A Brand Nobody Knows That Keeps Selling Out

Recently I discovered that wool products don’t equal warmth. Wool regulates temperature. Warm in winter, cool in summer. The cool in summer part is what got me. So I went down the rabbit hole, ended up spending a bunch of money on wool bedding, pillows and whatnot. Worth every penny. The problem with upgrading is that you get used to it fast and can’t go back.

Then I thought, how about wool t-shirts or clothing? Then I discovered merino wool. I started buying socks, and once you wear wool socks you can’t go back to blister-inducing cotton socks (it turns out the shoes were not the problem, it was the cotton socks).

Then somebody introduced me to JOEMERINO. I had a first glance at their site and this was my impression: mediocre brand and name, template-like website, but the narrow and focused product line for men told me this was going to be a good product. I made one order. Flawless purchase experience, no try-hard upsells. Next day it arrived. Best t-shirt I ever owned. After wearing it for one day I ordered 2 more and a bunch of socks.

I had an issue with the order and contacted customer service. They sent a replacement without me even returning the first one. Most brands won’t do that, and for good reason. But the difference here is they know their audience. If someone is spending €67 on a t-shirt, they are not the type to do sketchy things.

What happened here? Mediocre branding and website, average name, yet I’ve already spent nearly €500 and became a subscriber of their newsletter because I do trust this brand big time. Many of their new releases get sold out quickly, and I see how slowly they keep expanding their product portfolio intentionally, keeping their audience fully focused on a specific segment of men.

The person who recommended it to me said women kept asking: why not us? The founder’s answer was something like: “women are difficult buyers. Men find a model they like and buy it in every color. Simple. We are ok not addressing the other half of the population.”

To become successful with your brand and product you must “sacrifice” potential audiences, upsells and products that are only there for the sake of selling more. Consumer experience first, the rest comes second.