The Hundreds IS Huge. How and why the clothing company is successful.

“The Hundreds is Huge!”

How and why the local street wear brand became a global success. Now first, this post is solely my opinion and only my opinion. We will be looking into the business aspect of The Hundreds. Ok, move on…

I’ve had the pleasure to meet one half of The Hundreds, Mr. Bobby Kim a few years back here in San Diego. This was during the week of the ASR trrade show and Agenda (when Agenda used to be in San Diego.) I was introduced quickly to Bobby Kim at a bar, which was the spot for an after party, through a good friend of mine, Danny Beck. My actual first impression when I saw him, “Ok, dude looks like he does in the picture. Doesn’t seemed to be all flossed up in gear. Good.”

Bobby looks very young and his exterior is that of a normal guy, because he is. But I knew he was a very young entrepreneur. Some street wear fanatics probably will put the guy on a pedestal, but to me he was a friend I would keep in touch with (hopefully). A friend of Danny Beck, is a friend of mine. We shook hands and engaged in your casual conversation at first. Without a long story, I come to find out he also went to UCSD for communications, interests growing in both street wear and action sports, lived in the same area as I and designed his own shirts. I was actually doing the same thing at that time. “That’s weird man. You are like me just a few years ago. It’s like talking to myself in the past. And we’re both Asian,” said Bobby Kim -  something close to this (I remember vaguely). Hmmmmm.

I have been keeping up with The Hundreds on their site ever since, as it is a URL that is visited daily in rotation next to Digg, Lifehacker, Mashable, S. Godin’s blog, etc. More importantly, why they have become such a huge success. They really have lived up to their motto of “The Hundreds is Huge.”

1. They have a purpose/motto/slogan/manifesto: “The Hundreds is Huge.” The classic and respectable approach of how David will slay Goliath. They made this public and well known to their audience via posters, stickers, site and all the other schwag they had. It was something most – more importantly their audience – could relate to, so it spread wide and far. This in turn connects more people, turning them into fans and now what do you got. You have a direct connection from company to audience.
2. Easy and accessible connection with them: Oh the joy of the net. Oh the joy of photography and pictures. Oh the joy of being wordsmith. These are things Bobby Kim knew and used. People like pictures. People like feeling connected. People like to know what is going on every day. The Hundreds utilize blogging as their vehicle for connection. Using the internet and video, this rich form of connection is the fastest and most accessible.
3. Create an even simpler way to give your audience to connect with other people: Aligning themselves with other heavy weights of street wear, collaborations have become a staple, even a badge of awesomeness. Most notably, their collaboration with Disney. Additionally, they hold block parties, BBQ’s and sponsor a skate team. And their street team, bomb squad and other antics on You Tube. They are connected and others are plugged in.
4. Money is NOT a motive: This is where The Hundreds survive. Yes they are grossing multiple millions. Meeting Bobby, I knew he was a GREAT business man. But an even greater dreamer. He loves what he does. You can tell by his track record of work history and interests. The money they earn serves only as a reward to produce more fruits of their labor. Expansion for them…good for money. But is it good for business? That is where they are at now.
5. Transparency and keeping it real: With street wear, comes street cred. This is completely subjective, as street cred is not really understood or defined. But keeping it real will have the eyes and attention on you. Consumers are not dumb anymore, we are all not sheep. Especially in an industry built on exclusivity  and the lure of limited items, the audience can smell Fugazi a mile away.
6. ‘The Hundreds is Huge’ is bigger than the Hundreds: Yes I said it. Does it make sense? Think about this one for  bit.

Now you can see why their site attracts over 1.8 million views a month; sales of roughly 5 million in 2008. I doubt Bobby Kim will remember me from that night, but being cool…he was. Not cool in the sense of “cool guy” but a down to earth dude. Working with action sports and street wear, unfortunately does have chance for encountering people who think themselves as celebrities. Bobby was one of the actually pleasant ones. Congrats on the business and I hope it thrives through this recession.