The weirdest inspiration Randy Miller ever had came from flipping the pages of a magazine. The Houston stockbroker came across a Tommy Hilfiger ad featuring men prancing around in tartan skirts. His mission in life suddenly became clear: to start a casual clothing line for "real men."
Cavewear is just that: clothing for the anti-skirt, modern-day caveman. As president and CEO, Miller (below, c.) brought on brokerage partners Bob Yrshus (below, l.) and Duncan Wine as vice presidents and cavemen extraordinaire. Since 1998, they've been selling T-shirts, boxers and hats to men who aren't afraid to wear manly styles and colors like fire red, slate blue and charcoal gray. "To us, the modern-day caveman is a successful, hard-working guy," says Miller. "He's a family provider and decision-maker. Basically he gets things done."
In the footsteps of Nike, Cavewear boasts a definitive motto-"I'll Decide"-that has apparently hit a nerve: Sales from kiosks and local wholesale deals were just under $1 million in 1999. But does the market for Cave-wear really wear the pants in the family? According to Miller, 65 percent of their patrons are women buying for their guys.
Contact Source
- Cavewear, (888) 550-CAVE, www.cavewear.com.
This story appears in the August 2000 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
