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FUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes. The name is a backronym for "For Us, By Us", indicating that the product line was produced by black Americans for a primarily black American market.
History
The company was founded in 1992 by Daymond John with a line of hats made in his house in Hollis, Queens.
According to the company website, John mortgaged his own home for
$100,000 and with that seed money he and his three friends Carl Brown,
J. Alexander Martin, and Keith Perrin, turned half of his house into a
factory and the other half into living space.
FUBU staff started
the company for their local youth community. The founders intended to
compete with sportswear companies such as Nike, Inc., which use inner-city youth in New York and elsewhere to research what is cool then
make products from the feedback. FUBU felt that Nike was profiting from
the authenticity of New York street fashion without giving enough back
to the community, and that to this extent black American culture was
being exploited. In targeting city youth and defining their competitors
this way, FUBU has stirred controversy as to whether the company
intended to shut out non-blacks, although some people of other
backgrounds wear their clothing. FUBU insists they are not
intentionally exclusive, and their marketing targets all people.
Collection
The FUBU collection consists of T-shirts, rugby shirts, hockey and football jerseys, baseball caps, shoes, perfume and denim jeans.
All are embroidered with the FUBU logo. Most of the products, such as
the jeans, are imported from around the world. FUBU has now expanded to
include various lines such as Platinum FUBU, FUBU footwear for men and
women, intimate apparel, active wear, swimwear, watches, FUBU suits,
and FUBU tuxedos. The Platinum FUBU collection also includes the Fat Albert and Harlem Globetrotters clothing lines.
In 1995, South Korean company Samsung invested in the New York based clothing company.
At its peak, FUBU
grossed over $350 million dollars in annual worldwide sales. FUBU have
received several honors for their entrepreneurial achievements. These
include two Congressional Awards, two NAACP Awards, the Pratt Institute Award, the Christopher Wallace Award, the Online Hip-Hop Award and a Citation of Honor from the Queens Borough President.
FUBU's popularity
has steeply declined in the United States in recent years, but remains
a competitive brand on the international market.
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