Skin Industries is a California based clothing company, specializing in athletic wear for MMA and Motocross, but branching into sports of all kinds. The company was founded in 1998 by former X cross rider and fan Al Borda, who initially used the Skin brand name to make clothes for himself and a couple of friends. Today Skin is one of the biggest names in extreme sports, and a worldwide corporation.
Skin's marketing is second to none, and can be attributed to a lot of the company's recent success. Currently Skin can be found on MySpace (www.myspace.com/skinindustriesusa) and Facebook, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Blogger and even has an iPhone application. They also have an email fan list, and a newsletter. The company has retail stores in California and Pennsylvania, and is sold in many retailers throughout the U.S., such as Zumiez, Eminent Lifestyle and Tilly's on the west coast. The silhouette logo has become a recognizable logo throughout the sports and music world, as Skin continues to endorse athletes, musicians and adult film stars, amongst others. This is one of the tactics that has brought Skin to the forefront of the extreme lifestyle market.
In keeping with the companies roots, the they sponsor snowmobiler Ashley Chaffin, skateboarder Adam Taylor, and UFC president Dana White. However they have also branched out and have San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, and San Diego Chargers' players Jeromy Clary and Steve Gregory, as stars of more mainstream sports. But Skin goes beyond sports. They also endorse Djs and comedian Brad Williams. They also have models Brianna Banks and Gina Lynn, two of the adult film industries biggest stars. As well as many other popular models.
All of this could be called a gamble, and should put them in a very specific market, but the company has found a way to carve their niche into the mainstream clothing market and compete with companies like DC and Hurley. The company offers Men's, Women's and Children's clothes, the latter of which are offered without the silhouette logo, as not to offend anyone. Marketing strategies and flexibility like this is what separates Skin from competing extreme lifestyle brands.
Currently the company's MySpace has announced the release of the summer line. The company posts daily on MySpace and Facebook, and frequently runs contests and promotions using those social networking sites. The overall marketing of this company is spectacular, but I think the entertains they choose to work with and their use of social networking sites are what set them at a higher level than their competitors. Clearly with their logo and their company image they could easily be criticized, but Skin continues to grow in popularity. Their flexibility in their product line allows them to appeal to a wide range of people, while staying true to those who were with them from the start. Al Borda's vision for this company continues to expand and reach new people in new markets.
My only criticism of the company at this point is the availability of their products. They do have a very large selection online, however finding retail carriers in certain areas is not always easy. Accessibility of the product is obviously one of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign. In the Chicago land area Eminent Lifestyle is the largest retail carrier of Skin merchandise. They only have four stores in the area though, and Zumiez which also carries Skin, has a very small selection. I feel that as the company continues to progress, they will be finding better and more unique ways to get the products to new markets. The company's popularity has grown exponentially in recent years, and I see no reason for that trend to not continue. Increased popularity of extreme sports in general has helped to fuel Skin's rise in popularity, and I think that as their popularity continues to grow they will be able to open new stores in markets such as Chicago. Check out Skin for yourself at http://www.skinindustries.com/, or on MySpace or Facebook.
