Who owns Suitsupply? $300M menswear company's orgy-themed ads amid pandemic has men and women licking each other
As COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out, and the world is slowly getting ready to resume pre-COVID life, Suitsupply, a popular menswear brand decided to hop onto the bandwagon, and give the world a peek of what their "new normal" looks like.
In their new clothing campaign titled "New Normal", a bunch of ten hot models can be seen posing for some rather racy images. With wet tongues, saliva dripping down their chin, and skimpy clothing, the promotional campaign definitely caught everybody's attention. The models can be seen licking and kissing each other, in a passionate orgy-like lovemaking scene. While the men are clad in the brand's suits, the female models are in their bathing suits tonguing down each other. The brand's promotional campaign not only set the temperature soaring with its racy content, but also managed to irk quite a few people who felt that it was too inappropriate in the current times, where social distancing still continues to be the norm.
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While the internet continues to slam the brand for its inappropriate advertising content, here's all you need to know about the brand and its founder -- Fokke de Jong.
What is Suitsupply?
Although the brand's promotional campaign may feature semi-nude models, Suitsupply is a clothing brand that specializes in menswear. It was founded in 2000 by Fokke de Jong in Amsterdam.
Suitsupply is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), and sources its fabrics from some historic Italian mills, while the manufacturing is done in China. The brand's USP is high-quality, well-tailored suits, at a very affordable price range. In 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that a $614 worth Suitsupply suit's quality was on par with a $3,625 worth Giorgio Armani suit quality.
The company is a firm believer of the motto, "Don’t fit in, find your own perfect fit." This isn't just restricted to its products but also the brand's entire persona. From choosing very unconventional retail locations, to regularly coming up with very unique and creative promotional campaigns, the brand certainly stands out compared to its peers. In case you're wondering how the brand manages to sell high-quality suits at such an affordable price, then the answer is the elimination of middlemen. It follows a direct-to-consumer model, which means the brand has complete control over the entire operational process right from the beginning to the end, thus reducing any supply chain inefficiencies or discrepancies, that could significantly inflate the product's price.
Who owns Suitsupply?
At the moment, Suitsupply is 100% owned by its founder Fokke de Jong. de Jong founded the company in 2000, from his dorm room when he was only 26, and sold them from the boot of his Renault station car. Fast forward to a few years later, and Suitsupply has grown into an empire with 100 stores in 25 countries. According to an interview from Thisismoney, he knew from a very early age that he didn't want a career in the corporate world, and a brief stint at Procter & Gamble reportedly confirmed that. Jong has certainly come a long way from selling suits from the boot of his car to setting up a $300M business empire. When he was asked how he did it, he said, "It comes back to our mantra. Don’t just fit in find your own perfect fit. That goes for everything. Being different is how we disrupted the industry, found interesting locations, attracted great people to work for us. It’s also how we positioned ourselves in this market."
The current "New Normal" campaign isn't the only provocative campaign that the brand has shot. The brand is known for making some very unconventional campaigns, one of their recent campaigns featured two suited men kissing each other. de Jong commented, "We make suiting interesting and mess around with it, and our campaigns emphasize that. We never see anything like it in advertising. Hardly ever do you see that intimacy. We put the image on 5000 billboards in Holland and some people went ballistic about it. But generally the response with extremely positive."