The goal is to have an outlet for that type of fashion as well as introduce some products into the local market that can’t be found in traditional brick and mortar stores or at the local mall, said Derrick Humphrey, a graduate of Kenton Ridge High School and co-founder of HRD Apparel.
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He founded it along his business partner Justin Rankin, who both run the social media solutions company Hard Media, and Kaylen McIntosh, who is Humphrey’s cousin and is a graduate of Springfield South.
“We liked the offering and level of coolness we were seeing from brands on social media,” Humphrey said. “It was brands that we were not seeing at our local malls or if we were getting that product, it was the most watered down version.”
“We wanted to offer those brands that we may not get to see otherwise. We wanted to bring a little of that flavor here,” he added.
So far, the store offers apparel from several street-wear inspired brands based on the west coast. Those include brands such as DroLife and No Hours, which are both out of California, as well as Hyper Denim. The site also offers larger brands such as Diamond Supply Co. and Young & Reckless.
Humphrey also said they offer sneakers from the likes of Adidas, including its offshoot Yeezy, as well as the popular Air Jordan brand that is produced by Nike.
The team at HRD Apparel were able to wholesale with some of the brands while others agreed to drop shipping. The idea is to gradually increase the amount of items offered by the online apparel store in order to match demand, Humphrey said, noting that they are still a start-up.
There are also plans to gradually add more brands to the site’s catalog, including several that are based in Springfield, he added. That includes Unkool kids that should be launching in the next month and LIE, which stands for Loyalty is Everything, that will be launching in the next couple of weeks.
“We really liked the concept of being an online business. Our focus is being user friendly and we also have the opportunity to take control of some of the distribution,” Humphrey said.
“Leveraging the online game is were it is at right now. That was the deciding factor on why we wanted to do it this way,” he added.
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The store is also looking at ways that it can deliver certain products to customers in the area in less than a day. He said that would be feasible for customers in the Dayton-Springfield region. The idea is to have those customers receive certain items within the same or next day of their purchase.
Humphrey said the concept of selling apparel first came about several years ago. The original idea was to sell shirts connected with Hard Media. It eventually evolved into having an online space where they can sell a number of different brands.
Humphrey said by having an online store it allows them to reduce overhead cost as well as focus on product offerings. HRD Apparel’s owners are also using their social media marketing expertise to promote their new company.
The owners hope to also establish the store’s presence in the area’s they live, with Humphrey in Springfield, Rankin in Springboro and McIntosh in the Columbus area.
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