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· Posted on
February 21, 2024

Universal Stores' got $50 million Thrills.. and they're multiplying

Universal Stores, Thrills' biggest retail partner, has snapped up the brand for $50m.

What's the key learning?

  • Thrills is a fashion label which generated over $34 million in the 2022 financial year
  • Universal Stores snapped up Thrills for $50m and the payment will be split into $17.5m cash, $17.5m Universal shares, and $15m of future payments.

👉 Background: 11 years ago, 3 mates set out to import and sell vintage motorcycles. As part of their motorcycle brand, they developed a collection of eight T-shirt designs.

👉 What happened: But here’s the juicy part: the T-shirt collection actually blew up. Next minute: Thrills is now a full-blown fashion label, which generated over $34 million in the 2022 financial year.

👉 What else: Now, Universal Stores, which is Thrills' biggest retail partner has snapped up the brand for $50m. The payment will be split into $17.5m cash, $17.5m Universal shares and $15m of future payments.

What's the key learning?

💡 Good companies start by selling what they think people want, but great companies adapt to what people actually want.

💡Thrills was originally solving a need in the vintage motorcycle industry, but finished up solving something very different... and they’re not the only ones.

  • Play Doh was first sold as a cleaning product to remove coal from wallpaper and then pivoted into a colourful clay for kids.
  • YouTube started as a dating website which allowed people to post videos of themselves.. And shortly after they shifted into a video sharing website

💡For many companies, their greatest achievement is actually evolving into what the market, and their customers, tell them they want.

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