In April of 2011, we started an online sock store because there was a need in the market. There were a few socks stores carrying any and everything and a handful of department stores carrying high-quality brands, but there wasn’t an online store committed to bringing in the best of the best. We wanted to be that store.

To get the best brands, we had to get creative. We started by buying clearance products from brands and listed them on our site with the hopes that other big brands would see our legitimacy as a site. It worked. Over a few years, we were able to bring in all the top brands that we were most excited about and the model was up and running.

Year after year, we added new brands with exciting products and even launched our own brands, Statement Sockwear and boldSOCKS, that all had one thing in common: quality. Quality designs, quality materials and quality manufacturing.

It was a new, wild frontier as fun socks went mainstream and we were along for the ride. GQ, Esquire and Men’s Journal were even all in on fun, bold socks. With all the new publicity and heightened awareness of this otherwise forgotten piece of most people’s wardrobe, however, suddenly, the market was flooded with low-cost, low-quality designs and knockoffs. Everywhere we looked, new brands were popping up that looked eerily similar to the brand we carried but felt nothing like the same quality.

We suddenly felt the pinch as customers were trying to figure out the difference between a $12 pair of socks and a $2 pair of socks. Since that time, we’ve learned a lot about socks to ensure we continue to differentiate ourselves for the low-cost, low-quality alternatives.

Over the next year, we will be working with each of our brands to shine a light on the quality attributes and designs that make them so unique.