel Businesses.
Sponsorship
Stance’s brand ambassadors are called "Punks and Poets". They include musicians, athletes, designers, artists, stylists, writers and photographers.