This story appears in the
August 2000 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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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.
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