Exactly the opposite is true of Lands' End, the catalog company whose preppy, conservative fashions are favored by suburbanites. Lands' End has ridden an "uncool" brand to a reported $138 million in Web sales for fiscal year 2000 - making it the largest apparel merchant on the Net. It's immune to channel conflicts, but it also has a no-frills site, devoid of pop-culture flash and long on products for sale.
John is taking a different tack and is hedging his e-commerce bets. Fubu.com won't be his only online outlet. He will also sell Fubu goods on Y2G.com, a black news and entertainment portal that Fubu launched as a separate business unit in December. John's unconventional twist: Fubu items will appear alongside apparel by Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica. At least that's what John and his Internet strategist John Copen are planning, although they haven't approached either company yet.
"If Nautica decides they want to move their product to our clientele [through Y2G], we don't have a problem with that," says John. But would a fashion label seriously consider advertising and selling its product on a site backed by a competitor? Neither Nautica nor Tommy Hilfiger would comment by press time.
While most fashion sites use music and videos as a marketing hook, they tend to be pretty lame. Y2G, on the other hand, is a robust portal that caters to Fubu's core demographic with a broad range of content ranging from rap concert reviews to financial columns. (One is titled "Bull %#$&, Wall Street Shouldn't Be Confused With White Street.") John notes that the entertainment content typical of most fashion sites isn't enough to sustain a loyal following. If users can go to a site for everything from insurance policies to information on black colleges - both of which are available on Y2G - then there's a greater chance they'll return, according to John. "We want [Y2G] to be a whole lifestyle. We want you to come in there and find whatever you need."
There's plenty of interest among companies looking to tap into Fubu's cachet as a hip, urban brand. Last month, telecommunications outfit IDT (IDT) took an undisclosed minority investment in Y2G. John says the investment will let Y2G's visitors make local and long-distance phone calls over the Net. John has also started lining up advertisers (Nokia has committed; a deal with Mercedes Benz is in the works).
Y2G has other possibilities, too. The company is looking to parlay its friendships with sports and Hollywood into a site-building business. Copen says it's developing 19 sites for pro athletes, movie directors and entertainers to host them on Y2G. (He would not disclose their identities.) Perhaps to draw celebrity interest in Y2G, John adds he is considering spinning off the venture in an initial public offering. "But this is a bad time to talk about that," he says, alluding to the recent market downturn.
Copen and John are confident they've created another cultural phenomenon with Y2G. John explains that "Y2G" is Ebonics shorthand he coined a few years back to reflect his hopes for a prosperous year 2000. (It's "G as in money," he enthuses.) And, thanks to hip-hop radio stations, the term is sweeping some parts of the country; every time someone mentions the term "Y2G" on air, John sees that as a plug for his site.
"There's so much free advertising out there," says John. "It must be mentioned 3,000 times a day on the radio across the country. We just really have to find a way to tap into that." Then maybe Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger will buy into Fubu's pitch.
