Rishi Prabhu knows how to pivot.
In 2011, at the height of the subscription box model mania, Prabhu and Steve Szaronos created Bespoke Post, a subscription box for men offering a wide lineup of products ranging from apparel and kitchenware to watches and barware.
They rode the wave successfully until the subscription box model lost its luster and then put their energies into becoming a multibrand e-commerce retailer.
Because they have amassed hundreds of thousands of members over the past 13 years, Prabhu looks at Bespoke Post as a bit of a hybrid model. Anyone can log onto the site and purchase, but the members are also offered a curated assortment of products selected for them by the Bespoke Post team on a monthly basis. If they’re interested, the box will be shipped, if not, they can opt out. Membership is free and those who join are offered discounts.
“We repositioned the company as an e-commerce brand that offers memberships,” he explained.
This model has worked well for the company. Although it declined to provide a volume figure, the company said it has grown by an average of 40 percent a year annually since 2019 and through the third quarter of 2024, e-commerce revenue is up 66 percent over last year. The company also attracted the attention of some outside investors. In 2021, Bespoke Post raised $40 million in series B funding led by new investor NewSpring, Second Alpha and Savano Capital Partners. Walden, which led the company’s previous series A round; 500 Global, which is one of the company’s seed investors, and Great Oaks also participated in this round.
Since that infusion, Prabhu said, the business has been self-sustaining and no further outside investment has been needed.
Line of Trade offers updated menswear essentials.
Courtesy of Line of Trade
As the business grew, Bespoke Post began building its own brands. One of its most successful is Line of Trade, a collection of menswear essentials such as Donegal sweaters, corduroy trucker jackets, chinos, flannel shirts and weekender bags.
From 2019 to 2023, Line of Trade sales have grown at a 120 percent compounded annual growth rate. It passed $1 million in sales in 2022 and volume grew another 72 percent last year. In the third quarter of this year, Line of Trade revenue is up 3.2 times year-over-year, the company said.
With that success as a backdrop, Bespoke Post this fall decided to launch a dedicated e-commerce site for Line of Trade.
“When we started Bespoke Post, we didn’t think of it as a brand generator,” Prabhu said. “But we developed our own product when we couldn’t find it in the market.” The first products were a weekender canvas bag with leather details, along with a few apparel pieces.
Prabhu also invested in a team to operate the brand, bringing in Dan Hendricks as brand manager and Evan Gleason as design director/designer of menswear. Together they have worked to develop Line of Trade into a full assortment of modern workwear-inspired menswear basics.
“The ethos here is authenticity, and workwear is a large part of the menswear market,” said Gleason, whose background includes Best Made Co., J. Press and other brands. He said that most Line of Trade customers are looking for “wardrobe renewal,” and seeking replacement items that are “better than what they have.”
While prices are relatively affordable — a waxed ranch jacket is $158, a fleece-lined corduroy trucker jacket is $140, a chore coat is $88, a flannel shirt is $68 and a long-sleeve T-shirt is $35 — Gleason takes pride in the fact that all the fabrics are designed exclusively for the brand by mills in Japan and Scotland.
He also offers some innovative pieces such as a wool denim trucker jacket, which retails for $178. “We use familiar, basic materials and make them more premium,” he said.
The wool denim trucker jacket is one of the premium offerings.
Courtesy of Line of Trade
“Because we’re direct-to-consumer we can offer a really amazing price point,” Hendricks said.
Some items are limited-edition for the customer willing to stretch his budget a bit, such as a special-edition weekender bag created in a custom wool plaid from Faribault Mill, a 157-year-old mill based in Minnesota, for $275. Only 300 pieces of the bag were produced.
Hendricks said one of the bestselling categories for Line of Trade is outerwear, including a waxed canvas jacket with a flannel lining, a quilted chore coat and corduroy coats, as well as indigo waffle shirts with mechanical stretch, Panama cloth shirts and the company’s range of sweaters. While the silhouettes may be familiar, Gleason infuses the pieces with “nuance and texture” that help set them apart, the team believes.
This fall/holiday season, Line of Trade mailed out a catalogue to its customers as it works to discover who they are and what they’re looking for from the brand. “It makes it more tactile,” Hendricks said. The catalogue features 80 percent apparel as well as some other lifestyle products.
Hendricks, whose background includes I. Spiewak & Sons and WP Lavori, said the goal is to “meet the guy where he is now,” and encourage him to embrace Line of Trade as his new go-to wardrobe option.
“The clothes are timeless and made for function,” Gleason said.
Looking to the future, Prabhu said the plan is to build the Line of Trade e-commerce site into a successful stand-alone business over the next year. After that, the team will explore other expansion opportunities, such as wholesale or even a physical store.
“We’re bullish on opening a retail store for Line of Trade or Bespoke Post,” he said.
